Chapter 7 - The Interrogation
The local police precinct smelled of stale coffee, old paper, and floor wax. Through the glass partition of the observation room, we watched Margaret sitting at a metal table in the interrogation room.
She didn't look like a fragile grandmother anymore. Her posture was rigid, her face flushed with anger, and her manicured fingers drummed an aggressive tattoo against the cold steel surface. Across from her sat Detective Miller, a seasoned investigator with a no-nonsense expression.
"She’s refusing to speak without her attorney," Mark observed quietly, standing beside me at the glass.
"Let her try," Arthur Vance said, stepping into the room with a leather briefcase tucked under his arm. The lawyer was a tall, silver-haired man with sharp eyes and an aura of absolute competence. "Under the new cyber-surveillance statutes and the child endangerment filings we submitted this morning, her refusal to cooperate only strengthens our motion for an immediate psychiatric evaluation and a permanent no-contact order."
Inside the room, the door opened, and a public defender walked in, sliding a file folder across the table. Margaret turned her head sharply, whispering something frantic and angry to the lawyer, her eyes darting toward the two-way mirror as if she could feel our gaze burning through the glass.
"She thought she was untouchable," Clara said softly, standing beside Mark with her hand resting securely in his. "For thirty years, she manipulated everyone around her by playing the victim. My father-in-law never stood a chance against her. Mark’s brother... God, if what happened to Toby was her doing..."
May you like
"We're having the cold case files pulled," Arthur interjected smoothly, opening his briefcase and pulling out a set of certified documents. "If this new evidence establishes a pattern of behavior regarding vulnerable family members, the district attorney will have grounds to reopen the inquiry into the 1995 basement incident."
The room grew heavy. The implications were staggering. Margaret wasn't just facing a family court restraining order anymore; she was potentially looking at a criminal investigation that spanned decades.
