Later that evening Brittany snuck away and waited patiently at one of the four desks parted by bulletproof glass on the visitor side at the jail. Dressed in civilian attire, she knew her partner wouldn’t approve of her seeking information in this manner, but she had to try. A guard escorted inmate Allan Young to the seat across from her, and he picked up the phone hanging from the partition.
“I’m sorry, but who are you?” he asked, confused. “Did I get a state-assigned attorney?”
“No, no. Mr. Young,” she corrected. “I’m not an attorney. My name is Officer Brittany Parker, and I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me.”
Allan shook his head. “Not without my attorney present.”
She raised her hand in a plea to stop him from hanging up the phone. “My questions have nothing to do with the case. I was just hoping you could clarify something for me.”
“Depending on what you ask, I might be able to give you an answer.”
She held up a cut-out picture of Lily that she had obtained from the forensics lab. “Do you recognize this woman?”
“Of course I do! She’s my girlfriend.” His eyes widened. “Is she in trouble?”
“What is her name?”
“Lily.” He paused, worry etched into his face. “What’s this all about?”
A broad smile fell across her lips.
I knew it.
“Lily, as in Lillian Thatcher perhaps?”
“Yes...” His eyebrows furrowed. “Why? What’s going on?”
“Has she ever been known by another name? Jamie, perhaps?”
“This is ridiculous,” Allan said. “Get to the point. What are you getting at?”
“I think she may have been leading a double life, and was about to leave you.”
“What?!” he spluttered, “What do you mean by a double life?”
She stared at him for a long minute. The confusion and concern on his face was telling.
“You really don’t know, do you?” she concluded.
“Know what?” he shook his head. “I feel like we’re talking in circles.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“I hate to be the one to tell you this...” she reached into her pocket, retrieving the note. “But here’s a letter she left for you.”
She unfolded a copy of the letter that she had scanned in the Evidence Room and pressed it up against the glass partition. She watched his eyes as he read the letter. His face betrayed multiple emotions that fluctuated from alarm, to confusion, to denial, to pain, to shock, and then back to confusion.
“What?!” tears formed in his eyes. “Where did you get this?”
“Lily left this for you.” she admitted, “I found it on the floor of your living room.”
“What were you doing in my house?”
Oh man. Now I’ve stuck my foot in my mouth.
“I was one of the officers responding to… to an incident.”
“What kind of incident?”
She hesitated, leaning back in her chair. “I’ve said too much already.”
He sighed as a tear escaped down his cheek. “Where’s Lily? I need to talk some sense into her.”
“That’s actually the reason I came to see you,” she said. “I was hopeful that you might be able to shed some light on that mystery.”
Allan wiped his eyes on his sleeve. “What do you mean?”
She paused, gathering her thoughts. “When was the last time you saw her?”
“Two nights ago.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “Would you say you parted on good terms?”
“Considering she avoided my marriage proposal, I’d have to say no.” he rolled his eyes in annoyance. “What are you trying to accomplish, exactly? If you’re trying to extract some type of motive, don’t bother.”
“Excuse me?” her eyes lit up in anticipation.
“I know what you’re doing, but it won’t work.” he made a move to hang up the phone. “Please, just stop.”
She waived her hand frantically, stopping him.
He let out a sigh and pulled the receiver back to his ear. “WHAT?!”
“Please, Mister Young. I’m almost done,” she said quickly. “You mentioned something about a motive just now. I’m confused. A motive for what, exactly?”
“You guys clearly think I killed Jason.” agitation laced his tone. “I didn’t.”
Oh! Right.
“No, no Mister Young. I told you I wasn’t here about that.” understanding dawned. “Are you sure you haven’t seen Lily since that night?”
“No, I haven’t.” his eyes betrayed concern. “Why? What are you not telling me?”
She stared at him for a long minute before determining that he was being honest.
“There’s no easy way to say this...” she fidgeted in her chair, “When I went to search your home, it was in shambles. Books had been thrown off the shelves, there was a lot of broken glass. The place was an absolute mess.”
Utter confusion registered on Allan’s face. “But why would Lily do that?”
“I don’t think she did. I think someone else may have been in your home.”
His eyes widened. “Are you saying there was a burglary? Does Lily know?”
“There was… how should I say this?” she hesitated. “There was evidence of a violent encounter, but more importantly there was an unidentified puddle of blood in the living room.”
“WHAT?!” he shrieked.
The guard on duty tapped Allan on the shoulder, “Wrap it up. Visiting hours are over.”
Brittany continued quickly, “After running a DNA analysis, I was able to confirm the blood belonged to your girlfriend.”
Allan stared at her in shock.
“Which leads me to why I’m here.” She held up the first page of the profile she had printed off earlier. “After I confirmed Lily’s DNA match, I ran the test again and got this match instead. It seems that all traces of a Lillian Thatcher have been erased. Do you have any idea why someone would do that?”
The guard tapped Allan on the shoulder again. “Time’s up buddy. Let’s go.”
He turned to face her, regret etched into his face. “I... I have to go.”
“Please, I just need one more minute of your time...” The guard suddenly yanked Allan to his feet and the receiver hit the desk with a thud.
“I said your time is up!” the guard bellowed, eyeing her with contempt.
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