Tessa Roads was mad.
It wasn’t because Detective Merlin was still crying all the way from the mansion. It wasn’t even the fact it was cramped in the back of the police cruiser. Not even when PC 9527 and PC 3686 were covering their lips to try and stop laughing from what happened.
Tessa was ticked off for two reasons. Good ones. “Detective! Why didn’t you arrest all three of those women! They clearly have more motive than me!”
“SNIFF!...Augh. Oh god...Oh god...th...damn dog...That beast from hell.”
“STOP CRYING AND ANSWER ME!” Tessa kicked at the seat in front of her, making PC 3686 flop across the dashboard. Seeing the death glare in the suspect’s eyes, the officer kept quiet and hope it worked itself out before anyone had to pull out the pepper spray.
The suspect pulled at her hair half screaming. “Who in the world is afraid of dogs!?”
“I AM!”
Merlin snapped back, a cloud of tissue paper stuffed to his eyes and face. PC 3686 plucked more out from a box and passed it back to him, which he blew his nose into the entire handful without a second thought.
“Tessa you don’t understand! A Rottweiler with foam in it’s mouth chased me down 10 blocks! I was only five years old! Oh god the trauma, it’s coming back to me. Aaaaugh!”
Tessa massaged her temples, pursing her lips to control her temper. “Please, Detective. You’re my only hope. You met all three women, every one of them confessed to having an affair with Liam! They would have more motive to kill him, to hide their secret relationship from their husbands!”
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The suspect kept tapping her forehead, as if it would drop more ideas out into her palm. “Th-they’re all rich and powerful women, right? Of high status? M-maybe Liam was blackmailing them, happens all the time in TV, right? He extorted them and one of them killed him off...O-or, they collaborated together and killed him!”
Merlin sucked in air to calm himself down. He tried to distract himself by looking out at the city scenes that roll past him like a spin of film. “I keep telling you—SNIIIIFF--The CCTV records last night only saw you coming and going. A-and even if your theory is—SNIFFFFF—true, what benefit would they all have in murdering the victim together. The more eyes, the more mouths, the more likely one of them would rat the other out. They’re not stupid—SNIFF.”
“Th-then the evidence? The breast button? The dress chip? Even the dog fur? You found them all in the same hotel, right!? Th-there has to be some connection between those women!”
“SNIFF! Wh-which they already confirmed with their romantic liaisons with the victim. And don’t forget Miss Roads, we also found your shoe, your bag, and your skirt at the crime scene—HOOONK—Agh, my nose. Sniiff. Everything still points to you being the one who clubbed Liam--”
“Pinch! Pinch! In self-defense, 100%!”
“P-Pinching him on the bed!”
“D-don’t say it like that! It feels weird!” Tessa avoided glances from the officers in the front of the cruiser and turned to stare out the window, hugging her body. “I swear, detectives, officers. All I did was hit him—pinch I mean—on the forehead, ever so lightly! Enough to daze him so I could run away! I am not his lover and I didn’t try to seduce him – he came onto me! I honestly have no idea how he ended up with his entire skull bashed in like waterme... U...uuurk.”
Merlin shared some snot-covered napkins and tissue with Tessa, only for the suspect to slap his hand away. The detective wiped off the rest of his tears.
“I’m just as stumped as you, Miss Roads. If it’s not you, and not them, who am I suppose to chase!? Oh for the love of god, please don’t make me arrest the damn dog! I’ll die of a heart attack!”