They headed back to the police station. Tom had the authority to question the suspect from the sheriff himself. It was now that the permission granted became useful.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the great detective Timothy.”

“It’s Thomas. And I’m not a detective. I’m a paranormal investigator.”

“Whatever. So have you caught the ghost?”

A sly grin appeared on the receptionist's face as she teased him. Tom forgot she was still here. He thought maybe he should use Rachel to curse her to make her believe in ghosts.

“I’m not here for chit-chat. I’m here to see the prisoner Robert Bart. Take me to him immediately.”

Tom ordered.

“Hold on big guy. I’ve heard that the sheriff granted you permission. How did you get that?”

“That is none of your concern.”

“Then find him yourself. You won’t get a word out of me with that nasty attitude.”

“What did you say?”

“She’s right, Tom. Your attitude is awful.”

Rachel snickered as well. Tom knew his sister would never take his side in these matters, but he wished she would shut up and not say a word if this would be the scenario.

“I’ll find him myself.”

Tom spent 2 hours finding the guy. Rachel was no help either. She kept telling him to apologize, but he turned a deaf ear to her advice. He regretted the 2 hours that were wasted, but to him, it was better than apologizing.

--As if I’ll apologize to that old hag.

In the end, he only found him after the receptionist took pity on him and told him where he was. Tom still didn’t apologized to her though he did feel a little guilty when she told him.

“I told you guys already, I did not kill her.”

Robert placed his hand on his head in frustration.

“Calm down, I believe you. But you need to tell the story carefully with every little detail so I can prove your innocence. I will also be recording our conversation here. Please don't let it bother you."

Tom pulled out a voice recorder from his briefcase along with a notepad. He pressed the button to start it.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Please begin."

"Fine...I went to the old summer house with Su that night.”

“Hold on, the woman’s name was Samantha.”

Tom had to make sure every fact he got resonated with the other. He was careful of every detail.

“I know, but I called her Su as a nickname. So I went with her on that night for…uh…um."

“It’s alright, I already know.”

“Know what?”

Rachel bluntly asked. Robert’s face grew red with embarrassment, knowing that a kid knew why he was there. Rachel was clueless about what was happening. Tom cleared his throat.

“You don’t need to concern yourself with it. Continue, Mr. Robert."

The awkward air remained for a while before Robert continued. He took a deep breath to relax himself.

"I admit we broke into the house, but I swear we weren't going to steal anything. We were in the room when we heard a knock on the door. I thought it was just our imagination, but it happened again, louder this time."

“Hmm…Knocks, I see.”

Tom kept writing every bit of information he found useful.

“I called out to see if anyone would answer, but nobody did. The door was again banged instead of knocked on the third time. I opened the door, yet no one was there. Then I heard footsteps. I told Su to wait and took my phone to check the stairs.”

Robert started getting uncomfortable reliving those memories.

"I-I got down the stairs to switch on the lights, but they suddenly went red and went out. Also, the fans sped up and caused the dust to enter the air. All of a sudden, I heard a soft voice saying, 'Leave.' I wanted to leave but saw someone in the kitchen. I went inside, but the same thing was at the door."

Robert paused. He didn’t want to continue and felt cold.

"It said, 'You dare come here.' Next thing I knew, I got punched in the face. I ran outside through the kitchen door. I was running to my car when I heard Su scream. The front door was locked, and I heard it say that it will kill her. I ran back to the kitchen door. That is when I saw her on the edge of the cliff. I tried calling out to her, but she wouldn't stop and jumped off. When we got her body back, she was already dead. When I reported this to the cops, they said I killed her and arrested me. That’s the whole story.”

“Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Robert.”

Tom stood up and placed his things back into his briefcase.

“Hey, does that thing help you fight ghosts?”

Robert pointed to the sapphire brooch that hung on Tom’s bowtie. He felt relieved that the police believed him and called in ghost experts. Tom clutched the large brooch in his hand.

“Something like that.”

Later that night, Tom was reviewing the notes he had gathered. He felt that Robert wasn't lying, but he wasn't telling the whole truth either. The story felt off. But if he actually killed his wife, he would need a pretty good reason to do it. No explanation came to his mind.

--I want to examine Samantha's body to see how strongly she was possessed, but Ray wouldn't let me dig her up from the graveyard.

Tom felt no pity for the dead. He kept listening to the recording again, playing with the brooch. The brooch wasn't extraordinary. The only importance it had was that it matched his sister's eyes, and she gave it to him. If he didn't wear the brooch, she wouldn't respond to him. Those were the dumb conditions she had set. Now he had grown accustomed to it and felt weird if he didn't wear it.

“You’re still up?”

Rachel had changed into her nightgown. She had taken off her red scrunchy and let her long hair swivel around.

“Yeah, I’m about to sleep. Don’t try anything weird while I’m sleeping.”

“When have I ever done that?”

Rachel winked, smiling cutely. Tom didn't buy the act. It was because of her stupid antics that almost got him killed many times in the past. What's worse, she would mindlessly throw herself in danger to protect him, resulting the both of them getting severely injured. He had to protect himself for her sake as well.

--Science has yet to find a cure for stupidity.