Then She Was Dead - excerpt from this Novel
In my novel, ‘Then She Was Dead,’ the main character, Tom Santos, woke up in a hotel room in Dallas, Texas with a dead woman on the floor. He discovered later that the dead woman was a lead competitor. He could not remember how he got into the room or what happened the night before. He escaped to his room next door. That same morning, to save his company and secure his family’s financial freedom, he had to introduce his new $3 Billion software product. When he returned home to California, the police had questions, and so did his wife, Julie. Although he had shared the issue with his CEO and the company lawyer, Ella, he had not shared the news of this nightmare trip with Julie. In this excerpt, the police have just dropped by Tom’s house, and Julie wants to know why she has not been informed. Yes, she is mad. An interesting side note: Tom is a fellow who sleepwalks.
“Okay, we’ll be back tomorrow just in case.” One officer smiled, and both men turned and slowly walked to their car.
Across the street, two neighbors stood at a white picket fence that separated their front yards. They watched the flashing lights and talked, trying to guess what was going on. Unlike Julie, they had seen the news and read the rumors on Twitter and the neighborhood webpage.
“Tom, what the hell was that about?”
“Harassment. I’m calling Ella. They can’t do this.”
“You need to tell me first, mister,” Julie barked and stomped her foot in frustration.
“Honey, there’s nothing. I had a couple of glasses of wine with Miss Regan, the woman who died, and people took pictures. The wine made me woozy, so I went back to my room. When I woke up the next morning, I didn’t remember much.”
Julie stood directly in front of him. She was trying to look into his eyes, but he was looking everywhere but at her. “When I called you with the girls on Facetime, you acted weird. Your hair was messed up like you had just gotten out of bed or something. Were you with her?”
“No. I was in my room when we talked.”
“But were you with her?”
He stared at her and paused just a little too long but finally said, “Someone killed her the night before. Her room was next door to mine.”
“So why are the police so anxious to talk with you?” Julie wiped tears from her eyes. “What did you do, Tom?”
“Nothing, I don’t remember doing anything wrong.”
His cell phone rang. He started to go pick it up.
“Leave it,” Julie demanded. “What am I going to see on the news, Tom?” I need to hear from you so I can prepare myself.”
“Honey, I love you, you know that. No matter what happens, you know I love you.”
“Oh, I don’t like the sound of that.” Julie moaned. She crossed her arms and paced back and forth in the hallway as she contemplated the situation. Finally, she turned to him and asked in a low voice, “Did you kill her, Tom?”
“No! God no! Why would I do that?”
“I don’t know; to snuff out the competition,” she said sarcastically. “Or maybe because she wouldn’t have sex with you. Was that it? Did you rape her when she was drunk and passed out?”
Tom didn’t respond. He just stood rigid with his fists balled up.
Julie paced across the foyer twice. She was thinking about what he had told her so far. “You said you were woozy from the wine. Maybe you raped her, and then she woke up and screamed, so you killed her to keep her quiet. Was that it?”
“My God, Julie, listen to what you’re saying. Your mind is really off the charts now.” Tom reached out to her. “How can you say that?”
The house landline started to ring. They looked at each other, both in disbelief of what was happening to their life at this moment. The answering machine came on. Tom recognized the detective’s voice.
“Hey, Tom, old boy, Detective Feaster here again. I understand that a couple of patrol officers gave you a visit today. I wanted to apologize for any inconvenience and if they exhibited rude behavior. You just can’t teach some of these fellows any manners…Tom, are you there? Pick up, please. Listen if you think of anything or if you decide to talk with us about the young woman murdered in Dallas, just give us a call.” The recorder beeped and shut off.
Tom moved to the kitchen and hit the message delete button. He turned back to Julie. She had moved to the family room and was focused on her iPad intently reading and flipping her finger across Internet page after Internet page. Tom was a hot topic.
“Our lives are ruined,” she cried. “Now, I know why you were getting all weird and emotional and saying, actually saying you loved me, and whatever happens, and all that bullshit.” She browsed another Internet page.
“Here’s a picture of you, and her, and some other guy all holding each other in front of an elevator. Oh my God, Tom. Did you have a three-way with her and another man?”
“No! Come on, Julie-”
“I’m surprised after all that fun that you were able to perform this morning.”
“Julie, it’s not what you think.”
“What do I think, Tom? Tell me! What do I think?”
Tom recoiled from her anger, paused a moment, and lowered the tone of his voice. “Honey, I don’t know.” Almost defeated, he dropped in a chair across from Julie and clasped his hands together under his chin.
With her fists planted on her hips, Julie watched him, but she didn’t back down. “Don’t call me honey, and you’re correct, you have no idea what’s going on in my head right now.”
“Julie, I-”
“Why aren’t you talking to the police? Is it because you’re guilty?” Julie turned away from him and slammed the iPad cover shut. She collapsed on the couch and grabbed her hair with both hands. “If you’re not guilty, why not talk to them? If you’ve got nothing to hide, tell them what happened.”
“I can’t.”
“Why the hell not?” Julie snarled. She got up and paced across the room again. She couldn’t sit still. “I feel like I’m going to explode.” Her heart was racing.
“Because Ella advised me not to say anything.”
“Oh, screw, Ella, or did you already do her, too?” Julie yelled. She picked up a flower vase and threw it at the wall. “Is this what you meant by people doing anything for money?”
“No…not really,” Tom mumbled and hung his head.
“Not really?” Julie stood up straight and firm looking down on Tom. She measured her words, slow and methodical. “Well, I can tell you this right now, buster. You better start explaining yourself.”
Tom looked up at her with sad, defeated eyes.
Julie paced across the foyer and said, “You know, it might cost you a billion before it’s over. How’s that for your behavior change when money is involved?” She stomped back to their bedroom and went immediately to the shower.