A Heart of Deception Part 6

 Holly Everten was lying lifeless on the cool cement that had befriended her for an indefinite amount of time. Blood pooled around her once deep, blond locks that were now a crusty russet hue.more...

Holly and Darrell settled into Rex Fields, a dry, warm, southern town near Oklahoma and Louisiana border. more...

 Several years had passed by ever so quickly. Holly chased after Percy who was barking madly at the chickens. more...

 Holly drove the rental wooden station wagon to the local shop, aptly named Valerian Feed Store after all the bright red flowers growing in the area. more....

 Several days ebbed and flowed by. Holly went about to clean the garage that had sorely been ignored. more...

6Darrell was crouched over the hard, cold, steel table in the Rex Field’s Police Department interrogation room. His legs were wobbly. His clothes were messy and disheveled. He was exhausted and unable to find the energy just to breathe. He had obviously spent many a night in the past two weeks sobbing his eyes out. He couldn’t remember when he had had his last meal. His body odor was rank and pungent. A heavyset Italian-looking detective with dark, course, wavy hair tousled about on his moon- shaped head walked purposely into the small room lit bit two florescent lights in the corner opposite of Darrell. Detective Amerigo De Luco didn’t give Darrell a moment to erect himself from his slouched position on the table’s sharp angles.

            “Tell me where you were on the night of September 19^th.” De Luco harshly stated.

            “I was at home…” Darrell began to wail softly.

            “When was the last time that you saw your wife?” De Luco sat down abruptly.

            “That night we had a party at our place for my coworkers from the JackE.MooreMemorialHospital.” Darrell finally looked up but didn’t make eye contact with the detective. “We had all been drinking, everyone except Holly.” Darrell looked down at his filthy hands.

            “Then what?” De Luco ascertained that Darrell was nervous and appeared untruthful in his engagement with him.

            “Then, I asked her what was wrong, she was so upset. I don’t know why, but she was. She and I had a fight.” Darrell sniffled.

            “What about?” De Luco began to scratch notes in his notebook.

            “She thought I was cheating on her.” Darrell began to scratch at his pants and chew on his nails.

            “What gave her that idea?” De Luco sipped his coffee slowly.

            “I wasn’t going to Westford like I said.” Darrell then began to shuffle his feet around. “I was going there, but I couldn’t keep up with the damn classes and work so I quit a couple of years ago. She always wanted a baby, always begging me to try again with the treatments. I didn’t matter to her.”

            A long pause and sigh came from De Luco. “So you told her you weren’t going there and then what?”

            “She began to scream a lot and hit her fists on my chest and asked why I was lying. I just didn’t want to try for a baby anymore. I needed some time away and telling her I was still going to Westford was my out.” Darrell looked up over the detective’s head.

            “She left, huh?” De Luco behaved as if he did not want to waste any more time. He wanted to get to the meat of the investigation and find Holly.

            “Yea, with Miles. She took him home because he was drunk. She takes people home like that because she had a brother who was killed by a drunk driver. It’s not like she ever knew her brother…” Darrell explained.

            “Did you see her after that?” De Luco took another sip of coffee and lit a cigarette.

            “No, I swear! I don’t know what happened.” Darrell lamented.

            “Well, it looks awfully fishy that you took a week or so to report her missing. Didn’t you miss her? Didn’t you want your wife home?” The detective accused.

            “Yea, but I didn’t want to look like I was guilty of something. It would look bad that I had a missing wife after we had a fight. I didn’t hit her.” Darrell rambled nonsensically.

            “I didn’t ask if you hit her. Are you guilty of something Darrell Everten?” The brow on the detective’s face constricted and his face was slightly pink.

            “No, no, she did hit me, but honest, all we did was yell at each other.” Darrell began to look earnestly towards the door.

            “Have you talked to anyone since that day you last saw her?” De Luco rammed his cigarette butt into the ashtray.

            “I talked to Miles. He said we would find her and offered to put up a reward for her, thinks we can raise the money at his church. His sister Blythe hasn’t been around. She lives in Connecticut with her aunt Delta, just moved up there. Otherwise, no, no one.” Darrell bit his lip.

            “Where can I reach Miles?” De Luco was scrawling away feverishly at his notebook.

            “Miles lives in a farm house just north of FM 414 in Chantry.” Darrell began to trace invisible shapes with his forefinger into the table.

            “I know where that’s at. It’s just 15 minutes from here. Does he have a phone number that I may contact him with?” The detective turned the page in his notebook.

            “Yes, but he turned it off recently.” Darrell looked at the detective finally. “Can I go now?”

            “I will be in contact with you. Here is my card. Don’t go far.” The detective said in a huff and walked firmly to the only door into the room.

            It was eleven o’clock in the evening as De Luco looked down at his silver wristwatch. He had had the Everten case only four days and it was already dragging on and wearing on the detective’s psyche. De Luco looked down at his appointment book. He glanced at the next day’s appointments, “October 4^th, the Mauer vs. The State of Louisiana trial,” De Luco muttered to himself. He collected his things and proceeded out to the covered assigned parking garage.  

            De Luco approached his A-frame, wood siding, two-story home with bits of brick trimming its bottom portion. He clicked the door locks of his older model Lincoln and shut the front door of his house. The house was a wreck like a storm had struck it. De Luco grimaced.

            De Luco undressed himself in the entranceway of his bedroom. Candace, his wife of thirty years, was lying peacefully in bed reading a book and sipping wine.

            “The house is a disaster Candy!” De Luco aggressively opened his first line of conversation with Candace since arriving home. “What did you do all day anyway?” De Luco bristled and glared at Candace.

           “I got home from the teacher’s training at the school and took Lilith to the dance recital. It ended around 8 pm. I managed to get the dry-cleaning dropped off at the new place with the after hours service on Hayward Drive. Then I grabbed dinner for Lilith and me and took her back home to Sharon. Lilith wanted to stay the night again, but I told her Nana was too tired tonight.” Candace did not make eye contact with De Luco as she defended herself once again.

            “I have a long day ahead. I have that trial in the morning to testify at and then I am going to work on the Everten case. I should be home late again. This time have the house clean and take Rue to the vet. I need the truffles prepared for this weekend’s American Cancer Society Golf Championship.” De Luco barked. He slid into bed with just his thin, blue boxers and an old, holey undershirt and turned away from Candace.

            “The Everten case…isn’t that the story I heard on the news about the missing EMT’s wife? What’s that reward now, $10,000 for a solid lead to her being found?” Candace put her empty glass down and turned out the light. De Luco didn’t respond back. She knew he probably couldn’t say much about it anyway and she soon fell asleep.