Chapter 10: Confessions
"I need you to come home now!" Melissa snapped, her voice echoing in the empty house. She slammed the phone down. After seeing Tom on the CCTV footage she had sped home to confront him, only to find that he was at the office.
She paced around the house rehearsing the questions she would ask him when he returned. How could he lie to her about his whereabouts? Why was he at the strip club? Did he prefer the women there to her?
The doorbell rang. Melissa stomped towards the door and flung it open angrily. Georgios' huge form filled the doorway, blocking out the sunlight behind him.
"Expecting someone else, Detective?" he asked.
Melissa's mouth opened and closed, surprise rendering her speechless for a moment. "What are you doing here?" she finally managed to ask, her voice cold and hushed.
"I have brought you a gift," he said, stepping over the threshold to reveal a young woman stood behind him. "This is Christie. She knows who killed Amanda."
Georgios wandered into the living room, Christie following close behind him. He sat on Melissa's couch and indicated to Christie to do the same, which she did.
"What are you talking about?" Asked Melissa, closing the door quickly.
Christie looked at Melissa, her eyes wide and frightened. "Amanda was probably my best friend. There was this guy she was afraid of."
Melissa turned to Georgios, her voice sharp. "Why bring her here? Why not tell me at the station?"
Georgios shrugged, a smirk playing on his lips. "I thought you might appreciate a more...private setting, Detective."
Melissa ignored him, turning her attention back to Christie.
"Tell me about this guy."
Christie took a deep breath, her hands twisting in her lap. "He's a new guy at the club. But he had this... thing for Amanda. He'd leave her gifts, follow her home sometimes. She was scared of him, but he said he knew people in the Police that could arrest her for nothing if she complained." Christie paused, tears welling up in her eyes. "She told me he was pestering her for sex. But she always refused."
Melissa's heart ached for Amanda, but she needed more. "Did she say who this guy was?"
Christie nodded her head. "She said his name was Tom, he works at a bank."
Christie's voice trembled as she spoke. Melissa's heart stopped for a moment, her breath catching in her throat. Tom? Her Tom?
Georgios, who had been watching the exchange silently, leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "Tom? That's a common name, Christie. Can you be more specific?"
Christie nodded, wiping away a tear. "He's slim, sort of mousey hair."
Melissa felt the color drain from her face. That was Tom. Her husband. The man she loved. The man she thought she knew.