Chapter 16
JULIA
J ulia slid down into the chair as the detectives eyed her across the table. She swallowed hard, her resolve crumbling under their intense gazes.
Mitchell cleared his throat as he settled into the chair next to her. “Gentlemen, let me be clear that Mrs. Harrington is not admitting any guilt in this situation.”
“But she’s not claiming innocence either,” the detective said.
“Would it matter if she did?” Mitchell asked as he tapped his pen on his pad. “What questions do you have?”
“Did you kill Lydia Knight?”
“Don’t answer that,” Mitchell barked.
Julia chewed her lower lip, her mind a whirlwind of fear and resolve.
Each question from the detective felt like a weight on her shoulders.
She fought the urge to shout her innocence, to scream, about injustice but the image of Sierra’s face, so young and already so burdened, kept her quiet. Protect her .
Her thumb rubbed her wedding ring, a constant reminder of the reason why she was sitting in this position.
“All right, I’m going to go ahead and assume you did. So, let’s work through the evening, here, shall we?”
“Is there a question in there, detective?” Mitchell offered the man an unimpressed glance.
“What time did you leave the house when you went to Mrs. Knight’s?” he asked.
“Uh, around twenty after five.”
“And you drove…”
“My car. It’s a Porsche.”
“Of course, it is,” he said as he made a note in his folder. “Okay, you…get in your car… you’re angry–”
“That wasn’t admitted to,” Mitchell corrected.
“All right, Mrs. Harrington, please tell us…what possessed you to get into your car and drive to Mrs. Knight’s?”
Julia glanced at Mitchell who offered her a subtle nod. She cleared her throat as she launched into her explanation. “I…Lydia and I never really got along. I didn’t want that to continue.”
“So, you’re trying to tell us you were going to her place to…what? Bury the hatchet?”
“End the war,” Julia answered.
“By killing her.”
Julia shook her head as Mitchell stepped in. “She didn’t admit to that.”
The detective leaned forward, narrowed his eyes. “No, but how else do you end the war, Mrs. Harrington? Tell me.”
“I thought…she was very angry, and I thought maybe…including her or…trying to convince her of what she was doing to her former family…her own daughter would open her eyes.”
He cocked his head. “Did it?”
“It didn’t seem to,” she answered.
“So, you killed her.”
She heaved a sigh as Mitchell pressed his lips together. “You’re on dangerous ground, detective.”
“How did the conversation end?”
“We didn’t see eye to eye,” Julia answered.
“And?” he prodded. “You left? You walked away? The argument turned heated? You two got into it, it got physical?”
“Okay, these questions end now,” Mitchell said. “My client has not made an admission of guilt.”
“But she refuses to tell us anything else about the confrontation. A confrontation that could have ended Mrs. Knight’s life.”
Her heart pounded against her ribs as Mitchell fought on her behalf. She licked her lips, wondering if her story wouldn’t add up and would make things worse. Regardless, she had to press on. She had to make sure her story was convincing. She had to protect Sierra.
“What happened after the confrontation?”
Julia lifted her chin. “I got in my car, and I drove home.”
“Guilt-ridden?”
A warning glance from Mitchell stopped that line of questioning.
“Can anyone corroborate the time that you arrived at home? Which was when, by the way?”
“Around quarter after eight. My husband was there when I got home along with my sister and brother-in-law.”
“What time did you leave Mrs. Knight’s?”
“Uh, I didn’t look at the clock when I got back in the car, but…I’d estimate I was there for around twenty minutes.”
“Okay, so that puts you leaving shortly after six thirty,” he said.
“That sounds about right.”
“It took you just under an hour to get there, but two to get home. Why?”
Julia sucked in a breath as she slid her eyes closed. “I…needed some time. I went to the park, took a walk, then went home.”
“Needed some time?”
“The conversation didn’t go as I hoped it would. I just…needed to collect myself.” The story would feed into the case they were building against her. Upset woman needs to suppress her shock and upset after murdering someone.
“Needed to collect yourself. Got it. All right.”
“Is that all, detectives?”
“No,” the man answered. “It’s not. Can I see your hands, please?”
“My hands?” Julia asked, her eyes flicking to Mitchell.
“What’s the point, detective?”
“Looks like Mrs. Knight fought her attacker. I want to see if there are any wounds on Mrs. Harrington’s hands or arms that would be consistent with this.”
Mitchell nodded and motioned for her to proceed. Julia’s features pinched as she lifted her trembling hands and placed them on the table.
The detective’s eyebrows lifted before he glanced to his partner. “Mind telling us where you got those scrapes on your hands?”
“I was trapped in a fire night before last. I…sustained them escaping.”
“A fire. You’re really unlucky. How did that happen?”
“Just an accident.”
“This is the fire over at the old Victorian manor?” he pressed.
She nodded. “Yes. It’s well-documented. I was in the emergency room for smoke inhalation, though I was fine.”
He jotted a note down. “I’ll be sure to check that out. Now, let’s go back to–”
A knock at the door interrupted his questioning. Julia took a moment to breathe as the questions let up. A uniformed officer poked his head inside.
“Detectives, can I see you both for a moment?” the officer at the door asked.
The detective collected his folder with a snide grin. “Excuse us, won’t you?”
As the door slid closed behind them, Julia slid her eyes closed.
“You’re doing well, Julia, though I really wish you would just admit you didn’t do this.”
“I will just…not right now, okay?”
“The longer you delay this, the worse this looks for you. If you try to reverse course later and claim innocence, it could go very badly for you.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” Her heart pounded as she made a difficult choice, but she stuck by it, her fierce protectiveness of Sierra making it easier for her.
The detective poked his head back in the room. “We’re finished with Mrs. Harrington right now.”
“Then you’re releasing her?” Mitchell asked as he rose.
“No,” the detective said. “We’re waiting on the ME’s report. If Mrs. Knight’s time of death is anywhere within the time frame where Mrs. Harrington is…unaccounted for, we’re charging her.”
Julia’s stomach twisted into a knot at the words. Within hours, she’d likely be facing a murder charge. Her features pinched as the door slammed shut, startling her.
A warm hand clamped down on her shoulder. “Julia, if you want to make a statement asserting your innocence, now’s the time.”
She shook her head. “No. Not yet.”
Mitchell heaved a sigh. “Fine. I’m going to give Grant an update and get a tongue-lashing from him.”
Julia reached for Mitchell’s hand, her grip tight with gratitude and desperation. “I’m sorry. Please tell him this isn’t your fault. It’s mine.”
“I don’t think that’ll do any good.” Mitchell collected his things and offered her a fleeting smile. “Wish me luck. Stay strong, Julia.”
“Thanks.” She settled back against the unforgiving chair as the door thudded closed behind her legal counsel. The room suddenly seemed smaller as she sat alone.
She wrapped her arms around herself as a shiver snaked down her spine. Tears stung her eyes, but she refused to give in to them. She squeezed her eyes closed, trying to center herself.
As the minutes ticked by, the panic within her rose to new levels. She imagined spending the night in a jail cell which quickly spun into visions of spending years in a jail cell.
Maybe she’d made a foolish decision. Where was Mitchell? Could she still claim innocence for the record credibly?
Even if she did, there were enough holes in the story that they may still charge her.
At least they weren’t charging Sierra.
When the door finally opened, an angry detective stormed in toward her. He slammed his hands on the table, his face beet red. “Did you kill Lydia Knight?”
Her eyes went wide as she stared at him, his face inches from hers, his eyes bulging.
“Tell me. Did you do it?”
“That is enough, detective!” Mitchell shouted from the doorway as he strode closer.
His eyes bore into Julia’s. “I don’t think it is.
I want answers from her, and I want them now.
Did you do it? Come on, Mrs. Harrington, admit it.
She messed with your husband. Almost cost you everything.
And you pushed her over the edge of her balcony to stop the war.
” He leaned closer to her, his voice lowering to a hiss. “Say it.”
“I’m going to insist you stop harassing my client, detective, or I will have your badge.”
“No, no, no, this isn’t harassment, this is an investigation. See, I’ve got security footage missing from the hours right around when Mrs. Knight died. And I’ve got an endless list of people parading in here to say they were there last. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I want answers.”
Julia crinkled her brow as she slid her gaze to Mitchell. He stood stoic, unflinching in the face of the detective’s brash behavior.
“Fine. Stand up.”
Julia’s gaze flicked back and forth between the two of them.
“Stand up!” The detective shouted.
Julia swallowed hard as she pushed up to stand.
“Julia Harrington, you are under arrest for–”
“I don’t think so,” Mitchell said with a shake of his head as the man removed his handcuffs from his belt.
“I do. She’s an uncooperative witness. She hasn’t claimed innocence–”
“And you have another suspect at this very station admitting to seeing Lydia alive after Mrs. Harrington.”
Julia pulled her chin back toward her chest, surprised by the news. Who had come to the police station?
“And maybe Mrs. Harrington went back to the vic’s apartment after that. It took her a long time to get home.”