CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Franks sat across from a very nervous looking Avery Corpus. The teen was fidgety in his chair as he looked around the small interview room. They'd asked to have him come in so they could get a formal statement about the shooting of his parents.
Amy sat down beside Franks, casually setting her coffee cup down beside a thick file. "Thanks for coming in to speak to us. We've already read you your rights. Do you have any questions for us?"
"No. None I can think of." Avery shrugged.
"Then let's go through things, just like you did before." Amy smiled.
Avery nodded. "Yeah, but I don't know what more I can tell you."
"We like to get a formal statement. Sometimes emotions are too high at the scene and things get forgotten." Franks leaned back in his chair folding his arms across his chest. "Why don't you just start from the beginning?"
"You mean when they started fighting?" Avery asked.
"Go back a bit before. What was everyone doing?" Amy asked.
"Like I said, I'd picked the girls up from school and when we got home, Dad was there, which wasn't normal.
I heard them yelling at each other from outside the house, but the moment we walked in, they stopped.
The girls got a snack, then went to their room, I stayed in the kitchen to do homework.
" Avery took a deep breath. "Mom and Dad started arguing again.
Quiet, like they knew I was listening, but were mad enough at each other they couldn't keep from making comments back and forth to each other.
The fight got louder as they both started accusing each other of things.
They didn't come right out and say it to me, but I could tell they were accusing each other of having affairs.
Dad with someone named Tiffany, and Mom with someone named Jeff.
I was surprised at Mom doing it, but I had already guessed Dad might be seeing someone. "
"So the fighting slowly got worse. You mentioned before they were physical?" Franks asked.
"Sorta, Mom pushed Dad, and Dad raised a fist at Mom, but didn't follow through.
At one point the girls came out and I hurried to get them back to their room.
I didn't want them to see them fighting like this.
It was bad enough they could hear it." Avery closed his eyes.
"I was so mad at my parents for doing this around us.
Mad to learn they were cheating on each other.
I just stared at them, but I don't think they even realized I was there once the fighting got worse. "
"Then what happened?" Amy asked.
Avery shifted in his chair, his gaze dropping to the table. "That was when Dad left the room and came back with the gun. I saw him walk into the living room, lift the gun and shoot Mom, then put the gun to his head and shoot himself." Avery wiped tears from his eyes with the back of his hand.
Amy slid a box of tissues toward him. "Need a break?"
Avery shook his head. "No, let's just get this done." He pulled a tissue out and wiped his eyes again.
Franks had to fight rolling his eyes because they were far from done.
They had a lot more questions to ask once this kid was done telling his fabricated story.
Franks had no problem believing everything up to the point where the father went to get the gun.
His gut told him it had been Avery who got the gun.
They just needed to find a way to get him to admit it.
"What did you do after your father shot himself?" Amy asked. Her words were not quite as gentle as they would have been had they really thought Avery was an innocent victim.
"Nothing for a moment. I just stared. I was in shock.
Then I heard the girls' door open. I hurried to them.
I made them promise to stay in their room.
I think they knew something was wrong, but I couldn't let them see our parents like that.
I went and got my cell phone from the kitchen and called 911, then waited with my sisters for the police to arrive.
They showed up, and I guess you know the rest." Avery sighed.
"Maybe I should have made sure they were dead, but I didn't want to touch them.
All the blood freaked me out. The whole thing freaked me out. "
"It would bother anyone," Amy said softly.
"We have a slight problem with your story though.
" She opened a folder and acted as if she were reading something.
"See, we have a team that comes in and investigates shootings like these.
They are well trained. They know exactly what to look for.
They know how to read blood spatter, research bullet trajectory, and tell if everything matches up with what we were told happened.
In this case, there are several things that don't match up. "
"Like?" Avery leaned forward.
"Like the bullet trajectory doesn't support your father shooting himself.
Your father was right-handed. The bullet wound was on the left.
Now, it's not impossible that he might have used his left hand, but it is unlikely.
Even so, the bullet came from several feet away.
It's clear to us that your father didn't shoot himself. " Amy sat back, staring at Avery.
"Another issue…" Franks sat up straighter, putting his folded hands on the table. "There are no fingerprints on the gun. None. That's not normal. Someone had to load those bullets, and someone had to hold the gun to pull that trigger."
Avery shifted nervously.
"How about you tell us what really happened?" Amy took a sip of her coffee.
The room was silent for several seconds as they waited for Avery to say something. He kept his eyes lowered, never looking up to meet their eyes.
"Were you involved in the fight? Was it about something more than their marriage?" Franks asked.
Avery shook his head. "It was about them. Not me. Not really."
"What do you mean not really?" Amy pushed gently for him to tell them more.
"I guess in a way it was about me and my sisters. I mean, if they got divorced, it would hurt us."
Franks glanced over at Amy as he tried to understand.
"Divorce is hard on the children. Sometimes when parents divorce, they forget how horrible it is for the kids." Amy's voice was gentle. "Was that what upset you?"
Avery shrugged.
Franks was losing patience, but he had to remain calm. The last thing he wanted was to get aggressive and have Avery stop talking to them. "This will go easier if you just tell us the truth about what happened. Your father didn't shoot your mother, did he?"
Avery looked down again, but Franks caught the tears in the boy's eyes as he looked away.
"If you don't tell us what happened, we're going to have to question your sisters on what they saw and heard," Amy said softly. "You don't want to put them through that, do you?"
"They didn't see anything. They were in their room the whole time." Avery's hands gripped the edge of the table as he looked at Amy. "Leave them out of this."
Amy sighed. "We have to get the truth one way or another, Avery. We know things didn't happen how you said they did. What really happened?"
Avery didn't answer and they sat in silence for several minutes. Franks had seen this before. Avery was hoping if he waited things out, they'd change the subject or take the pressure off him, but it never worked that way. Franks could sit here all day if he had to.
The pressure finally seemed to be too much and Avery sighed.
"Okay, so I shot them. They were going to divorce and split up our family.
Dad told Mom she could have custody and we could visit him whenever we wanted.
They were deciding everything without even asking what we thought about things.
Acting like making life changing decisions didn't even matter to me or my sisters.
All they cared about was getting away from each other so they could go on with their lives, happy with their new lovers.
" Tears rolled down Avery's cheeks, but the anger was still very visible in his eyes. "They didn't care about us at all."
Franks took a deep breath, glad they had their confession, but hated that this young man's life would be over because of the decisions that had been made. "Tell us what really happened."
Avery's shoulders slumped. "It was like I said.
They were fighting. Acting like I wasn't even there.
My sisters came out, I got them back in their room, then when I went back to the kitchen, I tried to get them to stop fighting.
I told them the girls were upset, but it was like they didn't even hear me.
They just kept spitting hate at each other, bringing up things that happened years ago.
Then they both agreed their marriage was over and like it was that easy, they started discussing how the divorce would go.
Who would get what and all that shit. I screamed at them that they couldn't do this, but Dad just told me we'd discuss everything later and went right back into talking about who would get the house, the cars, and all that stuff.
I was so mad. They were ruining everything.
If neither of them cared to try to work things out, if neither cared what a divorce would do to me and my sisters, I figured we'd be better off without them.
I went into their bedroom, got the gun out from the lockbox in Dad's nightstand, and walked back out just in time to hear Dad say that the kids would be better off with mom.
I didn't think about what I was doing. I just shot Dad in the head.
" Avery reached for a tissue, wiping his eyes as he continued to speak.
"Mom screamed, and I shot her. The girls were coming down the hall then, so I dropped the gun and got them back in their room before they saw anything.
It was then I really thought about what I'd done.
It was almost like I was two people. The one who shot them and was so angry, then the one who realized what he'd done and was shocked I'd done it. Does that make sense?"
Amy nodded. "Completely. Anger can sometimes feel like it's taken over."
"What happened next?" Franks needed the full story.
"I made the girls promise to stay in their room.
I went back out and didn't know what to do.
There was so much blood. I couldn't believe what I'd done.
Realized I'd really fucked up. I started to panic, but in the back of my mind, I knew I had to do something because I couldn't let the girls see any of this.
I knew they wouldn't stay in their room forever while I tried to clean up the mess and get rid of the bodies.
I mean, how would I do that? And eventually I'd have to come up with something about where my parents were.
So many things were going through my mind right then.
I was so freaked out. Honestly, still am.
" Avery took a deep breath, tears still streaming down his cheeks.
"I finally decided on the story I gave you.
I hadn't thought ahead enough to think about bullet angles.
" He arched his head back and stared at the ceiling.
"It all happened so fast. I wasn't thinking.
I was just so mad they could end things and not consider what that would do to my sisters and me.
That they could throw it all away without even trying to work it out.
That their lovers were more important than our family, more important than us. "
Franks exchanged a look with Amy and at her nod, he stood. "Avery Corpus, you're under arrest for the murder of your parents." He pulled out the handcuffs he had in his back pocket. "Please stand and put your hands behind your back."
Avery did as told, crying harder as he asked, "What happens to me now?"
"That's up to the district attorney. You're old enough to be tried as an adult, but that decision will be up to them," Amy explained.
"What about Grandpa? He's out front, waiting for me to get done here." Avery's voice cracked with emotion, and he trembled as Franks tightened the cuffs.
"We'll let him know what's happening," Franks promised.
As he handed Avery off to the officer who would take him to holding, Franks sighed. Telling the grandfather what had happened was not a conversation he wanted to have.