Fifty-Seven
Ari sat stiffly in the cold, sterile interview room, the bright overhead lights reflecting off the table’s polished surface. She could feel the eyes of the two officers watching her closely, their expressions unreadable but disinterested, as if she were little more than a nuisance to them. She had given her name and her story twice already, and yet here they were, asking her to explain it all over again.
‘I’m just telling you what happened,’ she said, her voice tight, trying not to show how frustrated she was. ‘It was my necklace. It was taken from me. And I was just trying to get it back.’
The younger officer leaned forward, scribbling something down on his notepad. Ari didn’t know if he was actually writing or just pretending to look busy.
‘Right, so you’re saying you were… “stealing back” your necklace, is that it?’ he asked, his tone dismissive. He glanced at his partner, who didn’t even look up from his phone.
‘Yes. It was mine. Paris took it,’ she repeated, trying to stay calm. ‘And when she realised what I’d done, she got her security men to detain me. Illegally, I might add. They were trying to lock me in, but I wasn’t going to let that happen. So, I had to break the door to get out. It was the only way.’
The second officer, the older one with the greying hair, finally raised his eyes. ‘You kicked down a door?’
‘Firstly, it was rotted, so let’s keep that in mind,’ Ari said. ‘But I guess that’s probably criminal damage. I’ll take my lumps on that. But not for the necklace.’
The younger officer raised an eyebrow, but the older one just nodded, scribbling down more notes. ‘Security said—’
Ari clenched her fists under the table. ‘They were the ones who locked me in the room! They were the ones who took my stuff. I wasn’t the one being aggressive. They were. I was trying to get what was mine.’
The younger officer didn’t say anything for a moment, just tapped his pen against the table. ‘And you’re sure this necklace was yours? You have proof of ownership?’
Ari swallowed hard, her throat tight. ‘I’m sure my mother probably has official paperwork…’ She realised something. ‘Look, did you have it?’
‘Have what?’
‘The bloody necklace!’ Ari said, exasperated.
They looked at each other. ‘You see a necklace logged?’ the older man asked. The younger man shrugged.
Then, the door creaked open, and another officer stepped in—tall, sharp-looking, with a suit to match. Ari immediately felt the shift in the air.
‘This is Detective Marshall from the fraud squad,’ the younger officer said, his voice taking on a note of respect. ‘He’s got a few things he wants to go over with you.’
Detective Marshall’s gaze flicked over Ari for a moment before settling into the chair opposite her, alongside the uniforms. He didn’t waste time with pleasantries. ‘I’ve been hearing about a charity fraud,’ he said, his voice low and controlled.
Ari blinked, taken aback. ‘So, that’s being taken seriously? I’m glad to hear that.’
Marshall leaned back, his fingers tapping lightly against his notepad. ‘Tell me your version of events.’ He paused, his sharp eyes studying her. ‘I’ve heard a lot of things, rather muddled. I’m just trying to get to the core of it.’
Ari swallowed hard.
‘Look, I want to explain all that, truly. And I know you don’t care about my little necklace amidst all this. But I want to know…’ She paused, forcing herself to stay calm. ‘What happened to it?’
Marshall blinked. ‘I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he said, his expression blank.
Ari felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. ‘What do you mean, you don’t know? It was taken from me, from my neck, and you’re telling me you don’t know anything about it? A hundred people saw it happen.’
Marshall’s expression didn’t change. ‘It’s not my area. Ask the other officers.’
‘I did. They’re clueless.’
The younger uniformed cop looked incensed but kept his mouth shut.
Marshall tried to gain control once more. ‘Look, I’ve got allegations of fraud, I’ve got attempted assault, but no one is talking about a neck—’
Ari’s heart skipped. ‘Nancy? Is she OK? Where is she? She’s—she’s not in trouble, is she? Because that was very obviously self-defence.’
Marshall glanced at the younger officer briefly, who nodded slightly. ‘You and a few other people allegedly involved in the fraud itself are the only ones in custody at this time. Oh, and one lady is in the hospital, I believe, getting treated for indigestion. No one called Nancy is currently detained.’
Ari nodded, relieved. The officers on the scene had watched all that madness unfold and agreed it was self-defence, so hopefully, Nancy would come out of this unscathed.
Marshall’s voice broke through her worries. ‘Alright. Let’s hear it again. Your version of events.’
Ari sighed, exasperated but resigned. She leaned back in her chair, forcing her mind to settle and her voice to stay steady.
She started again, recounting the events from the beginning. She was so tired of saying it, so tired of trying to make them understand.
But she had no choice. She had to keep going and hope for the best. The necklace was probably gone for good, stashed who knew where in the middle of the chaos. Ari had to accept its fate. And hope her own wasn’t too bad.
‘And then you guys hauled everyone off,’ she finished.
Marshall nodded. ‘OK. Look, there’s a lot of differing accounts for me to sort through, but I think for the time being…’
Ari frowned. ‘What do you mean, differing accounts?’
Marshall raised an eyebrow. ‘I mean, there were a hundred or more guests at this wedding, and everyone seemed to hear something different.’ He sat back, already exhausted. ‘This whole thing is a mess. I can’t even begin my real investigation until everyone has been interviewed.’
Ari gave a surprised laugh. ‘You’ve not talked to the DJ yet?’
Marshall frowned. ‘The DJ?’
‘Yeah. I’ve known him for years and one thing I know about him is that he records all his sessions. You can just watch what happened,’ Ari told him.
Marshall’s hangdog face was suddenly sunshine itself.