Me Before You

by Sylvia M. Roberts

  - And then, you say? - He insisted, with disguised anxiety.

  She shrugged.

  - All right - confirmed last. - But I'll need some clothes. Would you get the money for me?

  He nodded his head and took the check from her, shoving it in one of his pockets.

  She didn’t had anything decent to wear to go to the mall, he hastened to fetch some clothes that belonged to his late wife.

  - That's all I have left from my wife - said with a sigh, showing a brown sweater and trousers in beige color. - It's a little out of fashion, don’t you think?

  - Don’t worry. I don’t really care much about that. - She admitted, recalling the prison uniform she used for so long.

  Richard took her to a mall across the city in which he was sure that no one would recognize her.

  Annie ran three floors full of sophisticated and well-stocked shops, getting marveling at the tastefully decorated environments. However, it was stunned by the high prices and concluded that she couldn’t buy even half she had planned. Discouraged, she returned to the cafeteria where Richard waited patiently and said:

  - Didn’t thought living cost had risen so much in the last three years!

  - Didn’t you buy anything? - He pointed out seeing that she wasn’t bringing any bag in her hands.

  She sighed despondently:

  - With that I would only buy a pair of boots...

  Annie ordered a coffee and while she took it, she reminded that when they came to the mall had seen a huge shop selling clothes and second-hand items. With hesitation, Richard asked confused, and couldn’t understand why she wanted to go back the way they had done to get to the mall.

  - But why? - He asked, surprised.

  - Because I saw a store that sells used clothing – She said - You can make great shopping in a place like this, if we are able to choose.

  - Are you sure?

  - Of course! You can’t imagine how there are people who give away clothing with just a few hours of using it.

  Reticent but he eventually agreed. Basically, he was only admiring the versatility of this woman, who years ago was dressed with modern and expensive clothes and now subjected, without embarrassment, use second-hand items.

  Without further ado, they left the mall in search of such store. He has parked the car at the location. She selected some sweaters and pants that could easily be combined with each other, and two social dresses, socks, shoes and two pairs of shoes.

  When finished, she still had a small amount.

  - Gives for another pair of tennis shoes - he noted. She shook her head.

  - I have something else in mind - she said.

  Leaving him alone in a male section where he was feeling the fabric of a tie, she disappeared. She didn’t want Richard seeing her buying perfumes and cosmetics. After all, they were the greatest weapons that she would use to entice Richard...

  When they got home, she wanted to give him back the borrowed clothes, but he refused, explaining that he had decided not to keep them anymore.

  It was late afternoon, Annie was wearing jeans and a shirt with a high collar. In her face, she had discreet makeup, it had seemed quite natural. When she finished, left the room and walked down the hall. The video room door was closed, but she could hear sounds coming from inside, which meant that Richard continued examining the tapes repeatedly. Without making much noise, she went downstairs and went to the kitchen, where she prepared a light meal arranged on a tray.

  - I brought you something to eat - she said, knocking on the door of the room where he was.

  Richard brought the tray in after thanking Annie, he savored in silence the appetizing snack. She watches him while he kept his attention on food. She couldn’t understand the man who had been so determined to incriminate her and now was spending grueling hours reviewing every file and all information instructed in the process. When he finished, Annie took the opportunity to ask:

  - Some progress with the tapes?

  - Not much - concluded discouraged. – There is a lack of information in those statements. - And, looking up at her, said: - There is only one way I can help this woman.

  - What are you thinking?

  He got up and paced the room before answering:

  - Interrogate her again.

  - Oh no! - She said, putting a hand on her forehead and shaking her head. - You have everything you need in those tapes...

  No I haven’t - he stated vehemently. - The interrogations were misguided. Let me do them differently now. - And approaching her, he insisted: - What do you have to lose with it?

  She shrugged.

  - Whatever I do?

  - Come with me - he asked and led the way to the living room.

  Accommodated her on the sofa, he pulled out a chair and sat in front of her:

  - Let's pretend that we are three years ago – He suggested it, coughed a little bit to clear his throat. Then he asked:

  - Do you remember our first meeting?

  - Of course I do. I had made a trip to agency where I worked, and when I arrived at the building where I lived, I noticed the police and some people commenting that Tom Phelps had been found dead and, according to the investigation, he was killed the night before. - After a brief pause for breath, she went on - So I went to my flat and soon after I arrived, the bell rang it was you wanting to talk to me.

  - And I communicated to you the death of Tom Phelps, asking you to enlighten me about the fight you had with him, in the night he was killed. Do you remember?

  She nodded her head and continued.

  - I would like you to tell me about that discussion. - She thought for a moment, and then said slowly:

  - He had come to the door to warn me that I was late with the rent and I explained that I was a little bit flustered that month, but soon I would pay my debt. That's when he suggested that I could be a good girl...

  - And he said exactly what he meant by a good girl?

  - No. And it was not even necessary. He had suggested it before. He lived always giving me meaningful glances and weaving malicious comments. He was an abominable man, but I was forced to have contact with him.

  She sighed to ease all she had been trough.

  - If so, why didn’t you rent a flat elsewhere? - He asked curious.

  - I tried, but there was none that I could afford. Phelps was a cheap rental so I cheer to stay. He never lost hopes of conquering me. So ... - And ended with a lament: - It left me no alternative but to continue living there.

  - What about your husband?

  - He never helped financially and he acted that way to force me to give him Jimmy.

  - And where was your son the night of the fight with Phelps?

  - He was in a schoolmate house and stayed there the next night too, because I needed to travel.

  - What kind of trip?

  - What I have to do as a personal assistant on a business trip.

  - Personal assistant executives? - He asked with an air of reproach.

  - Let me explain before you misunderstand it - before taking a short breath. - My service consisted only of socially accompany clients in meetings, nothing else. I never accepted extra services that were offered me if we can call them that.

  - And wasn’t there a different work you could do?

  - Like what? I lost my parents very early and was forced to abandon my studies. The only thing I learned was to be a model, when I had my son, I took the first opportunity that arose. I really didn’t care what service was provided it was honest and I won enough to keep Jimmy. Oh - she recalled – there was also a nozzle in a fashion magazine.

  - You're forgetting that we are simulating this interview as if it were three years ago? It is important that we pretend we had just met.

  - It's what I would not? - She teased glaring at him. – That’s your entire fault things disappeared so suddenly, as if by magic?

  She didn’t want start crying again, but the suppression of those three years of bitterness, she suffered in
that horrible place, made her feel start again.

  - But it’s important and we need to go back in the day, as if nothing had happened. We don’t need to put blame on anyone. I want to clear my mind and maybe even discover some details that have been omitted at the time. For this, we need to pretend that nothing happened and that I'm just running out to meet you. Do you get it now? - He shouted, his voice coming through the half-closed teeth.

  - Oh, it's that so ... So in this case, there are some important changes should I do... Wait a minute.

  And she was gone from the room to reappear half an hour later, fully transformed into a dress and glued to the body that showed her perfect curves. The daring neckline allowed a partial view of the bulky and stiff bust, pronounced make-up, and the exquisitely combed hair on her head, give her the touch of a desired glamour.

  - That wasn’t necessary - he protested, with open lips, caused by her the wonderful appearance.

  - It was yes. You said you wanted to repeat everything from the beginning? - She joked, as she sat on the couch and crossed her legs, up a little dress bar and leaving the shows black nylons and extremely provocative. - If you wanted to faithfully reproduce the interview from that day, we needed to bring back Annie Pearce. The woman you hated from the first moment...

  "I hated?" He repeated in thought. Hating was at that time the whirlwind of emotions she teased him. At that time he had been indifferent to that stunning beauty because his heart was buried. But now, the mere presence of that woman seemed to invade him unmercifully in every way, turning up his strong desire that he could suppress only at cost.

  *****

  Chapter 6

  - It's ok. So let's move on - he agreed, trying to feign indifference and again turned on the recorder. - You were saying that you also performed errands for a fashion magazine?

  - Yes, but they don’t pay much for this work…So I have to keep the other job.

  He stood with his head down, writing details in a book note avoiding looking at her.

  - Now tell me about what happened between you and Phelps that night.

  - It was like I told you. He suggested that I should be nice and he tried to touch me.

  - And then you reacted with violence, according the neighbors.

  - I don’t deny that I cried all the bad names I knew to push him out of my flat with punches and kicks, but I didn’t kill him.

  - What did you do after he is gone?

  - I left. I had to walk a bit to calm down. And without realizing it, I walked for hours ending up at Windsor where someone claimed have seen me.

  - Having seen someone who matched your description, you mean - Richard corrected.

  - Anyway, what I know is that I was there - she said, tilting her head slightly and try to look him in the eyes.

  Richard stood with his head down. He didn’t want to decentralize from his work he was reasoning about the possibility of her being to that location at the time when the killing was committed, he concluded:

  - It still wouldn’t be a conclusive proof.

  - Why not? Phelps was shot at four in the morning and I left the building by midnight and only came back at eight in the morning. Besides, a witness saw me kilometers away.

  - But you could have taken a taxi.

  - And did you have the testimony of a driver who claims having left me at home at the time of the murder?

  - Nope. But I only have your word that you weren’t in the building at the time of the murder.

  - My word and the witness who saw me at Windsor - she insisted.

  - It's all right. Let's leave it for an hour. Now tell me what happened when you returned home?

  - The room was a mess because of confusion with Phelps. I put back things in place and wiped the blood from the top of the fireplace. He had fallen against it during our fight and cracked his upper lip...

  Richard interrupted before she continues:

  - Why didn’t you tell me?

  - I said.

  - But not in our first interview. You only mentioned this fact two days later, when I had already sent your clothes that you wore that day to analyze and found out that the spot was Phelps’s blood.

  - So you think I created the story of the fall, to justify the blood on my clothes?

  He agreed with a nod.

  - How I wish I had said that before ... - He lamented, shaking his head from side to side.

  - I was confused. Did you ever felt being in a state of affairs in which the reasoning seems to function? - She asked and then concluded with a bitter smile on her lips: - No ... Not you. I don’t imagine what it is to lose a child and get all the time thinking about him.

  - Maybe ... - he murmured, finally lifting his head and fixing his eyes on her.

  - You don’t believe it’s true? - She teased with a smirk. - Why don’t we reverse the position and talk a little about you, mister tough investigator?

  - Don’t you think that precipitates a trial?

  - No I don’t. I really had too much time to judge you ... Three years to be more exact.

  - But there is much you don’t know about me - he said almost without realizing it.

  - Like what, for example?

  Before the defiant look she gave him, he felt the urge to scream as he had been finished and wounded on that occasion. But he preferred to remain silent than to open his heart to the woman who hated him so much. So, he decided to change the subject:

  - This is the case now. We must limit ourselves to the main facts. Phelps blood traces were found in your flat.

  - But the body was found downstairs... - And before he argued anything, she hurried forward: - But I know what you will say "He was a slight man and you aren’t as fragile as you seem to be."

  At the sound of those words Richard shuddered:

  - I said that?

  - Now, stop being cynical. I saw those tapes, which means that you also saw them. And speaking about them... how could you remove them from the police station?

  - I didn’t remove them. I copied them.

  She bit her lower lip and felt satisfied with that revelation. It meant how much he was risking. Somehow she felt an accomplice of the situation.

  - Let's go back to it - he said, dodging the issue of the tapes and trying to keep the reins of dialogue. – Let’s proceed.

  - Well ... When I said weren’t as fragile as you appeared, I was referring when you lost control and advanced on him as well...

  Suddenly she rose and fell on him, striking him with her fists clenched. He got up and, with open palms, tried to keep his distance. But she attacked him with such fury that in the end he had to hold her wrists, imprisoning her in his arms.

  Their bodies were so close, that she could feel his heart pounding in his chest. And when he looked up to look in her eyes, he realized the heat wave invading his cheeks, he flushed.

  With a mischievous smile and eyes of who enjoyed a bit the reaction she provoked in him, he lamented:

  - Wow...I forgot how it ended! What you did then? - Richard was diminishing his force until he freed Annie and hoarsely whispered:

  - I pulled him away from me, like that. - And putting her hands on his shoulders, she made him flinch.

  Annie was a little bit disappointed. But she knew she was dealing with a strong, confident man who probably didn’t subjugate to her so easily. But this would make a fascinating victory.

  - Ah! Now I remember...- she said. - Then you asked if had been that way I acted with Phelps.

  - And what are your thoughts about your fingerprints being found in the candle holder with which Phelps had been beaten to death.

  - I have never denied that the candle holder was mine. That's why it had my impressions. It turns out that Phelps had the strange habit of always coming to my flat with some false pretense and filch any object of when I would claim it, he would apologize and take advantage to offer me a drink or anything else. - And, taking a deep breath to regain strength, she reproached: - You can’t suggest that I w
ould be so stupid to kill him with my own candle holder and then forget to throw it away do you?!

  - I can’t rule out the fact that it was the murder weapon and that your finger prints were in it.

  - Did you ever occur to you that I had no reason to kill him?

  - You admitted that you hated him.

  - Yes, but that would be reason to fight with him and never to kill him… Oh, my God! ... If I intended to kill all men who gave me a sung, there would be the need of more graveyards!

  In the heat of argument, she took her right hand to the top of the head and let the buckle that imprisoned her hair, leaving the hair fall free over her shoulder.

  - That I believe - he muttered quietly, without being able to avoid an admiring look on that woman's sensuality. - There must have been many men who desired you...

  She shook her head moving the long thick shiny threads from one side to the other. And with a laugh of derision, she pondered;

  - Don’t tell me you also believe this nonsense. It was just a publicity stunt...Basically I am a woman like any other.

  - You're not a woman like any other - he repeated. – You never were.

  - That's it? How am I different, is it because I am guilty from the beginning?

  - Nonsense...

  - Confess that you hated me from the first moment you saw me.

  He remained silent for a few minutes, not knowing what to say. Somehow she could let him uncomfortable. Finally he decided to continue the questioning.

  - We are moving away from the subject.

  - First tell me why do you hate me so much? - She insisted, holding her arms.

  - I don’t hate you - he denied, shaking his head.

  - So tell me what you feel right now...

  He deepened the look and quivering his lips, and words came out without control.

  - Needless to say... A woman, who was once so desired, should see in the eyes of a man and recognize what he is feeling.

  Annie smiled with satisfaction. What had just heard proved that she was right. He was falling for her...

  - Why the smile? - Presumed suspicious. - Is it because you like to see me at your feet to have fun at my expense?

  - I wouldn’t do that...