“We’re still reviewing evidence.” She gestures at him to follow her, and he does, numbly, quietly, obediently. Because that’s just what Oliver is, isn’t it? Obedient. Pathetic.
He doesn’t meet anyone’s eyes as he shuffles down the hallway. He wishes he could be the type of person who’d bark, The fuck you looking at? But no. He’s Oliver Chen, meek and mild, human doormat.
Officer Gray does him the courtesy of not taking him by the arm or pushing his head down as he gets into her car. Maybe they only do that in the movies. Or maybe she senses that there is no fight inside Oliver. They are silent as she drives to the station, and silent still when they arrive and walk through the lobby, where she signs into an interview room. After the chaos at his apartment and the bustle of the station, the silence in the interview room is deafening.
Officer Gray gestures for Oliver to take a seat before sitting across from him. She turns on a speaker and says, “This is Officer Selena Gray, conducting an interview with Oliver Chen. Mr. Chen has come here voluntarily. Are you okay for our interview to be recorded?”
Oliver nods.
“You have to say it so we have a record of it.”
“Oh, right. Yes. I’m okay.”
“And you have the right to have an attorney present.”
Oliver gapes at her. “Do I . . . need one?”
“Well, we’re not charging you with anything, but you can choose to have one.”
Oliver’s brains might as well be made of scrambled eggs. What does Officer Gray mean? Should he have one? Would that only make him look guilty? “Uh. I guess I’m okay for now.” Is he okay for now?
“All right. So let’s begin. Where were you on the night that Marshall Chen died?”
“Um, I was at home. Um. I was just watching Netflix.”
Officer Gray makes a note in her notepad. “What show?”
“Uh.” It’s a struggle to remember. “Narcos.”
“Good choice. Tell me more about Marshall. He was your twin brother. You two close?”
Oliver shakes his head. “Not really. We only ever really see each other once or twice a year.”
“That’s rare, isn’t it? Aren’t twins usually pretty close to each other?”
“I . . .” Oliver shrugs. “I don’t know, but we’ve never been close, even as kids.”
“But you were close enough to know that he was very allergic to bird dander, though.”
“Wh—” Oliver opens and closes his mouth. “Um, yeah? But.” But what?
Officer Gray lets the moment stretch on and on until it becomes painful, then she launches into the next question, which turns out to be even worse somehow. “Would you say you disliked each other?”
Oliver opens his mouth, then hesitates. “Uh, I mean, that’s a pretty strong statement.” Can she tell that he’s lying? Is his guilt written all over his face? Can she tell that he absolutely hated Marshall, hated everything that made Marshall who he was?
“I talked to a few of your mutuals, and they all said there was no love lost between you and Marshall.”
Their mutuals? Who the hell are their mutuals? Oliver and Marshall have never run in the same circles. Oliver has always been too much of a loser to even come close to Marshall’s circle. But maybe that’s just it. Maybe Officer Gray has meticulously called up their old high school friends one by one and asked what Marshall and Oliver’s relationship was like. And if that’s the case, then things are going to be bad for Oliver. He can just imagine what Marshall’s buddies would say about him. Did say about him back in high school.
He’s a creep.
A loser, always following Marshall around like a stalker.
He was so in love with Julia, anyone could see it, the way he watched her.
He’s got serious American Psycho vibes.
As though she can read his thoughts, Officer Gray says, “Let’s talk about Julia Chen. You were really close to her when you were teens.”
It’s not a question as much as it is a statement, and Oliver has no idea how to respond to that. Yes? No? I don’t know? So he chooses to say nothing.
“In fact, you had really strong feelings for her, didn’t you?”
His blood pressure is now so high that Oliver is somewhat surprised that he hasn’t yet popped a vein. “Um, no?” he ventures. “I mean, we were just friends.”
At that, Officer Gray’s expression changes, morphing from neutral to a sharp grin that reminds him of a shark that’s just caught the scent of blood in the water. “Funny you should say that, because according to this”—she pauses long enough to take something out of her bag; it falls onto the table with a loud thump—“you were madly in love with her.”
The world opens up beneath him and he falls through an endless hole. From afar, he can hear Officer Gray saying, “This is your manuscript, is it not? David is you, Randall is Marshall, and Aurelia is Julia. Randall’s a bit of a dick in here, and David’s jealous of him and obsessed with Aurelia. His obsession remains even years after Randall marries her, because he believes Randall is mistreating Aurelia. One day, David decides it’s time to punish his twin brother. You remember how David did it?”
Oliver is yanked back to reality. “Huh?”
Officer Gray leans across the table and says each syllable carefully. “What did your character do to Randall?”
The words feel thick and fuzzy coming out of his mouth. “I think it’s time I consult with an attorney.”
Officer Gray leans back, nodding like she expected this all along. “Okay.”
“And, um, am I under arrest?”
She shakes her head.
“So I can . . . technically go?”
Officer Gray nods. “Yes, but trust me, it’s much better talking to us voluntarily than the alternative.”
“Right.” Oliver considers this. “I think I’ll go for now.”
Officer Gray stands and opens the door. “Don’t leave town.”
Outside, Oliver strides quickly away, wanting to put some distance between him and the police station. Once he turns the corner, he leans over and vomits.
Oh god. Did that really just happen? Was he just questioned inside an actual police station? Over the murder of his brother? How the hell has it come to this?
He hadn’t meant to do what he did to Marshall. He hadn’t thought it would end up like this.
And how did Officer Gray get ahold of his manuscript?