Chapter 41 The Hot Night

Chapter 41 The Hot Night

Detective Harris's POV

The only sound audible to my ears was the faint hum of the AC from the left end of the room. There was no noise—no silent whispers, no radio chatter, nor the constant clatter of the typist typing and printing on the typewriter.

Nobody was back from the burial home yet. All the officers were still out.

The station was dead quiet once again.

My thoughts were running wide.

I was still standing there, next to my table, letting the silence sink into my bones. It weighed on me so heavily—but nothing felt heavier than trying to unsee the things my brain had deliberately singled out as odd.

I hissed and walked back to my desk slowly and dropped into my chair like my body had finally given up. It could have.

The chair creaked under my weight as I leaned back and stared straight ahead into the empty space.

My mind wasn’t in the office anymore. It was back in that interrogation room, where I sat across from Zoey, replaying the reason she gave—the reason she refused to leave, or rather, why she couldn’t stop working for Charlie even after seeing all the signs of everything that could have gone wrong.

“I couldn't leave. It wasn't that easy to just walk away from Charlie just like that.” I remembered how she'd said this to me.

“He held me down. He made sure I couldn't leave even if I wanted to.” I remembered how calm her voice sounded when she said this, like she had already accepted her prison.

She didn’t cry. She didn’t beg. She just explained. And that explanation… it didn’t sit well with me. It ran too deep, and everything about her confession felt too ugly, too deliberate to be brushed aside.

“I’ve worked for him for over seven years,” Zoey had said.

I remembered nodding slowly and maintaining the calmest of expressions just to make her feel safe enough to want to talk to me… to tell me everything I wanted to know.

Seven years! That's really a long time—at least long enough to know someone’s habits. Long enough to notice patterns, to have learnt about the pros and cons

I remembered thinking back then, nothing good lasts that long without damage.

Indeed stupid things must have happened in that period.

Zoey at some point didn't seem to be hiding anything from me. The way I perceived it was as if she was open enough, she told me everything just like I wanted to hear them.

“During my first two years working as a secretary at Charlie's company, I'd fallen in love with his partner.” I remembered lifting my head up sharply at that point… it almost sounded like a twist I didn't expect.

I’ve heard of employees falling in love with their boss, but rarely have I heard of anyone falling in love with her boss’s friend.

It made me want to question a lot of things, but that wasn’t necessary. The story she told was important, and as far as I was concerned, it was the only thing I had to work with at the end of the day.

I was surprised at first, I could even remember how I'd suddenly asked her, “Charlie’s partner?”

Zoey nodded. “Yes, also his best friend.” Her voice had dropped lower. She must have noticed the detachment in my tone.

Zoey explained that sometimes—most times—she dressed up deliberately and prayed that Charlie’s friend would show up at the office, just so she could walk past him, even if they barely looked in each other’s direction.

She looked embarrassed when she was saying all of this…she even seemed to be sorry for herself for just remembering it.

“I didn’t know how to speak up. I wasn’t that type. I only had it in my mind that I was deeply into this stranger-guy, but I didn't even know how to go about it… I'd no idea what I was supposed to say even if I finally decided to meet him.” she'd said.

“I didn’t know he noticed me too. I thought it was all in my head. I swear, I thought I was just making up ugly scenarios in my head…and it'll never happen.” I remembered the bitterness in her smile as she recalled every single moment.

“But he noticed me. He did say me and my extra dressing, polished makeup and the way I was always smiling around the office the second I learn he's around,” she added quietly.

“He had been watching me too. I think he loved me too.” She'd suddenly laughed as she kept talking about it. It was as though the memory made her feel good all at once.

I shifted slightly in my seat just by remembering everything right now.

I just thought that maybe recalling everything like this might help me catch a point I missed… something that could serve as the clue I’ve been looking for.

Sometimes, we don’t catch clues during the interrogation. It’s only after everything is over, during that one moment of rough reflection, that we finally notice the point we’ve been seeking.

On that day, Zoey didn't hesitate before telling me about the incident with her boss's friend.

“It was raining that night, and everyone had already gone home. But I stayed back to finish some documentation since I wouldn't get a dab under such heavy rain.” She’d paused, she looked at me to see if I was following, of course I was.

“Then he showed up.”

“Who showed up?” I remembered the way I'd asked sharply like I didn't want to miss a word.

“Thomas! Charlie's friend… the same one I was crushing on.” She continued, “He said he came to see Charlie” I remembered frowning. “At that hour?” I'd suddenly cut her off.

Zoey nodded slowly. “I thought it was strange too.”

I hadn't stopped her, I let her continue.

“One thing led to another,” Zoey whispered, her voice suddenly dropped low at that moment.

I remembered the way she looked away when she narrated how she found herself moving closer to Thomas.

He hadn't stopped her and even when she thought about stopping herself, she figured out Thomas was equally into her, and it's like the universe had intentionally put them in that room in that hour, for that purpose.

Zoey during her interrogation process kept emphasizing on how fast everything had happened.

She didn’t even realize when they had pulled themselves into Charlie’s office, onto his large center table. She’d lain there, and they had fucked so hard that night… she thought she had never experienced anything like it before.

“Before I could think properly… it had already gone too far,” she whispered. I remembered how the room had suddenly fallen silent—no shouting, no drama. Just shame, thick in the air.

She'd looked into my eyes, tears welling up, and said, “We had sex in Charlie’s office that night.”