Chapter 15 It was the burner!
Ariel
Three days after the scandal broke the internet, due to the severity of the allegations and the fact that Richard was still nowhere to be found, obviously, I received a call from Jonas telling me the one thing I've been dreading since the night I pulled that trigger on Richard. “The authorities want to talk to you.”
“What?”
“It’s just a formality. They’re talking to people that have had direct contact with him in the past as well as the company executives. It’s absolutely voluntary, which means you don’t need to talk to them if you don’t want to.”
I felt the panic rise in my chest despite his latter statement. If I don't want to? Of course I don't want to but what if because of that, they start to suspect me? Then they investigate me and find out that I'm in fact the reason they haven’t seen him till now.
“Ariel? Are you still there?” Yup, just weighing the pros and cons of what might happen if I decide to elope to a different country now.
“Yes.”
“Do you want to talk to them? I’ll have our company lawyers accompany you if that will make you feel safer.”
“Uhm… I don't… I don't know.”
“You can think about it and also don’t have to do it, as i already said, so…”
“Okay.”
I paced around the minute we ended the call.
After hours of thinking about it and realizing that there was still no way I could contact these guys to figure out what I should do, I decided finally to talk to the cops. Or more accurately, lie to them. What was the worst that could happen? I end up in jail. But would I really end up in my jail if there was no body or concrete evidence? And for some reason, I had a feeling those killer guys were not going to just let me go down like this after all.
Without thinking much about it again, I picked up my phone to call Jonas and told him to prepare the lawyers on standby.
On getting to the company, I wasn't surprised to see reporters and paparazzi loitering around. “Oh my God, is that Ariel?!” I heard one of them announce as I stepped out from the car Jonas had sent from the company to pick me up and I bent my head slightly as two security guards came down from the car to lead me into the building.
Do you know anything about the allegations against Richard Kingsley?!
When was the last time you spoke to Richard?!
How do you think this scandal might affect your career?!
Were you ever molested by the perpetrator?!
“Hey.” I glanced up at Jonas, who rushed forward to meet me in the lobby the minute we got in. "Are you okay?” I nodded, already tired of hearing myself lie out loud. “Where are they?”
“In the lounge on the executive floor. I’ve also arranged for the lawyers you requested to be on standby. Do you need anything else?”
“No,” I shook my head. “Let's just get this over with.
The detectives were nicer than I expected when I walked in. Two men, both dressed in black with notepads in their hand that made me more nervous. “Hi, Miss Bennett; my name is John and this is my partner, Harry. As your manager might have told you, this is just protocol to flesh out details and figure out the whereabouts of the CEO, so you don't need to say or respond to anything you don't want to.”
I nodded my head.
“Okay, let's start with your recent world tour. It was a success, right? Before you had to cancel it due to your illness, what was the diagnosis again?”
“Lupus.”
“Right. The last show you held before you had to cancel was in Milan, right?”
I nodded. “Did you happen to see Richard Kingsley during your stay there or around that period?”
It took a minute before I responded. “Yes.”
“Yes?” They perked up.
“Yes. I had noticed that my condition was getting worse and needed to discuss with him what would happen to the show. We had to take into consideration the investors, fans and my health. You know, weigh the higher con between breaking down completely if I went on with the show and cancelling the show. Obviously, we went with… cancelling the show."
Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have added all that. The first sentence was okay.
"Oh," they took some notes.
“And where did you guys meet to discuss this?”
“The hotel where I was lodged.”
“Did you meet him alone?”
“No, he was with his PA, Louise."
“Oh. Did you happen to meet him again after that?”
“No.”
“That was the last time you met him?”
I nodded, my heart pounding in my throat. Can they tell I'm lying?
“Okay.” They took some more notes, my anxiety growing by the minute.
“One more question, and I'm sorry if you find this offensive…” I fidgeted with my hands, already having an idea what that last question might be. “... but did Richard ever molest you or make you do anything you don't want to do?”
The silence was loud as I contemplated my answer to that question. I should say no, of course, to corroborate my story but for a millisecond, I was tempted to just let it all out but for what purpose? I already killed him.
I shook my head. “No.”
“Are you sure?” It was the other detective who hadn't spoken until now and Detective John jabbed him with his arm.
“Yes.” I reiterated, though.
“Okay then. That'll be all.”
Jonas was waiting outside with Madison and Helen when I stepped outside. “Oh my God," the two girls rushed forward to hug me, their sentences overlapping each other.
“Are you okay?”
“What happened?”
“Where have you been?”
“Okay. Okay.” Jonas stepped forward to free me from their hugs and led me into the elevator to take me to the sixth floor. That was my studio floor. “We can do this later. What happened in there?”
“Nothing much. They just asked me when I last saw him.”
“Did they say anything about finding him?”
“Not yet but I don't think they have.”
We all stared at Jonas as he sighed, obviously distressed. “What is it?”
“I don't know but I think I was wrong about investors not letting their money go to waste. I heard they're all withdrawing due to the constant drop in stocks and revenue. It's even rumoured that Axel is already talking to another agency.”
“Oh my, should she do the same? The company is obviously sinking, and crazy shit keeps coming out," Madison chips in. “Like the rumours about the investors. I heard they're all in on Richard’s actions.”
Okay, that made my stomach clamp up and my palms become sweaty. What were these guys planning to do? Were they just going to leave me under the bus like this? And expect me not to bring them down with me…
I flinched when a message came in on my phone then.
Wait… I froze as I took out my phone and saw nothing on it. It wasn’t my phone. IT WAS THE BURNER.