Blythe Tatum expected her freshman year at university to be nerve-wracking, though nothing out of the ordinary. The beginning of her school year starts off as averagely as possible, though Blythe soon finds herself caught up in an unexpected and ine...
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The woman across from me leans back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest as she cuts her gaze over to where I am seated. She holds my stare as the last few seconds of Jacob's confession tape plays, the sound of my shaky voice filling the silence around me. When the recording cuts off she clears her throat, the badge on her chest nearly blinding me as the lights from up above reflect on the metal.
"This is interesting," Officer Goulding admits, raising her eyebrows in astonishment. "The boy in question certainly fits the description of what we assume the killer's demographics to be. Care to explain how you know the suspect?"
"He was my boyfriend," I admit in a weak tone.
"I see." Officer Goulding nods. Though she keeps her expression neutral, pity gleams in her dark eyes. "Has he exhibited signs of violence before?"
I tuck my hair behind my ear, clearly revealing my bruised eye. "A few times."
"What led you to believe he could be the person we're looking for?" Officer Goulding continues her interrogation.
I hold her dark-eyed stare as I launch into my explanation, excluding the visions I had experienced of the night Naomi died. I feel no need to share this information with her, as she would no doubt question my credibility if she heard I was reliving the past—more specifically, of memories that don't belong to me. The last thing I want to happen now is to end up in a psych ward.
"A friend of mine, Zach, saw Jacob with Naomi the night she died. Jacob was the last to be seen with her before her body was found. He'd already been exhibiting abusive behavior when Zach told me what he knew, so I'd already been suspicious of Jacob. I guess Zach's confession allowed me to see things at face value. I started looking into Jacob's past, and . . . I suppose you know the rest."
Officer Goulding nods as she listens to my explanation, studying me so closely I feel as if she can somehow see right through me and into my soul. "Can you explain the signs of abusive behavior the suspect displayed?"
"It wasn't obvious at first," I admit. "Though it's clear looking back in hindsight. There was a lot of toxic communication. He would talk me into spending time with him instead of allowing me to focus on the things that were important to me, and if I didn't agree to do what he wanted he would get really passive aggressive. Extremely emotionally manipulative. A lot of jealousy, too. It got to a point where he threatened me over hanging out with a friend of mine, because he was a male. We got into an argument about that which ended up with bruises lining my arm and Jacob shattering my phone. The next time he spotted me with that friend, he gave me this black eye. Then I got him on tape threatening my life. I also met with an ex-girlfriend of his, Daya Washington. She actually has a restraining order against him, which was set in place for domestic violence and sexual assault."
"And you think he's capable of that?" Officer Goulding presses. "Taking a life?"
I sit thoughtfully for a moment. "I do," I confess in a whisper. "If you would have asked me that question a few months ago, I would have laughed at you. But now . . . Yes, I think he is more than capable. It's terrifying, in all honesty. How good he is at hiding his darkness. He's a sociopath. I think his problems run deeper, maybe psychologically. I mean, you heard him yourself. He even admitted to killing a childhood pet. It's as if he has nothing going on under the surface. No remorse. No guilt."
