White As A Lie

18: Truth

Chief Burke looked at the second knife with nearly the same amount of surprise as myself.

"Take these in, get me fingerprints. Test the blood that's on these knives." Chief Burke looked at me. "You're coming with me, son."

As of this exact moment, they didn't have me pinned on anything. The second they get those checked for fingerprints, however, they would. I decided I would surrender while I was on top.

I walked with Burke to his police car after he slapped some cuffs on me and we drove to the station.

One of the first faces I saw was Crystal's, and boy was she shocked.

"Chief?" She asked.

"We found evidence at his house, buried out back." Burke said with a smug look, like he always knew it was me and it had taken him years just to find me.

"Evidence of what?"

"Murder, Ms. O'Quinn. Murder."

I glanced at her, but she wasn't looking at me. Chief Burke led me to a large room with just a table and two chairs. He sat on one side, and I sat on the other.

"Mr. McCain... if you have anything you want to say, now would be the time to say it."

I remained silent.

"If the blood on those knives matches who I think they'll match, you will  go to jail. You have nothing to say?"

I shifted uncomfortably. "I'd like to...confess." Chief Burke straightened as I spoke. "To everyone." I eyed him.

He looked back at me. "Powell," he called to the man on the other side of the glass.

"Yes, sir?" Powell responded.

"Get O'Quinn."

"Yes, sir."

We waited in silence until Crystal walked slowly in the room. "I... I-" I started.

"Sir? We found fingerprints-"

"Shh!" Burke snapped at the man who interrupted. "Go on, Nolan."

I looked around the room, not for anything in particular. Then my eyes made contact with the knives and the gun. "I...robbed Xander's Sandwiches." I said first. Crystal's face went pale. I think she saw what was coming. "I needed money. Even just a little. I needed it for food...bills...not that it helped much..." I felt so guilty taking Crystal's money, and I felt bad spending it. It's like I robbed her, too.

The next one I didn't want to say. I took a deep, shaky breath.

"I-" Gosh, it's hard confessing to things you've denied for so long. "I killed Alton O'Quinn." I glanced at Crystal. She covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face. "He knew I robbed Xander's Sandwiches, and I got scared when he threatened to tell. He had done it already, but I didn't know that then. I came by his house, planning to talk to him... I lost control...he pulled his gun on me...I freaked out..." I wasn't looking at Crystal anymore. It hurt to see her hurt. "I stabbed him in a moment's panic..."

It was silent except for Crystal's sobs that rose and relaxed every few seconds.

"And... I...I...I k-killed my wife, Nicole." I broke into tears. Chief Burke waited patiently, the only one with dry eyes in the room. I put my head in my hands as I went on. "I l-left out a v-very crucial d-detail when I told y-you about that night..." I wasn't sure if they understood what I had said since it was between sobs and muffled in my hands. "Nicole had gotten up late that n-night. About 11:20. She was still upset about not getting the promotion. I got up to calm her down, she was making such a ruckus.

"She thought I was making it out to not be a big deal, her coworker getting the promotion over her. I tried to convince her that's not what I was saying. See, when she got upset, she became physically angry. She began hitting me, then she grabbed a knife off of our rack. I wrestled the knife out of her hands, and...and-"

"You stabbed her out of fear for your own life." Burke spoke.

I nodded. "I stabbed her. I stabbed her in the stomach and she fell limply into my arms. The rack was still in her reach, so when I saw her begin to reach for another, I stabbed her the second time, in the back...

"I put her down in the living room and quickly buried the knife in the backyard, then went back to bed. I didn't know what to do." I closed my eyes. "Our neighbor must've heard our scuffle and called the police or something..."

Chief Burke looked at the man who came in with the knives and gun. "Well?"

"This gun has Alton O'Quinn's fingerprints, as well as Mr. McCain's. Both knives have Mr. McCain's fingerprints, however this one has Alton's blood and this has Mrs. McCain's."

Chief Burke nodded. "Thank you. And thank you, Nolan." He left the room, and Crystal began following.

"Crystal, please." I said before she could leave. "I'm so sorry. You were right all along."

She shook her head. "No, Mr. McCain. You're worse than I thought." Then she left.

***
At my trial, I pleaded guilty, which I was deemed and was sentenced to life in prison.

"Well, what do you want your last meal to be?" Chief Burke asked me.

I thought about it for a minute. "Chili." I said.

"Chili?" Burke asked. "In April?"

I nodded. "It was the last meal I had with Nicole."

"Chili it is." He said and told the guards. I finished my chili a while later, then told the guards I was done. "You ready?" I nodded.

I slipped into the dark green jumpsuit and let Chief Burke put handcuffs on me as he escorted me to my jail cell.

"Chief?" I said before he could close the door.

"Yes?"

"Do you have kids?"

He smiled warmly. "Twin girls."

"How old?"

"Just turned ten."

I smiled. "What are their names?"

"Diana and Fiona."

I smiled a little. "That's nice."

"I'm sorry, McCain." He said.

I nodded, but my smile was fading. "I'm ready now, Chief."

He nodded. "Okay, son." He reached for the barred door and closed it tight.

I turned around in my cell and looked out the window that was high on the wall at the gray sky above.