Chill After Night Falls

白露 [2] / [4]

Without any breakthrough, Ed's interview ended. What Cynthia discovered was that there was video, as Violet said, but no proof of his crime. Simultaneously, there was no proof against Violet either.

Alexander handed Cynthia a cup of very strong espresso. There wasn't much to work with since Violet refused to officially report the rape. As for the petition against Ed, there was no obvious proof, only the insistence of one party against the other. Only statements.

"The only thing we can do now is to follow up with any witnesses who know them. For example, neighbors, coworkers. Relevant people who work at the hospital or any institution they frequently visited,"

Cynthia said.

"What about Ed's roommate?"

Alexander asked.

"I'm going to get in touch with him. I will persuade him to say something about both of them,"

Cynthia answered.

It occurred to Alexander's mind that Violet was banging Lucas in her bed, which Alexander also made love to Violet on, in her house. Her pattern seemed never to change. But he shouldn't say she is all full of lies either. They had to investigate it more, especially surrounding the persons of Ed and Violet. She wanted to come up with a solid game plan. He thought of an old adage, a piece of common wisdom that had stuck with him from long ago: a building without a solid foundation cannot stand.

Unfortunately for them, and the integrity of this case, they were teetering on a rickety foundation not worthy of the load it bears. On one hand, you have a hitherto respected colleague accused of unspeakable crimes against a woman who, on the other, has a history of duplicity, manipulation, and pathological dishonesty. An angel with horns. A devil with a halo. Neither of them ceding ground amidst a backdrop of scant, and conflicting, evidence that serves neither of them, and remains the only cornerstone, weak though it is, propping up the case.

Cynthia and Alexander had both worked cases in the past where evidence was degraded, was few and far between, or where the outcome of an investigation was uncertain. But neither of them had ever worked a case where they couldn't accurately parse victim from perpetrator.

They inquired here and there to find something about Ed, and did a lot of legwork amidst Ed's coworkers who have been pretty close to him. But none of them knew about Ed's private life. All they knew was that Ed had a girlfriend named Violet, not more than that.

Alexander took a sip of dark espresso in the office. The espresso was much stronger than he usually drank, but he was too distracted to notice the bitterness.