The Interrogation
The door to the interrogation room opened, a well-dressed woman and an equally well-dressed man stepping inside. Police badges could be clearly seen on their waists as they sat down at a lone table.
Already seated was an Asian man who was at least in his mid-30s. He wore a black turtleneck and black slacks, his hair slicked back and combed neatly.
"You know why we're here, right?" The woman asked, "Yes, this is about... him." The Asian man said, "So, shall we begin?" He asked the detectives. "We need you to start your name for the record." The female detective said to the Asian man, "Anthony Feretti. My father was Italian, guess he got yellow fever." Anthony joked.
"Right. Now, you can start by telling us his name. The name you know him by, at least." The male detective said.
"His name in full was Elias Ian Crowley. Someone once said his name sounded Amish, or like a name a serial killer would have. I laughed, I admit. It reminded me of the times he and I would laugh at his name too." Anthony told the detectives, "And his age?" The female detective asked, "The last time I saw him he was... maybe in his mid-30s. Thirty-three at the least. When we met he was twenty-nine." Anthony answered.
"Where was he from? Where did he tell you he was from?" The male detective asked Anthony, writing in his notepad as he listened to and occasionally looked up at Anthony. "He had a nice accent. I asked him where he was from, he said he was Welsh and from Cardiff. We had plans to go there one day." Anthony said to the detectives.
"Can you give us a physical description?" The male detective asked.
"Where do I start? Elias was tall, somewhat muscular. You could tell he kept himself in shape. He never said he was, but I assume he was in the military before. It would explain a lot about his body." Anthony said, "Anyways, I remember his blue eyes and olive skin clearly. His almost brown, almost red hair. I think it was close to auburn, might have been darker. He didn't have any tattoos or scars that I could remember, at least none that really stood out." The man continued.
"And, what kind of man was Elias to you? Tell us a bit about the man you were with." The female detective said to Anthony, watching him closely.
Anthony remained silent for a moment, clearly taking some time to think about what he was going to say. How he'd best describe Elias accurately.
"Elias wasn't the kind of man who seemed very approachable at first. He was quiet, reserved. Stoic, that's a word I read that fit him to a T. But, in truth he was a kind man. An honest man." Anthony told the detectives.
"That's what I liked him about him, he was a man of integrity. I can't count just how many times I've seen him jump in to help someone, to console someone who was feeling down." He continued, "But, he had his flaws, of course. Sometimes he seemed apathetic, he spent more time working than he did with me. by choice, at that. He wouldn't really open up much or he'd avoid me asking about him. It was frustrating." Anthony admitted.
"So, you never got him to discuss his past? Talk to you about his life before you met?" The female detective asked Anthony, "Oh, I got him to speak. We wouldn't had a relationship if he didn't speak to me." Anthony answered.
"But, Elias didn't tell me much about his life, but he did say he grew up in Cardiff all of his life. His mother was an immigrant to the United Kingdom from Scandinavia." Anthony said, "I think... he said she was from... Sweden. His father was purebred Welsh. Elias implied that his father moved to Cardiff for work, so he might be from another part of the country or something." Anthony informed the detectives.
"What else?" The male detective asked.
"He told me that his mother was a Jazz singer, how she had dreams of travelling the world and performing with her family in the audience cheering her along. I wish I could have met her. He spoke so fondly of her and her aspirations, I could tell that she was a big inspiration for him to live as he did." Anthony answered, letting a smile creep onto his face.
"How exactly did he live? How did his mother want him to live?" The female detective asked Anthony.
"She wanted him to live as a kindred spirit, to do the very best he could in life. His father was the reason he was strong and quiet, but he was also the reason why Elias would risk his life for another. For a stranger. A commoner all his life, Elias' father saw the need for a protector of the weak and the poor." Anthony said.
"It was very noble if you ask me." He continued.
"My darling Elias took up the cause when his father passed away when he was younger. I think he said his father died when he was seventeen. He was still in school, I know that much." Anthony said to the detectives.
"His father died in an accident at the factory where he worked. A few machines went haywire, sparked fires and knocked all types of harmful things all over the place." Anthony told the detectives, "Elias said his father died after inhaling smoke when he stayed back to search for others who might have been trapped."
"And his mother?" The female detective asked, "His mother died more recently, around the time we met, I think. She had come to America to pursue her singing career some time after Elias' father died. Elias stayed in Wales with his father's relatives to pursue his schooling there with his friends." Anthony answered.
"You believe all of this?" The male detective asked, "I believe Elias didn't do what people are saying he did. I believe if he lied to me at all he did it for a good reason." Anthony answered.
"We loved each other." Anthony said, "Have you two ever loved someone?" Anthony asked the detectives, "I have." The female detective answered, "But, I also know that sometimes the person you love isn't always the person you're living with." The detective continued.
"Crowley killed those people. We know he did. If he didn't, he should come out of hiding and bring us proof. And you should tell us where he is." The male detective said to Anthony, "I don't know where he is." Anthony retorted.
The male detective lunged forward, grabbing Anthony by the neck. "I get real frustrated at this bullshit. Protecting the lover when you know they've done wrong. If that was your family and friends dead you'd be singing like a canary. Gay or not, I'll smack the shit out of you. That's equally opportunity police brutality!"
"Hendricks!" The female detective said to her partner, her shouting forcing him to let go of Anthony. Moments later the door to the interrogation room swung open. An older man in a suit stepping in, "Hendricks, Nappi, I want to see you in my office. Now." The man said, walking away immediately.
The detectives stood up from their seats, Hendricks giving Anthony a dirty look before he followed Nappi out of the room.
