“I can’t help you if you keep lying to me,” Spenser cut her off. “You have this one opportunity to help yourself by being honest with me.”
She shook her head. “I honestly have no clue what you’re talking about. I was completely in the dark about Seth’s affairs until you told me about these videos you say he made.”
Spenser sighed as she flipped open the file sitting on the table in front of her. She pulled out the first page—a still photo from Seth’s interior camera. She set it down on the table then sat back in silence as Layla’s eyes took it in. After a moment, she raised her gaze and gave Spenser a shrug.
“What is this?” she asked.
“This is a still image taken from the video clip we found in Seth’s cloud,” Spenser said. “This particular video clip is from a fight you and Seth had in his living room. It was a fight you two had right after you found out about his infidelity.”
“That’s not—”
“The video has audio, Layla. You can’t lie to me anymore because we heard everything. You knew he was cheating, and this video is of you confronting him about it. It’s indisputable. So, please, just stop trying.”
She crossed her arms and sat back in her chair, her face inscrutable. Spenser could see the woman’s wheels turning. Spenser took another few sheets of paper out of the folder and set them down beside the still image.
“And these are text exchanges you had with Seth. These further confirm that you knew about his cheating,” Spenser said. “More than that, you threaten his life in these texts.”
The transformation from scared, nervous girl into rage-filled predator was so sudden and so complete, Spenser was stunned. She was left speechless for a moment as she stared at Layla, realizing she’d misjudged her yet again. This was not the same woman she’d first met.
Layla sat across the table looking at Spenser, her teeth bared in a smug sneer wrapped in an air of superiority. It was like some switch had been flipped inside of her and suddenly, Layla looked like a killer. A woman who thought she was untouchable. A woman who not only knew she’d committed the crime that had brought her into the office to begin with but had the arrogance to believe she was going to get away with it.
“Those are just words, Sheriff. I was angry and sent them in the heat of the moment. Nothing more,” she said with a casual dismissal.
“Layla, you—”
“Can you understand what it’s like to find out somebody you’ve given your entire heart and soul to has been making a fool of you? Can you imagine what it’s like to find out the man you thought was the love of your life has been screwing half the state behind your back? Do you even know what that kind of betrayal is like, Sheriff? Have you ever suffered that kind of humiliation?”
“I don’t,” Spenser admitted. “But as bad I imagine it must be, I’d still never murder somebody over it.”
“Murder? I didn’t murder anybody.”
Spenser brought out the still photo of the figure in black slipping through the gate at Hamill’s house and set it down, tapping on it to make her point.
“This is you, Layla,” Spenser said.
Layla picked the photo up and made a point of looking at it before dropping it to the table with an expression of utter disdain on her face.
“Is it?” she asked. “I can’t see a face, so I couldn’t tell you if that’s me or not. Perhaps more importantly, you can’t tell me that it is.”
“Actually, I can. I have an eyewitness who puts you at Seth’s house when this photo was captured by Seth’s surveillance cameras.”
She shrugged. “Maybe. But I come and go from his place all the time. I have my own key. So, even if this is me, and I’m not saying it is, I’m sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for me being at Seth’s house since I’m his girlfriend and have access to his home…access given to me by Seth himself.”
Layla leaned forward, clasping her hands together on the table in front of her with that arrogant sneer still on her face.
“I’m not sure why you think I had anything to do with Seth’s death,” Layla said. “I’m heartbroken, Sheriff. I loved him. I really did.”
“You know, for a long time as I was investigating this case, I couldn’t figure something out. A few things, to be honest. But something kept bugging me and it took me a while to figure out what it was. And when that snapped into place, I was sure, without a doubt, that you killed Seth. Do you want me to tell you what that thing was?”
“I’m on tenterhooks with anticipation.”
“Well, what belatedly occurred to me was that whoever laced Seth’s steroids had to be intimately familiar with the layout of his house. The murderer had to know where he kept his steroids. Had to know about the hidden refrigerator in his studio,” Spenser said. “When that hit me, I figured it couldn’t have been any of his clients since he hid the fact that he was juicing from them. And those who did find out likely weren’t very close to him, which meant they likely couldn’t have known where he kept his stash. I doubted it was any of his music contacts, because… why? Likewise, I was sure it couldn’t have been any of the dozens of women he had an affair with. No, it had to be somebody with intimate knowledge of the man. Somebody who was closer to him than anybody.”
“That’s an interesting theory, Sheriff.”
“It’s a little more than a theory.”
“Is it?”
“Yes. It is.”
“I don’t think it is. Do you know why?”
“I’m on tenterhooks with anticipation.”
The corner of Layla’s mouth flickered upward at having her words thrown back in her face. She leaned forward and held Spenser’s gaze firmly as she spoke.
“I know it’s just a theory and that you don’t have anything backing it up because I’m not in handcuffs right now,” she said coolly. “If you had anything to prove these allegations, I would be in a cell right now. But since I’m not, it’s reasonable to assume that you’re just blowing smoke.”
“That’s an interesting theory.”
“Shall we test it then?”
Layla got to her feet and looked down at Spenser with a malicious gleam in her eye. She looked like she was doing her best to keep from laughing out loud. Spenser just sat there looking at her, jaw clenched, absolutely impotent to do anything to stop the woman from leaving.
“Since you’re not making a move to cuff me, I’ll assume I’m not under arrest,” she chirped. “And since I’m not under arrest, I’m going to exercise my right to leave.”
“This isn’t over. I am coming for you,” Spenser said weakly.
