Josie's Chronicle

Chapter 14: Nope, it Wasn't a mistake.

        The first thing Joe noticed when entering the room, was how cold it was and the brown box on the table, labeled "evidence".
"Have a seat sir. This will take a while."

     Another detective entered the room, a man in a dark Grey suit. He introduced himself as Detective Oliver Stone, and sat down. He opened the file on the table and placed four pictures in front of Joe. The first one was of a bloodied shoe. The second was of a torn dress, that had blood on the collar. The next was of pieces of a cellphone. The fourth was of tire tracks.
   "I'm the lead investigator on your missing person case, here in Pinello County. We've discovered a possible connection with another case and we need your assistance." 
   The tone of Det. Stone's voice caused Joe to relaxed a bit. He knew now that the man was in charge.

  No one said anything for a moment. Then Sgt Knight spoke. "Do you recognize any of these things pictured here sir?"

     Joe sighed deeply. He recognized the dress and the shoe, but wasn't certain about how to answer because he didn't want to be a suspect or a damn person of interest.

      Detective Stone spoke. "Take your time sir. We know this isn't easy."

     Sgt. Knight pushed the pictures closer to Joe who sat back in the chair as far as he possibly could from the table without physically moving the chair.
  
     Joe stared at the picture of the dress. It was the one Wilamina had been wearing on that last day. And the shoes had been a wedding gift from his dad.

    Joe coughed. He placed his hand on the picture of the shoe, slowly tracing the outline with his finger. She'd loved those shoes and had only worn them twice in twenty years. It made sense to him that she would have taken them with her when she'd walked away from home.
  
    "Sir," Det. Stone's voice drawing Joe's gaze towards him. "You recognize them don't you. Those things were found along the road about ten miles from your place. Do you recognize the phone pieces? We need to know if it's connected to your wife's disappearance."

      The words seemed to reverberate around the room, "wife's disappearance".

    "It's her dress. She was wearing it the day she went missing, but the shoes..." His voice trailed off. He was surprised by the sadness he felt. He picked up the picture of the dress and stared at it trying to imagine what had happened to her.
   "She almost never wore those shoes. They were special to her, so much so that I never thought to look for them at all. They were a wedding gift from my parents. They were hand stitched and prayed over." Joe looked up at the detectives. "They were to make her feel like dancing for joy and walking in love for always."
He placed the pictures on top of each other and turned them face down on the table.

     Sgt. Knight spoke again, in a tone that felt to Joe as haughtiness, "Sir, the cellphone has been destroyed. We haven't been able to get any information from it, except your fingerprints. I'm with the Oscarville County Sheriff's Dept. I'm investigating a shooting that involves your daughter."

     "Shooting?" Joe said, speaking the word slowly. "My daughter?"
This was all too much at once. Joe stood up adjusted his hat and walked out of the room. The warmth of the hallway allowed him to think a little  clearer. He leaned against the wall. He needed a cigarette. He patted the breast pocket of his shirt and looked toward the room he'd just walked out of and caught a glimpse of two uniformed officers standing at the end of the hallway.

     Sgt. Knight was now standing in the doorway. "Please come back inside Sir. We need your help and some answers to questions we need to address before ending this meeting."

      Joe stood looking at the woman who was, in his eyes, out of place. She was wearing a dark blue suit. It looked a lot like a man's suit. He looked down at her shoes which were not feminine in any way, again in his opinion.

"What questions? Ask me the most pressing one and I'll answer it as truthfully as possible. Like I said before, I've got things to do."

    Sgt. Knight took a step outside of the doorway and nodded to the two officers at the end of the hallway. They began to walk towards the room.
She looked directly at Joe. "I want to know why your daughter would say that if anything has happened to her mother, you're the responsible party. Why does your daughter place the blame singularly on you, sir?"

    Joe was angry now and didn't even pretend not to be. He placed an unlit cigarette in his mouth and said the words he'd come to regret later,  "Cuz that bitch and her mother never knew their place. I tried to teach her, but her mother always shielded her from my direction. So when her mother interfered, I mete out the punishment to her. But, I'm no wife beater. I just needed them to remember their place in this world."
   He looked at the men around him, seeking validation. None of them offered any sign of agreement.
   Joe looked at Sgt. Knight, who also showed no sign of anything either way. He tucked the cigarette back into the pack in his pocket and turned around, hands behind his back. "Go 'head and arrest me. It's what you're gonna do anyway."

    As much as Sgt. Knight wanted to see him in cuffs and behind bars, they didn't have enough to get it done just yet. She waved off the uniformed officers and stepped aside. " Come sit down sir. There's a lot more to get through."

      "I think I need an attorney. " Joe said, placing his phone on the table. "I think you're trying to pin all of the misfortune on my doorstep," Joe said, opening his phone.

    "Sir, just to be clear. Everything changes once an attorney gets involved. We no longer have a say in how to help you." Det. Stone was now standing.

Joe had forgotten the man's name.
He no longer felt safe with him.
Joe pushed the speaker button on his phone, "Hey, I need an attorney. I'm at the police station." He closed his phone and smiled at them. "I may not know my rights, but I do watch television. "