Mae broke eye contact with Randy and her eyes lowered to stare at her feet, her mouth was pressed in a thin line and for a second I thought I saw her jaw quiver.
"Why don't we tell Kane and..." Randy glanced up at me questioningly, an eyebrow raised.
"Riley."
"Riley. I'm sure they would love to hear what really happened that night. As would I, I have my suspicions but I want to hear you say it." His glare was enough to crumble anyone into the dirt, he was a man on a mission, a man that wanted answers. I could see his jaw clench in the moonlight as he waited for her to speak.
"Not talking, hm? Why don't I start." Randy uncrosses his arms and puts them on his hips, leaning forward slightly to get Mae's attention. However, she still wont look up at him.
"Back in high school, Emily was the most important person in my life. I'm not sure how, or why, but Mae took it upon herself to start telling everyone that I was abusing Emily." He lets out a dry laugh that sends a shiver down my spine.
"That night of the party, Emily and I did get into a small argument. She thought I was flirting with another girl, when I was talking one of my friends up so she would go talk to the shy bastard. Leave it to Mae to blow it out of proportion when she came over and SLAPPED ME!"
He was pacing in front of her now, eyes ablaze with frustration at the memory while he waves his arms in the air. I glance at Kane who was staring at Mae, I couldn't decipher the emotion on his face.
"Of course I got mad, of course I wanted to leave and take Emily with me. Because of you riling her up with your nonsense and getting her all emotional she wouldn't listen to me! So I took her home and yes we continued to argue. That woman was being irrational, so I left. I left so I could go home and cool down and come back in the morning."
He paused and I glanced up at him, my heart broke when I saw a single tear run down his masculine face. My eyes started to prickle and I blinked several times trying to keep them back.
"That was the worst mistake of my life. If I would have stayed with her she would still be here." He jabbed a finger into his chest again and his voice broke. "We always came back to one another and I didn't come back!"
He ran his hands down his face as he turned away from her and walked a few steps away, hands on his hips again he stood still with his head bowed. I turned back to look at Kane as I cleared my throat to get his attention.
"Aimee said she knew you had shown up to Emily's house, tell me your story." I encouraged him softly, since Mae still wasn't talking. I'm not even sure if she was listening, she hasn't moved or made any noise since Randy started speaking. Just sitting there staring at her shoes like they were suddenly the most interesting thing in this field.
Kane looked back and forth between Randy and Mae before rubbing his hands together in front of him, he exhaled loudly causing a cloud to form in front of his face. We all seemed to have forgotten we were standing in soaking wet clothes while it was forty degrees outside, probably due to the adrenaline.
"Aimee probably told you I had a crush on Emily." He said with his chin tucked to his chest, he threw a hesitant glance at Randy's back before continuing.
"I had asked her out once before, while her and Randy were on a break and she rejected me. Not harshly, but still. That night I had decided to ask her again, and to my defense someone had thrown out a rumor saying you two were broken up so don't even give me that look." Kane held his hand up to Randy, who had thrown a fierce glare over his shoulder at him.
"I went to the party but someone said she had already left, so I went by her house. When I got there the door was open and I saw Mae sitting beside her, crying and using her hands to try and stop the bleeding. She had already called 911." He finishes his story softly as Randy turns back around, completely composed. He stands in front of Mae again and looks down at her, cocking his head to the side.
"You know what that means, Mae?" He asks in a condescending tone. She doesn't answer, surprise surprise, so he continues. He squats down, lowering himself to her level and forces eye contact. She seems to snap out of the daze she was in and squints her eyes at him.
"That means Emily was alive when I left and she was dead when Kane got there. Unless there was some other person in the picture that means you were the only one there when she was murdered. I'm well aware there was quite a bit of evidence acquired against Kane, and for a while I was pretty angry that he was suddenly let off the hook. But after spending several months with him I've come to the conclusion that he would never be able to kill anyone, it takes a special kind of person. Someone crazy. Someone like you."
"I didn't do it." She says flatly, her voice is calm but I can see her breathing heavier than a few minutes ago.
"Then enlighten us, Mae. On who did." It was Kane's voice I was hearing now, which surprised me.
"I already told you, it was HIM!" She nodded her head sharply in Randy's direction as she started tugging at the restraints on her wrists. I see Randy take a deep breath before reaching out and grabbing Mae roughly by the chin, forcing her to look at him. Kane takes a protective step forwards but hesitates before stepping back.
"You can try to convince them I did it, but I know I didn't. So we can sit out here all night if needed, but I've waited years for this and I want answers." He lets go of her chin but he doesn't move.
"I don't remember..." She stares straight ahead at him, still wiggling her wrists back and forth against the hard plastic.
"You're a damn liar!" He shouts in her face and she flinches backwards, Kane steps in and puts his hand on Randy's shoulder. Randy stands up quickly and shrugs off Kane's hand with a glower in his direction.
"You know what I think?" Randy spits, his jaw is clenched again and I find myself praying for his teeth. He's shuffling back and forth in front of her, never taking his eyes off her position on the wet ground.
"I think you got there after I left, I think something happened between you two. What was it Mae? Hmm? What happened with Emily that made you want to kill her?"
A primitive growl escaped her throat as she keeps struggling against the ties, I glance at her hands and I notice she's rubbed one raw and blood is starting to trickle down her fingers.
"Answer me!" His voice boomed through the still air and I hear a squirrel take off through the underbrush behind us. Tension is rising to an unforeseen climax and I feel my body brace for it, my muscles tight no matter how I try to make them relax.
I take my eyes off of Mae's bloody hands and look to her face, tears are starting to stream down her cheeks and she squeezes her eyes shut. She shakes her head back and forth as she chokes back a sob.
"I can't..." Her voice comes out thick and strangled, she takes a few gasps before her face twists in pain and she lets out another sob. "I can't remember everything."
"Tell us what you do remember, step by step." My voice was stern but encouraging as I looked down at her, she met my eyes for a second before turning away.
"She said I was crazy." Mae said almost sounding shocked, before a small girlish laugh erupted from her chest. I had to admit, she wasn't making much of a case for herself laughing and crying at the same time. Mae drew her knees up and started rocking back and forth, I frowned and glanced at Kane who looked equally concerned.
"She said I was a liar, and jealous, and selfish. I just wanted us to be happy together." She says between giggles.
My mind goes back to the basement when Mae had told me about getting rid of everyone close to me, and it all falls into place. The pieces snap together.
"You made up the rumors to try and break them up." I say quietly, all three heads turn to look at me. Two surprised and one knowing. "You wanted her away from Randy so you could have your best friend to yourself, you thought if you pushed his buttons he would snap. That maybe if someone believed you, it would cause enough strain on them to break them up and she would come back for you to pick up the pieces."
The group was quiet, everyone soaking in the theory of mine before all heads turn towards Mae once more. She seemed to shrink slightly under the heavy gaze and she lowered her eyes to her knees in front of her sheepishly. I took a few steps forward and kneel in the mud beside her.
"That night you went to her house, you got there after Randy left. You say she called you crazy, and a liar, and other things; did that start an argument? Did you kill Emily, Mae?"
The air was filled with static so electrifying I thought for a second I could feel it on my skin, my question lingered in the air for what seemed like eternity before Mae shifted her eyes to mine.
"I killed her." She whispers, tears streaming down her face now as her shoulders start to shake. She lets out a faint whimper before resting her forehead on her knees.