SURVIVAL INSTINCT

CHAPTER: 5

Sarah informed them that, only members of the Association of Realtors could open the lockbox. Also, it took a special key card and an individual code. The cards are not available to the general public, and even if a member of the public were to get their hands on one, by bashing the agent over the head and stealing it, for instance; the said member of the public would not be able to use it without knowing the agent's personal code.

Detective Hudson asked Sarah whether she had seen anyone around?

"No, I had not seen anyone else around, except for a lady at the bus stop and a few cars that had gone by down on the road," she said. She then added, "Yes, I would probably recognize the young man in the red Honda Odyssey. car if I saw him again; I had gotten a pretty good look at his face. I had seen him twice near the property."

Detective Hudson asked Sarah whether she had seen the contents of Diana Walter's purse?

"No, I had not noticed that the contents of her purse had been strewn over half the library floor. In fact, I hadn't noticed much of anything, just Diana's face and the gash across her throat, and then I had fainted," Sarah replied.

Detective Hudson asked Sarah whether Ryan went inside after dropping her on the porch?

"Yes. Ryan had gone back inside after dropping me on the porch. After that, I have no idea what he had been doing, I had other things on my mind."

Sure, he might have gone back to look through Diana's purse; there was no way she could say definitely whether the contents had been already scattered or not. Then again, it was possible Ryan did not know that. But it was more likely he had just gone back to get Sarah a wet paper napkin, which he did bring to her.

Detective Hudson asked Sarah, "What was your relationship with Mrs. Diana Walter?"

"I did not have one," she said. "We worked for the same company, 'Parker Real Estate Agency,' that's all."

"So you worked together?" Detective Hudson asked. 

Sarah shook her head. "Diana had her own team of assistants to do her bidding. I would see her at the weekly sales meeting, or pass her whilst coming or going, and once she came into my office with a stack of a handbill advertising some product. She wanted me to sort and package for her." 

Sarah still remembered it had involved tying every three sheets neatly together with a color-coordinated ribbon which she tried to finish in a tidy bow. As if Sarah did not have plenty of her own work to do. Starting a real estate career is very tough even in the best of times, and in the current scenario, with foreclosures and short sales running rampant, with people choosing to stay in their houses rather than selling them, it is even harder. Yes, she resented Diana for making Sarah do work for her, and with every knot, she had pictured pulling the string tighter around Diana's plump neck and watch her mean eyes, bulge out of her skull. She smiled at that.

Detective Hudson contemplated Sarah for a second. "You did not like Mrs. Walter much, did you?"

Sarah opened her mouth to do the proper thing, sugarcoat the truth, or in other words to lie, but then she thought better of it. There was probably perjury or something involved. "Is it that obvious?" Sarah asked. 

Detective Hudson said, "Can I ask why?"

Sarah shrugged. "She was just difficult to get along with. She was bossy, self-centered, and demanding. I would never have killed her, though. You just don't kill someone just because they are common and loud and make more money than you do."

"We have seen murder being committed for even less," Detective Hudson said.

"Maybe. But I have not," Sarah declared.

Hudson did not answer. "Did you know she was going to be at  102 South Massachusetts Avenue this morning? she asked after a moment's pause.

Sarah shook her head. "She did not tell me what she was doing. Except when she was wanting someone to remember something. Like yesterday she had five closings and made sure we all knew it. She might have told Clara Lobo, her assistant."

"Would Clara have written it down somewhere, if she did?" Hudson asked.

"There is an appointment book, I think. You would have to ask Clara. I am not on the Diana Walter Team, you see," Sarah replied.

"I will do that." Detective Hudson made a note in her diary. She did not say anything else, and after a few moments, Sarah broke the silence.

"So is that it? Am I allowed to go now?" Sarah asked her.

"Unless you would like to add something," Hudson replied.

Sarah shook her head.

"Take my card, in case you remember something you would like to add, or that you haven't told us." She handed it across the table to Sarah, who picked it up and glanced at it.

Thank you. Um...when will the funeral be? Sarah asked.

"There will be an autopsy," Detective Tanya Hudson said, as Sarah got to her feet. "The next of kin will be notified when it is completed, and then the body will be released. Would you happen to know who Mrs. Walter's next of kin is?"

"She is married," Sarah said. "His name is Tom. And there are a couple of kids. Teenagers. I guess I should call and ask if there is anything I can do..."

"Give it some time," Detective Hudson said firmly. "Go home and take care of yourself first. Officer Turner will drive you back to your car. And don't leave town for the next two weeks or so."

Sarah almost reached the door, while she had been walking in a daze, but the last statement made her stop and turn around. "Excuse me?"

Detective Hudson looked up from the file. "Don't go anywhere. In case we need to talk to you again."

"But it is my mother's birthday on Wednesday. She will have a fit if I am not there!" Sarah protested.

Detective Hudson thought for a moment. "St-Louis, Missouri?" she asked.

Sarah nodded.

"All right. You may go to your mother's birthday party. Just don't go anywhere we can't get hold of you," Hudson said.

Sarah promised she would not, and opened the door. Young Officer Turner escorted her to the parking lot and drove her back to 102 South Massachusetts Avenue, looking less tense and more like himself again.

Sarah, on the other hand, must have looked about as shaky as she felt because he offered to follow her home, to make sure she did not get into an accident on the way. He was very sweet and concerned as if Sarah was his aged grandmother, and she wanted to hit him on the head and tell him to save it for someone who would appreciate it, but of course, she was too well-bred to do something like that.

Sarah's car was parked where she had left it, and the grounds were full of cops, both wearing uniforms as well as plain-clothed, just like Officer Shawn had said. None of them paid any attention to her. Ryan's black Harley-Davidson was still there at the foot of the steps when she drove slowly down the graveled drive and turned right, for her residence.