Page 39 of Little Bitter Truths
“Sometimes the line between anger and murder isn’t as clear as people think,” I said.“Don’t worry about whether the suspicion seems reasonable.I’d rather know who you’re thinking about.”
She took some time to gather her thoughts.“All right.The first person is someone who works for the same company I work for now.His name is Karl Holland.”
I wrote the name down.“Tell me about him.”
“He was supposed to get a position that ended up going to me,” she said.“From what I understand, he’d been told the job was his, but at the last minute, they offered it to me instead.”
“How did he take it?”
“Not well.He felt blindsided and said the decision to pass him up for someone new when he’d worked there for years didn’t make sense.He thought he’d earned it.”
“Did he confront you about it?”
“He confronted everyone, including me.He caused a scene at the office and raised his voice, accusing management of playing favorites.My boss, Harold, witnessed it, as did a few others.I didn’t even know the guy, so I tried going into one of the side offices and closing the door, but before anyone could stop him, he followed me.”
“What did he say?”
“He didn’t feel I deserved the position, and he said I’d taken something that belonged to him.To be honest, I felt sorry for the guy.He looked like he was doing everything in his power not to burst into tears.”
“Did the incident ever go beyond words?”
“No, but the way he looked at me … it was like he wanted to push me out a window.”
“Have you had any contact with him since or seen him outside of work?”
She shook her head.
“Does he still work for the company?”I asked.
“He does, but after he blew up, he was transferred to our other office.”
“All right,” I said.“Who else might be considered a suspect?”
She took a sip of her coffee and set the cup down, drumming her fingers against the side.“My ex-boyfriend.”
“Sounds promising.”
“His name is Christian Shepherd.”
“What happened there?”I asked.
“We dated for about six months.At first, everything was fine.He was attentive, charming, and the kind of person who made me feel like I was the only one in the room.”
“And then?”
“I started seeing him in a different way, and I realized he was almosttooattentive.”
“How so?”
“He needed to know where I was all the time, and who I was spending my time around.If I didn’t respond to a text right away, he’d send three more.Then five more.Then he’d call.”
“Sounds like he was a bit on the needy side.”
“He was more than needy.I ended things about nine months ago, and he didn’t take it well.He started showing up at my gym, the parking lot outside my work.He even waited outside my house for me to return home.”
“What did you do?”
“I took out a restraining order, which worked, but there were times when I wasn’t sure it would be enough.”
