Page 110 of The Accomplice
I sat in my living room, my teeth rattling in my head, shaking and crying for almost half an hour while Otto tried to calm me down.
He told me Danny’s head was caved in, and we went through what had happened, Otto firing questions at me. Did I give him a warning ? Did he threaten me ?
No, he didn’t threaten me. And I didn’t give him a warning. And there’s not a mark on me.
Then, the false alibi came up again.
Otto thought there was a few ways this might play out.
I could be a hero who stopped the Sandman.
Or I could be a murderer. One, for killing my husband, and two, for covering up his crimes by lying to the police. Otto said they could implicate me in all of the Sandman killings.
We talked and talked and no matter what way I turned things around in my head, I came back to the police arresting me. There was no way out of this. Everything had gotten so much worse, and I wished I had just left Daniel. Just took off and never looked back.
I’ll never forget what Otto said next.
‘What if there was another way ?’ he said. ‘What if he just disappeared ? I could put him in his car, drive him to a quiet spot on Hempstead Lake and make him and all his evil just go away for ever.’
I agreed to keep the jewelry, in case he was ever linked to the Sandman murders and I could say he gave them to me before he disappeared. Hide it in the house so there’s something linking him to those murders. After a year, I could have Daniel declared dead, and inherit his money.
The plan was to stay quiet and stay clear of a murder charge for killing my husband. And if the police linked him to the murders, I was to say I suspected him, but I never had any proof.
Otto said it would be okay.
It would be our secret.
In the days that followed, I trusted Otto. We became close.
We became lovers.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
EDDIE
‘This is just lies,’ said Peltier, coolly, having read the journal along with the judge, DA and jury. He poured himself another glass of water, took a sip and set the glass back down. He didn’t need a drink ; he was just taking a moment to calm himself.
‘You’re saying there are inaccuracies and lies in that account ?’
‘I am.’
‘I think you’re right. You’ve been lying to Carrie Miller since the day you met her.’
‘No, I have not.’
‘You didn’t put Daniel Miller’s body in Hempstead Lake, that’s for sure. His car might be there, but he isn’t, is he ?’
Peltier’s eyes narrowed, he said, ‘This is a total fabrication.’
‘The police know the Sandman rented an apartment across the street from Lilian Parker’s building. My investigators were able to link a company to that lease, and at that company’s registered address they found a freezer. This freezer,’ I said, pointing to the screen.
I had shared Bloch’s photographs with Bill Seong and the DA last night. I had given no explanation, simply said Bloch would testify to having taken the photographs.
The picture on screen showed a chest freezer in a dark, dusty office. A series of close-ups showed a corpse inside a body bag, frozen in ice.
‘That’s Daniel Miller, isn’t it, Mr. Peltier ?’
‘I don’t know who it is, I’ve never seen these photographs before.’
