Proof of Intent Read Online Free

you knew what happened.” My voice was low but hard. “You said no. I asked if you heard anything. No, you were blasting Beethoven’s seventeenth piano sonata on your stereo. I asked if you saw anybody. No, you were working. Now all of a sudden, there’s thumping and bumping and some mysterious figure in the hallway. Don’t tell me you were confused, distraught, whatever. That won’t wash.”
    Miles didn’t say anything, just stared straight up in the air.
    â€œSo which is it, Miles? Was there a guy or not?”
    â€œThere was a guy.”
    â€œYou saw the man who killed your wife.”
    â€œYes. I did.”
    â€œThen why did you lie to me earlier?”
    He looked at the floor, sighed. “When you hear the whole story, the way it really happened? It’s going to sound improbable, stupid. I almost wasn’t going to tell the truth at all. I hadn’t decided at that point.”
    I studied his face, but I couldn’t get a sense of whether he was lying or not. “If I get a whiff of stink here,” I said finally, “if I get even a hint that you’re lying, I
will
stand up and I
will
walk out of this room, and that will be the last time you see me. Do you understand me?”
    Miles nodded.
    â€œEverything you’ve done so far looks self-incriminating. Just the fact that I had to interrupt this interrogation in such an obvious and silly way looks extremely, extremely, extremely bad. But I wouldn’t have done it if I weren’t concerned that you were about to do something wildly stupid. Are we on the same page here?”
    â€œNow hold on just a—” Miles stood up and jabbed his finger in my face.
    I grabbed his finger and twisted. He sat down hard. “No,
you
look here, Miles. You need to think very hard about what you’re going to do next. You need to be certain that what you’re going to say is absolutely truthful. Okay? If you say it was quiet but your neighbor says he couldn’t sleep because Horowitz’s Steinway is blasting out your window at two thousand decibels, that’s a problem. If you tell Denkerberg you were writing, but your computer says that you haven’t saved a new file in three days, that’s a problem. If you say you didn’t touch your wife’s body, and they find a bloody glove stuffed in the back of your sock drawer, that’s a problem. Understood?”
    â€œYeah, but—”
    â€œShut up! I’m not interested in
yeah but
. Sit down in that chair, and think. Silently. For precisely two minutes. If at the end of those two minutes you have even a shadow of a doubt about whether each and every event that you are about to describe might be controvertible by other facts in even the smallest detail, then I’m going to tell Detective Denkerberg that you are very distraught and emotional and that you need medical care and that this interview is hereby terminated.”
    â€œNow Charley—” He started to rise out of the chair.
    â€œ
Sit!
”
    We stayed there, eyes locked for a few seconds. When the fire cooled a little in his eyes, I stepped back. He blew out a long breath, then stared up at the ceiling.
    Denkerberg knocked sharply on the door. I didn’t open it. She knocked again.
    â€œYou ready?” I said.
    â€œGo ahead,” he said softly.
    â€œAnd for godsake do your best not to antagonize her.”
    Miles nodded, looking at the ground like a chastened schoolboy.
    I opened the door, called the detective back in. “Sorry about that, Detective. I’m actually feeling much better now.” I rubbed my throat. “As it happened, once the choking passed, I realized there were a couple of housekeeping issues between me and my client that I’d meant to clear out of the way before our talk, but in all the haste and confusion, I had forgotten to address them. I hope you won’t hold it against me.” I tried out my biggest