I lean back in my chair and wait for him to speak. I don’t know why he’s here and I don’t know why he wants to talk to me. But he’s here and he can be the first to speak.

“Like I said, I’m just here to talk. I just want to know what happened. I want to know what you know.” He has dark circles under his eyes and an unkempt beard. His button-up plaid shirt is wrinkled and his hair is frayed. He clearly hasn’t been taking care of himself.

“I’ve told everything to the police. It’s all in my statements, and I know you have access to them. So why are you here?”

“I do, and I have read them, but I want to hear it from you,” he says.

“What do you want to know exactly?”

“Did Kelly ever say anything about me? Did you know she was married?”

“Yes, I knew she was married, and I know what you did to her.” My eyes narrow. I want to reach across this table for all the times he hurt her.

“What is it that you think I did to her?” He scrunches up his face and leans back.

“You were abusive to her. You hurt her. You bruised her and made her bleed. Do you think you’re some big powerful man? Do you think hitting your wife makes you a tough guy?” I slam a fist on the table.

“What are you talking about? I never laid a hand on her. How could she say that?” He pounds his fist on the table, which doesn’t do much for his case.

“I’ve seen her bruises. I’ve seen her with a black eye, a bloody nose, and a fat lip. Don’t sit there and deny what you did. Are you scared that the police will find out what you’ve done and look to you as the primary suspect? Because I know it was you that killed her. I know it.” I clench my jaw so tight my teeth ache.

“Are you fucking kidding me? I loved Kelly. There was one time about two weeks before she died that I accidentally caught her in the face with my elbow when I was hanging drywall in our home, but that’s it. She left and said she was going to a neighbor’s house to use their first aid kit because ours was missing. Are you telling me she went to your house and told you I hit her on purpose?” He’s pissed, but there’s also sadness in his eyes. Either, he’s an incredible actor, or he’s telling the truth.

“She did come over crying and told me all about what you did and what you had been doing to her over the years. I’ve seen her bruises on more than one occasion. Why would she lie?”