In still waters - стр. 26
"And you, you bastard, killed my daughter!" Jeffrey shot back, his voice dripping with venom.
"Jeffrey, I'm warning you for the last time," Christian interjected, his patience clearly wearing thin. "Shut up, or I'll have you removed from this room immediately."
Bradley's next words came out in a panicked rush. "I've already told you, I didn't kill your daughter. We were friends, we hung out together!"
"Shut your mouth!" Jeffrey bellowed. "My daughter would never have associated with a dirty lowlife like you!"
"That's enough!" Nick's shout silenced the room. The interrogation had devolved into a circus, with Nick cast in the unenviable role of ringmaster, desperately trying to maintain order and extract some semblance of truth from the chaos.
"Sit him down and remove the handcuffs," Nick instructed the officers, gesturing towards Bradley. They complied, seating Bradley at the edge of the table opposite Jeffrey. Bradley kept his head down, his gaze fixed on the table's surface.
Christian, eyeing Bradley's disheveled state, couldn't resist a barbed comment. "You look awful, to put it mildly. A homeless person would look more presentable."
Nick shot his partner a warning glance before turning his attention back to Bradley. "Look at me, Bradley. Tell me where you've been for the past two weeks. We have a witness who saw you with Rose at the bar on the night of her murder. It's a strange coincidence that you disappeared without a trace after that."
Bradley raised his head slowly, his bloodshot eyes darting nervously around the room as he rubbed his nose. "We were just hanging out that evening, that's all. And these past two weeks… I've been drinking. Because I found out Rose was dead. My mother told me – she saw it on the news."
Bradley's words came out in a slurred mumble, punctuated by frequent pauses to wipe away the saliva that dribbled from the corner of his mouth.
"What are you mumbling about, you freak?" Jeffrey interjected, his voice dripping with contempt. "Tell the truth! Admit that you killed Rose!"
"Jeffrey, I swear to God, if you don't shut up right now, I will have you removed from this room," Nick warned, his patience finally reaching its limit. He turned back to Bradley, forcing his voice to remain calm and steady.
"Bradley, we also know that you and Rose were arguing that evening, and then had some kind of physical altercation. After which, she left and was later found dead. How do you explain this? What happened between you two?"
Bradley's hand shook violently as he pointed an accusing finger at Jeffrey. "We fought because of him!"