I nodded. “It’s fine.” There was a lump forming in my throat and no matter how many times I swallowed, it was still there.
“Do you have anything you’d like to share?”
“Excuse me?” I squeaked loudly. “What?”
Detective Aberson frowned. “Have you noticed anything unusual, Beth? Has Amoruso tried to contact you?”
I shook my head. “No,” I lied. “I don’t know anything about what he’s doing right now.” That, at least, was technically not a lie – Alessio hadn’t mentioned any plans for his day.
“Okay,” Detective Aberson said. “Well, I get that you’re still working through a lot of grief, Beth. But this is very important to us. I’m counting on you to testify – that’s what’s going to play on the jury and send that scum to prison for the rest of his life.”
I nodded mechanically. “What if…” I trailed off, biting my lip. “What if the family retaliates against me for speaking up? Couldn’t they come after me, and make my life miserable?”
Detective Aberson frowned. “Well, that is a possibility, but they would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law if they were to try anything like that,” he said slowly. “Are you really that worried, Beth? When we spoke before, you were very determined to do this.”
I nodded. “I know,” I said slowly. “I’m really sorry, Detective. I think I’m just afraid.”
Detective Aberson nodded. He closed his notebook. But when I started to rise from my chair, he held his hand up.
“Not just now, Beth, if you don’t mind. I’ve got a few things I’d like to say first.”
My heart slammed against the walls of my chest and I gaped. “Are you kidding?”
“No,” Detective Aberson said. He smiled, but it wasn’t entirely happy. “I wanted to speak to you about guilt.”
I blushed. Oh my god, I thought. A wave of panic crested over me and I shivered. He knows. He knows all about me and Alessio together. He’s going to tell me that I’m in trouble now, that I won’t be able to testify because I’m too close. And then I’ll get in legal trouble for lying! Oh my god, what if I go to jail?
“Beth,” Detective Aberson said slowly. “Six months is a long time. You may have moved on from Michael…I noticed you’re no longer wearing your ring.”
“His father asked for it back,” I said sourly. “I couldn’t exactly refuse.”
“Ah, well, you really shouldn’t feel guilty…you know, if you’ve begun to move on from Michael.” Detective Aberson looked directly in my eyes. “It’s very natural, Beth.”
I nodded. A numb feeling was spreading through my limbs. I couldn’t tell if Aberson was playing me or not – was he just waiting for me to break down and confess that I’d been sleeping with Alessio? Or was he trying to play good cop, and get me to admit it freely.
“I have started to move on,” I said slowly. “But no one will ever mean what Michael meant to me.” I cringed – the phrase sounded so cheesy aloud. But I hadn’t exactly meant it in a way that was entirely positive. I knew that I would never feel the same way about anyone that I’d felt about Michael.
But I already felt stronger about Alessio than I ever had about my former fiancé.
“Well, that’s natural,” Detective Aberson said. “Just remember, you need to do this, Beth. Try thinking about it as closure.”
I nodded. “Okay,” I said. I shifted in my seat. “Can I go now?”
“Yes. Of course. You know the way out?”
I nodded gratefully. “Thanks,” I said.
As soon as I was outside on the street, I grabbed my phone from my bag and called Alessio. I didn’t expect him to answer – after all, it was the middle of the day. But I wanted to see him. I wanted to reassure myself that my feelings were real, that Alessio and I had a passionate bond stronger than anything I’d ever thought possible.
“Hello?”
“It’s me,” I said quickly. “Can you pick me up? I need to see you?”
“Of course, Beth,” Alessio said. His voice was low, and listening to the way he said my name sent shivers of lust down my spine.
We hung up and I waited on the street for Alessio’s limo.
It didn’t take him more than ten minute to reach me, which was incredible by New York standards. As soon as the long, sleek, black car rolled up to the curb, I bit my lip and climbed inside.