The officer looked the old woman over for a few moments before beginning to ask questions. Having read the old, painfully thick file, he couldn't believe what he read translated into this 60 year old, washed up, wrinkled, and smirking woman. She could be anyone's grandmother.
He watched across the table as her papery hands twisted around one another and as she clicked her tongue against her front teeth.
"Officer, this is really a waste of all of our time. Surely you know that file is riddled with untruths and gaps. I am a God-fearing, Christian woman. I go to church. I help the Africans. I am a teacher of children. This must be a horrible mistake. I don't know what this woman was talking about."
Officer McKinney had been on the street for five years. He always had wanted to be a cop. His dad was a cop. His grandfather was a cop. After patrolling for two years, Officer McKinney was promoted to vice. Quickly however, the force determined he was best set for the tougher cases. He was now a detective working cold cases, the ones the force always had on the burner, but the ones that weren't all that hot anymore. His job - reopen them. Find the loopholes and missed investigations. Track down the bad guy. Bring him in. Make him pay.
The 5th district investigation grant from the feds covered just McKinney. Just McKinney had to deal with this old bag. His mind peeled through other women he knew who looked like her - his fifth grade teacher, his neighbor Mrs. Pinsky, his own mother.
"Mrs. Weedgrass, surely you know why you've been called in here. Your son...what happened at the hospital. It shed some new light on these old files here," he said slowly. Looking at her, he felt a burning inside that made him feel nauseous. He had to remember that this woman would have been in her 20s, 30s, 40s, when some of the real shit went down. For all he knew, she never really stopped.
"Officer, honey, check with my minister. Check with my husband. Ask my friends at the Service of Life Center. They'll tell you. I'm an innocent lady accused of some horrible things. What that says in there about the private schools, the tutoring, the nutrition habits,...that's just propaganda to ruin me. People have always been trying to ruin me. I'm a good woman. A Christian. You see?"
Officer McKinney stared at Mrs. Weedgrass hard. His teeth clenched. The weight and severity of what he was dealing with struck him. He mashed his fist on top of the file.
"Mrs. Weedgrass, we're going to go over this file and you're going to tell the truth. Now. But first, I have to read you your rights."
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