Read Sweet Little Lies for Free Online Page B

She knocked on the door a little bit louder before it flew open.
    “What?!” the tall, burly man with close-cropped dark hair who opened the door sniped.
    “Detective Hanson, Chicago PD,” Hanson said, flashing his badge.
    “Jesus, what the hell is going on?”
    “Need just a minute of your time, man,” Hanson said.
    “Look, a minute is about all I have, because I was supposed to pick my girlfriend up
twenty
minutes ago and goddamned if she doesn’t bitch all night if I’m even thirty seconds late. What do you want?”
    “You know the couple next door? The Monroes?” Hanson asked.
    “Fucking everybody knows them.”
    Hanson rolled his eyes, sick of hearing that refrain. “I’m not interested in everybody, Mr…?”
    “Parsons. Nick Parsons. Yeah, I know them. Why?”
    “Did you know them well?”
    “Well enough. Look, is this gonna take long?”
    “How well did you know them?”
    “Mark and I see each other in the gym downstairs sometimes. I see Kelly around. We’re friendly, but not friends. What is this all about?”
    “Have you seen Mrs. Monroe today?” Didi asked.
    “No, I haven’t seen her since yesterday morning in the garage.”
    “What about Mr. Monroe?” Didi continued.
    “I haven’t seen him since last week sometime.”
    “Ever heard them argue?”
    “No. Are we done?”
    “No arguments?”
    “Look, either you’re gonna have to arrest me, or get out because if I gotta hear my girlfriend’s mouth for the rest of the night, I’m gonna fucking lose it.”
    Hanson inwardly rolled his eyes and ignored the guy. “You said you were friendly. Did they seem happy to you?”
    “Yeah, I guess.”
    “So you never heard any fights?”
    “Jesus, for the last time, no. Are we through?”
    Hanson smiled and closed his notebook. “Well, Mr. Parsons, you’ve been very helpful. You see Mrs. Monroe, give me a call.” Hanson handed his card to Nick.
    Nick Parsons let out a breath. “What’s going on?”
    “Mr. Monroe is dead, and we’re trying to locate Mrs. Monroe to let her know.”
    For the first time since the detectives had arrived, Nick Parsons had stopped fidgeting. “No shit? He’s dead? What the hell happened? Did she do it?”
    “If you remember anything or see Mrs. Monroe, please call us,” Hanson responded.
    Nick fingered the card. “Yeah, man, sure. Damn. That’s a shame.” Dejected, he closed his door and locked it. With his head hung low, he walked toward the service elevator.
    “Hey, where does that elevator go?” Hanson called out.
    Matt looked back at Hanson. “Lobby, then another elevator to the garage.”
    “And do both Monroes have cars?”
    “Yeah. Mark has—had—an Escalade and Kelly has a Mercedes. The spots correspond to your unit number.”
    “You mind if we ride down with you?”
    Nick shrugged. “Whatever.”
    The trio began to walk over to the elevator, and Nick Parsons went to push the down button when Didi grabbed his arm.
    “Wait a minute,” she said as she leaned in to take a closer look at the button. She motioned for Hanson to look too. They gave each other a knowing look.
    “Blood,” they said in unison.
    “Christ, I can’t believe they didn’t secure this,” Didi mumbled as she ran back down the hall to grab a tech, while Nick Parsons shifted his feet, ready to explode.
    “What the hell is it now?” he asked, all his melancholy from moments before vanished.
    “Just a minute, Mr. Parsons, this is evidence,” Hanson said.
    Didi came running back down the hall with a tech. “There,” she said, pointing to the button. “Make sure to get this evidence.” Didi pulled a pen out of her pocket and hit the button with it.
    “Hold on,” she muttered, waiting for the car to come up. When the door slid open, she ran in searching the panel of buttons. She saw a slight smudge of blood on the button indicating the garage. She waved the tech inside.
    “Get this too,” she instructed. She looked up. “There another way to the garage?