CHAPTER 3: REBECCA

“Sit down.” William pointed to the guest chair. “You amuse me,” he continued.

Rebecca forced an embarrassed smile. “Well, then, shall we start with the interview?”

William sat in his gaming chair, interlocking his fingers. “Fire away.”

Rebecca fished out her phone and started the recording. “Mr. Silverman…” she began.

“Call me William.” He was extremely assertive.

Rebecca nodded. “Alright. William, thank you for granting TNN this interview. We understand that you are a busy man and appreciate you taking the time to answer some of our questions. The intern, Diana Walker, how well did you know her?”

William drummed his fingers on the desk, and this rhythmic drumming was extremely hypnotic. “She was with us for a short time. I recall personally interviewing and hiring her. That was probably four months ago, but I’ll need to verify the exact dates with my secretary.”

As if on cue, the secretary came tumbling into the office. Her French bob was a mess as if she had fought with some wild beast on the way to the office, and her yellow blouse was stained with coffee. 

“Mr. Silverman, I’m so sorry! I forgot to bring my ID today, and the police officers wouldn’t let me in the building. And while trying to explain to them, I accidentally spilt your espresso,” she squeaked in a high-pitched voice.

Rebecca felt an instant pang of sympathy for the secretary.

“Ms. Knowles, that is not like you at all. But no worries. I made coffee for myself in the pantry earlier. Can you get a cup of tea for Ms. Grey here? Would Earl Grey for Miss Grey be fine?” William asked with a smile.

The secretary blinked, seeming to only just notice Rebecca. Rebecca flashed a warm smile and nodded. “Sure, Earl Grey is fine.”

The secretary bowed her head and headed out, leaving Rebecca and William alone together once again.

“William...” It felt odd to call him by his first name. “How well did you know Diana Walker? What kind of impression did she leave on you?”

William stood, casually walked over, and sat in the guest chair next to Rebecca. His proximity made Rebecca nervous. She tried her best to soothe her nerves. William leaned forward and took her camera in his hands, seemingly to inspect it.

“If I remember correctly, Ms. Walker personally aided me once when Ms. Knowles was on leave. She was quick on her feet and witty. I probably would have hired her as a permanent staff member…”, his voice trailed off, and he placed the camera back on the round table. He turned to Rebecca, eyes blazing with just a hint of fury, and said, “The murderer must be brought to justice. I owe it to her family and to this company.”

The death of the intern had taken a toll on the company shares this morning. Rebecca made a mental note to check on how the rival companies were doing, as well. Could it be that a competitor had orchestrated the murder? She squeezed her eyes shut for a second, as she realized her imagination had gotten the best of her again. Perhaps, she should have been a writer.

“Ms. Grey?” William’s voice snapped her back to attention.

“Becca. Call me Becca,” she said, deciding it would be best to address each other in a more comfortable manner. “William, do you have a suspicion as to who the murderer might be?”

His face was unreadable. But just as he was about to answer her question, a knock came at the door, and the secretary poked her head in.

“Mr. Silverman, the police are here to see you. They have some questions.”

William stood and buttoned his suit jacket. Rebecca stood as well, knowing that her time was up. William took her camera and placed it in her hands, electrifying her as his fingers brushed against hers.

“Well, Becca, I guess we’ll have to continue the interview another time. And at a more private place with fewer interruptions. We can go through the details on our date. Good day. “

Our date? Rebecca swallowed hard and willed herself not to overanalyze things. She collected her belongings and offered him her hand.

“I look forward to hearing from you, William,” she said matter-of-factly. And with that, she marched out of his office as confidently as she could, hoping that he couldn’t see how tense she was.

Ms. Knowles walked with her out the door and, standing next to the secretarial desk, was John and another inspector. John smiled, pleased to see Rebecca once again. He walked toward her and tugged at her loose curls.

“Your hair looks like it’s been electrocuted.”

Her hair! Rebecca had forgotten how crazy she must have looked in front of William Silverman.

“John…,” she growled, but he just patted her head and disappeared into William Silverman’s office.

Rebecca caught the secretary surpassing a laugh and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, John’s just being John,” she said.

“I’m Jolene, by the way,” the secretary said, extending her hand.

Rebecca returned the handshake and was amazed at how smooth Jolene’s hands were, compared to her own chapped fingers and rough palm.

“Is the detective your boyfriend?” Jolene asked.

Rebecca couldn’t help but laugh, “He’s my soulmate,” she joked.

The truth was, Rebecca and John had grown up together. Their mothers were the best of friends, and as children, they would often play together. Once, when Rebecca was only four, she had declared to the entire kindergarten class that she would marry John when she grew up.

Jolene smiled, and Rebecca noted how tired she looked. Since she had to wait for another day to interview the big man himself, she decided to fish for some information from his secretary for now.

“So, Jolene, did you know Diana Walker well?” Rebecca asked.

Jolene looked straight at Rebecca, seemingly surprised. She shook her head and combed her fingers through her slightly messy hair.

“Well, she did replace me as secretary for two days when I was on sick leave last month. Otherwise, we didn’t really interact much.”

Jolene proceeded to gather a stack of papers on her desk and started stapling them into neat little stacks. Rebecca made a mental note to check the brand of staples found on the victim.

“Jolene, do you know who oversees the company stationery?”

Jolene looked up and cocked her head in confusion. Rebecca forced a laugh.

“I collect posh stationery,” she said with a casual shrug.

That was a horrible lie, and Rebecca knew it, but Jolene seemed to buy her reasoning. She pushed up her glasses and started clicking away on her laptop.

“I’m usually in charge, but that would depend on which item you’re interested in. I could hook you up with the supplier, and maybe they can give you a discounted price.”

Rebecca beamed at Jolene, and listed the staple among a list of items she pretended to be interested in. Jolene jotted them all down with extreme professionalism. They chatted for a little while more, with Rebecca doing the prompting and Jolene giving her one-lined answers. From their small talk, Rebecca gathered that the secretary was extremely loyal to William. They’d probably chatted for a good fifteen minutes when John and his colleague came out.

“That was fast,” Rebecca said.

“Just standard procedure is all,” John replied.

He blew a kiss at Rebecca, and she pretended to catch it in the air. Then, John turned his attention to Jolene, taking her left hand and kissing it. The sudden gesture caught Jolene by surprise, and Rebecca could see her cheeks turning red in embarrassment.

“Ms. Knowles, you smell nice. What perfume do you use? Maybe Becca could get a few pointers. She knows nothing about perfumes.” John gave Jolene an alluring smile and winked at her.

Jolene was taken aback by the attention, and Rebecca was instantly annoyed. After all, she knew nothing about perfumes. There was CK1... and wasn’t there a CK2 or 3, as well?

Jolene smiled shyly, pushed her hair behind her ears, and said, “It’s Dior. I’m a big fan”.

John turned to Rebecca, put up one hand as if to say, “see?” Rebecca bid a giggling Jolene farewell and dragged John to the elevator by his trench coat, his colleague following close behind.