Till Death Do Us Part | ON-HOLD

Chapter 23 : Kamzori

I've made it clear before that there can't be updates on Saturdays -- today is an exception because my lectures ended early and I was able to edit this chapter.

Next Sat might be possible too but after that, it'll be back to usual timings.

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【 23.

Twenty-Three

Kamzori 】

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[ Kamzori • vulnerability ]

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      DETECTIVE STONE ENTERS the room after excusing himself earlier, when he went to update his partner about Zachary Hawthorne and Rosaline Bonovich meeting each other before the corpses of their respective spouses were found.

He glances at the woman who still remains in the same posture since the beginning of her interrogation; calm, collected and poised. Though now he can read the slight hesitance in her gaze that wasn’t there before.

Adam doesn’t know if she actually feels so little at the moment, or if she’s bursting with anxiousness and curiosity but just hiding it well. Rosaline must have questions, right? Especially after asking her if she’s certain Zachary wasn’t there out of guilt rather than kindness and then letting her to process that in silence when Adam left the room.

“You know, Mrs Bonovich,” Adam says as he walks towards the empty chair, straightening his tie against his chest. “Normally, when a married person is killed, the primary suspect is always the spouse.”

Rosaline’s eyes flicker to him, and a thin eyebrow arches up in acknowledgement.

Adam wonders if Zachary Hawthorne is also as composed and stoic towards Juanita.

“Obviously we couldn’t get to go down that particular method with this case,” he continues speaking once realising that the woman in front of him isn’t going to add anything. “Not when you happen to be the daughter of the Senator of Illinois. Not when Springfield happens to be the capital of that very same state.”

Rosaline simply blinks once, and then begins rhythmically tapping her fingernails against the surface of the table between them. Adam laughs softly, “As much as we talk about all the glory and nobility in justice, it hardly ever gets served, you know. Not when people of influence and power are involved.”

She suddenly stops the tapping. “I would’ve answered your questions if you’d asked,” she tells him in a low but steady voice. She sounds serious, like she means every word she’s uttering right then. “It’s not my fault if you painted me with the same brush you paint every privileged person who takes advantage of the law using their social standing.”

Adam takes a moment to digest those words. He doesn’t react.

“You were also in a critical situation,” he tells her then, turning his voice a touch softer. “Your doctor—Harding, I think her name was—she was pretty strong about not letting anybody cause you additional stress or trauma. We couldn’t even directly let you know about your husband’s death, so asking for your alibi and any other treatment of you as a suspect was out of the question.”