And then Julia starts crying. Really crying. Brokenhearted crying.
“We’ll tell them you’ll talk to them later,” Iris says, embracing her.
“No, no,” Julia said. “Whoever did this has to be caught. I want to help the police.”
Kyle can see Iris is in full mom mode. Protective, determined. Is he in dad mode yet? He is so shaken right now. “We’ll both go.”
“Is Grant home alone?” Iris asks.
“Yes.”
“Well, go home. Whoever did this could have fled into the greenbelt, been hiding…” Iris says, and she’s off, theories pouring out of her. “I mean, he could try to break into a house to hide.”
“Grant is fine.”
“I’ll feel better if you go home,” Iris said. “I got this.”
None of us do, he thinks. No one has this. It has us.
He puts his hands over his face, feels the nub of his wedding ring against his cheek. He can’t bear to look at his family for a moment.
“Are you OK?” Iris asks.
Kyle lowers his hands. He realizes it’s a normal question. They’ve known Danielle for years. “Yes. It’s just a shock,” he says. “No one expects this.”
Her gaze meets his and then he glances away.
A police officer comes over and Iris tells him they’re willing to go to the station now. The detective, the officer says, will join them there shortly.
“Ned,” Iris says. “He shouldn’t stay alone at that house.”
“Where is Mike?” Kyle asks, looking around. Mike is Danielle’s boyfriend, a big, brawny bear of a man. One of Kyle’s best friends.
“I guess they haven’t found him yet or contacted him,” Iris says. Julia has calmed a bit, wiping the tears from her face.
“I can give the police his number. If Ned isn’t up to it.”
“I need to get out of this circus, Mom, please,” Julia says. A van from a local television station has just pulled up.
Iris hurries her toward the car after telling the police officer they’re heading to the police station and will wait there for the detective.
Kyle stands there, stuck. He feels like he should stay. But he has things he must do, right now, now. He may not get a second chance.
6
Excerpt of Transcript of TCSO and LPD Interview with Edward Frimpong (Minor)
Conducted by: Travis County Sheriff’s Office detective Jamika Ponder, Lakehaven PD detective Carmen Ames, and TCSO juvenile counselor/advocate Juan Castillo.
Present in observation room: Iris Pollitt, a family friend requested by the minor.
Detective Ames: I know this is very difficult and I am so sorry. We just want to establish what happened this morning. Detective Ponder and the Sheriff’s Office will be the lead investigators on this, and you can tell them everything you know.
Ned: Yes, ma’am.
Detective Ames: Can you tell me your full name?
Ned: Edward Roberts Frimpong. But…everyone calls me Ned.
Detective Ames: OK, Ned. Your mother is Danielle Roberts.
Ned: Yes.
Detective Ames: Ned, where is your father and what is his name?
Ned: Gordon Frimpong. He’s originally from Ghana, but he lives and works in London. In international banking. I haven’t seen him since last year, but I talked to him last week. His number is in my phone if you want to call him.
Detective Ponder: Right now I just want to talk about what happened this morning. I know this is terrible, and I’m so sorry. Do you think we can do that?
Ned: Yes.
Detective Ponder: If you need to stop, you just tell me, OK?
Ned: Yeah.
Detective Ponder: Julia Pollitt met you at your house this morning to walk around playing this Critterscape phone game?
Ned: Yes. We texted last night about it. We were both trying to up a level. So Julia said she would meet me at my house at seven and we’d walk around and play for an hour.
Detective Ponder: And Julia got to your house at what time?
Ned: Around seven.
Detective Ames: Julia said in her statement you called back into your house to your mom as you were leaving.
Ned: I thought Mom was home. In her bedroom. She often wakes up and reads in bed for a bit before she gets up.
Detective Ponder: But you had not seen her that morning.
Ned: No. The automatic coffee maker had made a pot, though. So she had loaded the coffee and the water at some point last night. She…she…
Detective Ames: Are you OK, Ned?
Detective Ponder: We can take a minute.
Ned: I just don’t understand why this happened. Do I have to go live with my dad now? I’ll be eighteen in a few months. Can’t I stay here?
Castillo: Ned, we’ll talk about that later. You’ll be taken care of, I promise you.
Detective Ponder: When was the last time you saw your mother?
Ned: Last night when I went upstairs to my room. She was down in the den. I told her good night. She had a look on her face like she was upset.
Detective Ponder: What about, Ned?
Ned: I don’t know. She was on a phone, texting, and I noticed it wasn’t her regular phone.
Detective Ponder: Do you know who she was texting with?
Ned: No.
Detective Ponder: Did she normally carry extra phones?
Ned: Yes. Well, no. I mean, she had before, just not in a while. She had a phone for her legal work and one for personal. But this one was neither. I thought maybe Mike got it for her.
Detective Ames: Mike Horvath.
Ned: He’s my mom’s boyfriend.
Detective Ponder: Do you know where he is? We haven’t been able to reach him.
Ned: He travels a lot, but I thought he was in town this weekend. He also lives in the neighborhood. Over on Compass Circle.
Detective Ponder: Had Mr. Horvath and your mom had any problems lately?
Ned: No. I don’t think so.
Detective Ames: Here’s a tissue. You take your time.
(Sounds of snuffling, crying)
Ned: She hadn’t said anything bad to me about Mike. I thought they were fine, but maybe she wouldn’t tell me if they fought. I don’t know. Why was she in the park?
Detective Ponder: We don’t know yet. And once you went to bed last night, you and your mom were in the house for the rest of the night?
(Pause)
Ned: Yes.
Detective Ames: Are you sure? You seem a little hesitant.
Castillo: Please don’t badger him.
Detective Ames: I’m not badgering him.
Detective Ponder: Thanks, Carmen. Let me take it.
Ned: It’s OK. Yes. I was home for the rest of the night.
Detective Ponder: Did you hear anyone arrive at your house? Or leave?
Ned: No. I was there. But I had my headphones on. I was bingeing a show on my laptop. Then I turned off the lights at midnight and went to sleep. I have the ceiling fan running. The noise puts me to sleep. I didn’t hear anyone come or go.
Detective Ponder: Did your mom normally go to Winding Creek Park? Like, go for walks there?
Ned: I don’t think she’s ever there except for the neighborhood fall party and the Fourth of July party.
(Sounds of sobbing)
Castillo: Let’s take a short break.
(Resumes)
Detective Ponder: Did your mother go for walks around the neighborhood often? Like if she was upset?