Page 49 of The Paternity Puzzle

They entered the sitting room as quietly as they could, more to observe what was going on than to catch them admitting something they wouldn’t want the police to hear. Richard Todd and Alyssa sat close together on the velvet settee. Some might say too close for a grieving widow, but he knew people dealt with loss in various and sometimes mysterious ways. Alyssa’s hand rested just above Richard’s knee, and he covered it with his own. There was nothing enigmatic about the expression on the man’s face. He was deeply in love with the woman sitting beside him.

Julia sat motionless across from them in the chair Royce had used during their first interview. Her wavy hair cascaded over her shoulders, and she wore a frilly black dress that made her skin look sickly pale. She’d put on a vibrant shade of lipstick and dotted pink blush on her fair cheeks in nearly perfect circles. Julia looked like a life-sized Victorian porcelain doll that had been cast aside and forgotten while the others conversed quietly in the room.

Royce cleared his throat to announce their presence. Julia was the first to react, leaping to her bare feet so fast that her long skirt swished around her ankles. Anger flushed her skin until the rest of her face matched her blush. “What are you doing here?” Julia’s voice crackled with the same rage flashing in her eyes. She was very much alive now.

“It’s nine o’clock on Tuesday morning,” Royce replied. “We had an appointment. Did you forget?” He held up his phone, pressed a button, and added, “I’m going to record this conversation.” He rattled off the date, time, and attendees.

Richard and Alyssa rose to their feet, albeit much slower and without an outward show of any emotion.

“Sergeant,” Richard said, “I believe Alyssa and Julia explicitly said they would not speak to you without a warrant.”

“Yes, sir, they did,” Royce said, pulling the warrants from his back pocket and holding them up for him to see.

Julia jerked her head in Richard’s direction and took two aggressive steps toward him before pulling herself together. She stopped suddenly, placed a palm against her sternum, and inhaled a deep breath, which she held for several seconds before releasing it. Julia lowered her hand to her side and addressed Richard in a modulated tone. “You said everything would be okay. You promised us.”

The attorney bounced a nervous glance between the Matisse women, Royce, and Diego. “There must be a mistake.”

“No, sir. We’re here to arrest Alyssa Matisse and Julia Matisse for involuntary manslaughter, though DA Babineaux could bring additional charges as the investigation continues.”

“Manslaughter!” Alyssa cried.

“What additional charges?” Julia asked.

“Murder in the first degree,” Diego said. “Right now, we’re going to assume that neither you nor your mother planned to kill Dr. Matisse and acted independently of one another when youput the benzodiazepine in his smoothie and your mother gave him alcohol. If the evidence shows that you acted together, then the district attorney reserves the right to recharge you.”

“What evidence do you even have?” Richard asked. “You mentioned something about fingerprints on glasses. Who cares? Anyone in this house could’ve handled the dishes at any time.”

“We have proof that Julia ground up her mother’s prescription benzodiazepine pills in the spice grinder and mixed them into Dr. Matisse’s green smoothie,” Diego replied. “There was a residue in the grinder cup, the smoothie blender, and the cup Dr. Matisse drank from. The evidence is irrefutable.”

Richard scoffed. “We’ll just see about that.”

“Why is there a warrant for my arrest?” Alyssa asked.

“The pills alone weren’t enough to kill him,” Royce replied. “But they could account for the extreme irritability and agitation you described. Those are just two negative side effects some people experience while taking benzodiazepine. Mixing the pills with the alcohol is what triggered the respiratory and cardiac failure.”

“I didn’t knowshedrugged him,” Alyssa said. “I thought the scotch would calm him down.”

“Mother!” Julia cried out. “How could you turn on me?”

“You’ll need to convince the DA of that and possibly a jury,” Royce told her.

“Jury?” Alyssa turned to Richard. “I can’t go to jail.”

Richard took both her hands in his. “You won’t, dear. I’ll see to it.”

“What about me?” Julia asked. “Or do I need to get down on my knees and blow you too?”

Alyssa marched across the short distance and slapped her daughter’s face hard enough to rattle her teeth. “Shut your mouth, you ungrateful brat.”

Julia covered her face, and the room hung in suspense for all of five seconds before she launched herself at her mother, fisting both hands in Alyssa’s hair.

“Oh shit,” Diego said, jumping into the melee to pull the women apart. He cuffed Julia and set her in the club chair. Royce tossed his cuffs at Diego, and he secured Alyssa before placing her on the settee. The two women glared at one another, breathing heavily but not speaking. Diego remained between them in case they went for each other again.

“I also have an arrest warrant for obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence for Richard Todd.”

“What?” Richard shouted. “Why me?”

Diego removed his phone, pulled up the audio recording, and pushed Play. The sound of a ringback tone came through the speaker, followed by Julia’s voice.