Rachel walks into Interrogation Room One and drops a manila folder onto the table. She scrapes the gray metal chair back and sits. Flipping on the recorder, she asks, "You've been Mirandized, correct?"
"You're the one who read them to me," Millie replies with a huff.
"Do you understand your rights as I've explained them?"
"Yes, but—"
Rachel grabs a form from the center of the table, shoves it toward Millie, points to the bottom, and says, "Sign here."
Millie skims it quickly, sighs, and pushes it back.
Rachel sets the form aside, meets Millie's eyes, and says, "We know about the pact you and your sister made the night your mother died."
Millie replays the recorded conversation in her mind. "That wasn't me. It was Lilly."
"From what I saw, she suggested it—and you agreed."
"I didn't know what I was saying at the time."
"It doesn't look that way to me."
Rachel spreads several autopsy photos across the table.
Millie glances down, then turns away.
"Everyone involved in the crash—or in you and Lilly's care—has recently died. What's more, all the evidence points to you." Rachel lays down a photo of what appears to be Millie and a strange man getting into a car. Then another—Millie returning to the house. The timestamp reads 6:00 a.m. "How do you explain that?"
"That isn't me."
"Facial recognition says it is. So tell me, Millie—who's the person with you, and where did you go?"
Millie slams her fists on the table and jumps to her feet. "It isn't me! I locked the doors and went to bed as soon as my husband left."
"I suppose you armed the alarm too?"
"Of course I did."
"Then why does it show being armed from your husband's phone hours after you supposedly went to bed?"
Millie shifts nervously in her chair, debating whether to share her theory. "I think I know what might be going on."
Rachel raises an eyebrow, leans back, and smiles. "Please, share."
"Someone's trying to frame me."
Rachel chuckles, which only angers Millie more.
"It's true—and I can prove it."
"Go on."
Millie takes a breath. "Remember all the break-ins I reported?"
Rachel crosses her arms. "Go on."
"They didn't steal anything. They broke in, planted evidence for you to find, and left."
"I suppose they planted John's gun in the desk drawer too?"
"No. I put it there for protection during the day. I bring it upstairs with me at night."
"That gun was used on several of the victims."
"Then they must've found it, used it, and put it back."
Rachel slides another photo across the table—Millie stepping off the elevator on the fifth floor. She taps the timestamp. "This was taken minutes before Mr. Tanner was stabbed."
Millie's face drains of color. "Mr. Tanner is dead?" She remembers the staff who saw them arguing earlier and pales further. Shifting in her seat, she stammers, "I went up to see him… hoping to get my job back."
"Go on."
"I was about to knock on his office door when I heard him arguing with someone else. So I left."
"Where did you go after that?"
"Home, of course."
Rachel slides another photo across the table. "The cameras show you leaving half an hour later. Where were you during that time?"
"I was in the restroom… crying. I was crying over the loss of my job and friends.
"Can anyone verify that?"
A knock interrupts them. The door opens, and Kirk pokes his head in. "Got a minute, Sergeant?"
Rachel glances at Millie. "Try to remember if anyone saw you enter or leave the bathroom." She steps outside and closes the door. "What do you have, Kirk?"
"Forensics found muddy shoes in Mrs. Clark's closet. The tread matches the mud trail from the back door."
Rachel looks through the window at Millie fidgeting. So either she tracked in the mud and forgot—or it's part of her game.
Kirk hands her a printout. "Mrs. Clark's been married before. Her first husband—Marty Clark, her current husband's brother—was found floating in his pool three months after they married."
"The medical examiner ruled it a drowning. But he was an Olympic athlete. Competed in triathlons."
"Did Millie have an alibi?"
"She was supposedly at a nursing convention in Harrison."
Rachel raises an eyebrow. "Supposedly?"
"Initial reports show her attending. But I checked again. The group took a lunch break from noon to one. Millie is seen right after that—then disappears for the rest of the day." He hands her another page. "Her father's death was suspicious too. Electrocution while fixing the house wiring."
Rachel frowns. "He was a licensed electrician."
"Exactly. Everyone wondered why he didn't shut off the main breaker first."
"Who was in the house?"
"Just him and Millie."
"I want both deaths reopened. Have you located Mr. Clark?"
"We did—then lost him again." Seeing her scowl, he adds, "He stopped to see his fiancée and their three-year-old twins before heading to the base."
"He has a second family?"
"According to the fiancée, he planned to leave Millie once he could get her committed."
"To a psych ward?"
"That's what he told her. She says he's been working with a psychiatrist to have her permanently institutionalized. She sent me documents to prove it." He hands her more papers. "Miss Rose—the fiancée—claims John hired nursing staff to protect her when he's away."
"We know that part isn't true."
"Maybe not. But Millie was diagnosed with a mental illness. Hospitalized several times as a child—under her deceased sister's name."
Rachel blinks. "How did they pull that off?"
"No idea."
Rachel peers back into the interrogation room. "We've got a lot more to talk about." She reaches for the door when someone shouts, "Sergeant, wait!"
She turns to see Joe hurrying toward her. "You should know—John Clark was found dead in his car at the airport terminal." He hands her a photo. "ME says it happened between midnight and six."
Rachel studies the image, then glances at Millie. "The attack was personal."
Joe nods. "You think Millie found out about the affair?"
"Either that," Rachel says, "or Miss Rose got tired of waiting."