<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The doorbell rings a second time, interrupting the still of morning. I\u2019ve been up all night, and I\u2019m tired and irritated. Who is it, JW\u2019s? Mormons? Kids selling chocolate? Go away already. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through the peephole, I see two police officers in crisp blue uniforms standing on the porch. Oh great. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
An officer knocks hard on the door. My breath catches, and my pulse quickens. I\u2019ve got to get rid of them. I crack the door and poke my head out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHi,\u201d I say<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMr. Jay Smith?\u201d asks the officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I make out Gomez on his nametag. \u201cYes, I\u2019m Jay. Kind of early, officers. How can I help you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJayson Smith? Jay?\u201d says the other officer. \u201cHoly crap, is that you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I open the door a little wider and look at his nametag. \u201cDanny Cook?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His lips curl up into that infectious grin I knew so well from years ago. My tension subsides. I thrust my hand forward, and we shake, his grip firm and strong.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah man, it\u2019s me,\u201d I say. How\u2019s it going these days? Haven’t seen you since Roosevelt High.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officer Cook gestures towards his uniform. \u201cAww, you know, doing the cop thing, as you can see. I married Betty Jane\u2014remember her?\u2014and we\u2019ve got a nice little house and two kids. They sure are hungry little beasts, so I work a lot,\u201d he chuckles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey Danny, remember when we cut school for the day, and they thought we had been kidnapped or something, and they called the cops on us? Man, was I in trouble when I got home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSame here,\u201d he replies. \u201cBut that\u2019s the day I decided I would rather be on this side of the blue line, not the other. And here I am.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, it\u2019s good to see you, Danny. We need to get together for beer sometime. But I have to go now.\u201d I start to close the door, and Officer Gomez reaches for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cReally hate to do this to you, but we\u2019re following up on your neighbor’s calls,” says Officer Gomez. We have some questions for you. It will only take a moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot right now. Please come back later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNobody’s accusing you of anything, Jay,\u201d says Cook. \u201cIt\u2019s only a few questions. It won\u2019t take long.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The camaraderie I feel with my high school friend vanishes, and my hands grow sweaty. Yeah, I\u2019m busted. They know what I did. The neighbors called the cops. They\u2019re here to arrest me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t do it,\u201d I blurt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t do what?\u201d asks Cook, his brow furrowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKill my wife.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The officers exchange startled glances. Gomez moves his hand a little closer to his belt. Closer to the gun. Uh oh. I\u2019m thinking maybe they don\u2019t know anything. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy did you say you\u2019re here, officers?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had some calls about strangers lurking in the neighborhood, and we\u2019re talking to all the residents,\u201d says Gomez. \u201cYou say you killed your wife?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh crap! They weren\u2019t here to arrest me after all. I just ratted on myself. I feel panic rising, and my mind races. Think, think, think!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, no, I said I found my knife.\u201d The look on the officers’ faces tells me they\u2019re not buying it. God, I\u2019m so dumb. Why did I say knife? That makes it worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou found your knife?\u201d asks Gomez. \u201cNow that\u2019s an odd thing to say. What does a knife have to do with anything? Did you kill your wife with it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOf course not,” I sputter. “I would never kill my wife with a knife. Lighten up; it\u2019s a joke!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if you’re joking, but I know you said you killed your wife,\u201d Gomez says, his voice suddenly cold and accusatory. \u201cWe have to take any statement like that seriously. We\u2019d like to talk to your wife to see how she\u2019s doing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe can’t talk right now,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We won’t leave until we speak to your wife,\u201d says Gomez. Make sure she\u2019s safe. We’ll get a warrant if we have to. But it’s better if you cooperate with us now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I grip my head with my hands and squeeze hard as flashbacks of a struggle and screams invade my mind. “Stop!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Hey man, it\u2019s me, Danny, no need to panic. What\u2019s going on? Are you okay?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“No!” I shout, as an unseen force\u2014guilt, shame, idiocy?\u2014compels me to do what I mustn\u2019t do. Don\u2019t do it\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I fling the door wide open and point to my wife\u2019s crumpled body, sprawled at the base of the staircase behind me. The officers gasp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t kill her, I swear! She tried to hit me, she tried to kill me, and when I dodged, she fell down the stairs.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officer Gomez rushes past me toward the body and kneels beside her, checking for a pulse. Danny stares at me for a moment, that familiar grin long gone. He reaches for his cuffs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPut your hands behind your back. Jayson Smith, you are under arrest for suspicion of murder.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“But I\u2019m innocent!” I protest. “I’m the abused one here. I\u2019m the victim. She\u2019s always yelling at me, nagging, and complaining, and she just won\u2019t shut the hell up!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will…”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My legs buckle, and my surroundings blur. I\u2019m suffocating. My chest heaves as I gasp shallow gulps of air. Time slows, and for a moment, my heart stops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just like my wife\u2019s heart stopped last night when I choked the life out of her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The doorbell rings a second time, interrupting the still of morning. I\u2019ve been up all night, and I\u2019m tired and irritated. Who is it, JW\u2019s? Mormons? Kids selling chocolate? Go away already. Through the peephole, I see two police officers in crisp blue uniforms standing on the porch. Oh great. An officer knocks hard on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[22,25],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-2263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mystery-suspense","category-psychological","tag-flash-fiction"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Truth-Be-Told.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2263"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4160,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2263\/revisions\/4160"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}