passion still had to be ruled out. Looks, after all, could be deceiving, and quarrels got out of hand with tempers flaring from embers to full-fledged roars in a matter of seconds. He’d seen it happen before. Not to the extent of murder, per se, but wildly out of hand all the same.
While they waited for EMS to arrive, he took the opportunity to question Angelique Jaffler. A beauty in her mid-twenties, with long, sable hair that fell down her back, she’d said very little up to this point. Left to handle matters since her brother was understandably unable to, Sheriff Pierson could see that she held back her own breakdown.
He pulled a small notepad from his pocket and jotted down the date and time—July twentieth, 12:46 a.m.—and her responses, listening to not only what she said, but observing her reactions. Despite the tragic circumstances of the night, he found her very calm and collected.
“Tomes, Louisa, and myself, we all retired to our rooms around eleven,” she recalled. “I read for a while before falling asleep, waking abruptly at 11:42 to the sound of a woman’s scream. I know the precise time because the first thing I did was look at the clock sitting on my nightstand,” she explained. “I rushed out and met Tomes in the hall. He’d also heard the scream, telling me that Louisa wasn’t in their room. He said her name…knowing.”
“Knowing?” Sheriff Pierson needed clarification.
“I think he knew it was her scream and feared the worst. Anyway, Tomes grabbed a flashlight from his room, this one.” She held it up. “And we hurried outside to look for her. We found her here five, or maybe ten, minutes later. It’s hard to be exact. Everything happened so fast.”
“What led you down the road, away from the farm?”
“Tomes was sure the scream had come from this direction, so we headed toward the road. We knew we were going the right way when he found her hair clip a short distance up the driveway.”
“Is Tomes the one who found her?” he asked.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, he was. But I hope you’re not suggesting he had anything to do with this. We both were—”
The glare of headlights alerted them to Officer Tanner’s return with an ambulance following.
“That was fast. They must have been close by. I need to take care of this.” Pierson excused himself to meet the paramedics and enlighten them on the sensitive matter at hand.
Allowing EMS full access to do their job, he, Angelique, and the officers stood in the background and watched while the paramedics managed to convince Tomes to release Louisa’s lifeless body.
Acceding, Tomes reluctantly laid his wife on the ground. He was gentle, treating her body like a fragile china doll. Illuminated by the moonlight, her fair skin held a pale-blue hue. In contrast, her bright auburn hair spilled around her face in thick, lustrous waves. Dressed in nothing more than a sheer nightgown that left nothing to the imagination, it revealed the outline of what had been a fit, vivacious body.
“Let’s get her covered up,” the sheriff instructed Bob. It was the decent thing to do. Forensics would probably have a conniption, but the crime scene had already been disturbed, so he didn’t see any harm.
He glanced over at the emergency technicians who were examining their patient at the back of the ambulance and started that way, but was detoured by another vehicle arriving on the scene. He was glad to see his second in command, Deputy Rudy Wilkins, and relieved it wasn’t the media. At any given moment, news crews might show up and throw the otherwise calm, and so far controlled investigation, into utter chaos. And that worried him.
Touching base with Rudy, he brought him up to speed, and finally made his way over to the ambulance where Angelique stood next to her brother, comforting him. He observed for a moment, finding Tomes upset, but alert and levelheaded.
“Are you up for answering a few questions, Mr. Jaffler?”
“I don’t
While they waited for EMS to arrive, he took the opportunity to question Angelique Jaffler. A beauty in her mid-twenties, with long, sable hair that fell down her back, she’d said very little up to this point. Left to handle matters since her brother was understandably unable to, Sheriff Pierson could see that she held back her own breakdown.
He pulled a small notepad from his pocket and jotted down the date and time—July twentieth, 12:46 a.m.—and her responses, listening to not only what she said, but observing her reactions. Despite the tragic circumstances of the night, he found her very calm and collected.
“Tomes, Louisa, and myself, we all retired to our rooms around eleven,” she recalled. “I read for a while before falling asleep, waking abruptly at 11:42 to the sound of a woman’s scream. I know the precise time because the first thing I did was look at the clock sitting on my nightstand,” she explained. “I rushed out and met Tomes in the hall. He’d also heard the scream, telling me that Louisa wasn’t in their room. He said her name…knowing.”
“Knowing?” Sheriff Pierson needed clarification.
“I think he knew it was her scream and feared the worst. Anyway, Tomes grabbed a flashlight from his room, this one.” She held it up. “And we hurried outside to look for her. We found her here five, or maybe ten, minutes later. It’s hard to be exact. Everything happened so fast.”
“What led you down the road, away from the farm?”
“Tomes was sure the scream had come from this direction, so we headed toward the road. We knew we were going the right way when he found her hair clip a short distance up the driveway.”
“Is Tomes the one who found her?” he asked.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, he was. But I hope you’re not suggesting he had anything to do with this. We both were—”
The glare of headlights alerted them to Officer Tanner’s return with an ambulance following.
“That was fast. They must have been close by. I need to take care of this.” Pierson excused himself to meet the paramedics and enlighten them on the sensitive matter at hand.
Allowing EMS full access to do their job, he, Angelique, and the officers stood in the background and watched while the paramedics managed to convince Tomes to release Louisa’s lifeless body.
Acceding, Tomes reluctantly laid his wife on the ground. He was gentle, treating her body like a fragile china doll. Illuminated by the moonlight, her fair skin held a pale-blue hue. In contrast, her bright auburn hair spilled around her face in thick, lustrous waves. Dressed in nothing more than a sheer nightgown that left nothing to the imagination, it revealed the outline of what had been a fit, vivacious body.
“Let’s get her covered up,” the sheriff instructed Bob. It was the decent thing to do. Forensics would probably have a conniption, but the crime scene had already been disturbed, so he didn’t see any harm.
He glanced over at the emergency technicians who were examining their patient at the back of the ambulance and started that way, but was detoured by another vehicle arriving on the scene. He was glad to see his second in command, Deputy Rudy Wilkins, and relieved it wasn’t the media. At any given moment, news crews might show up and throw the otherwise calm, and so far controlled investigation, into utter chaos. And that worried him.
Touching base with Rudy, he brought him up to speed, and finally made his way over to the ambulance where Angelique stood next to her brother, comforting him. He observed for a moment, finding Tomes upset, but alert and levelheaded.
“Are you up for answering a few questions, Mr. Jaffler?”
“I don’t
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