I swallow the lump building up in my throat. “I was at my parents home, they were having their annual Halloween party that night.”
He nods his head and hums under his breath. “Who all was there?” he asks, his voice is stern and serious and he asks the questions with no emotion.
“There were a bunch of people,” I say. “I can’t possibly name them all.”
“Your mother said it was a small affair, close friends.” He shoots back at me.
I chuckle, “My mother thinks a few hundred people at her house is a small affair.” I tell him. “We have differing opinions on what a small party is.”
“Okay,” he draws the word out. “So tell me then, how many is small to you?”
I nod, trying to mentally tally the people who were there that night. “I think about fifty people maybe. My family, obviously,” I say. “Then the Radcliffes, the Wolfes, and the Monroes plus all of their kids. And my fiancée, Mikaela.”
He gives me an encouraging nod. “When did Auden Wilder show up?” he asks.
I close my eyes for a minute, letting the memory of Auden coming through the door float ba
ck to the top of my head. “It was late, I tell him, maybe after midnight. I’m not sure. We had all been drinking.”
“And where was Mikaela when her sister got there?” The question pops from his lips quickly, one after another with no space between.
“She was with me. We both saw Auden come through the front door, she was crying, something had upset her. Mikaela and I both went over to check on her.”
“Would you say you were close with your fiancée’s younger sister?” There’s a menacing look on his face, like he’s trying to catch me in a lie with this question.
The gossip is filled with theories that there was something happening between Auden and I, that we were hiding a relationship from Mik. “She was like a little sister to me,” I shrug. “But I was never really with her without Mik there.”
“How often did you spend time with her?” he asks, still trying to trap me, to prove something.
“What are you getting at here?” David growls from his spot next to me.
He shrugs nonchalantly. “Just trying to set the scene.”
“I don’t know.” I answer. “Mik and I were together for two years before that night, I saw Auden lots of times.”
“And when you saw her, what were you doing?”
David scoffs at the question, but I answer it. “Mik drove her around a lot, she was in a lot of activities, so I would tag along. If she was home when Mik and I were hanging out we would let her watch a movie with us, stuff like that.”
DA Miller nods his head, flipping through the papers in front of him. “So back to that night, Auden comes into your house crying. Why was she upset?”
The mystery even I don’t know. I shake my head, “I'm not sure.” I tell him. “We never found out.”
“Why?” he asks coldly.
“Mik was drunk, she could barely stand up so I took her to lay down and when I came back I saw Auden leaving through the back. I went to follow her but she got there before I could.” I wipe a hand over my face, my heart is racing telling this story, this lie. “She jumped before I could get to her.”
“So that’s it?” he asks. “She shows up and immediately goes and jumps off a cliff in your backyard without another word?”
“Maybe she liked the view,” I give him a half smile.
“Why would she do that? And if she truly just wanted to commit suicide, why would she go to your house?”
I shrug my shoulders involuntarily. “She knew about the cliff, she had been on our property before. I don’t know why she would have chosen that.”
“I think you do, Mr. Bancroft.” He shoots back at me, whipping a sheet of paper from the folder and turning it toward David and I. “The forensics report shows from the angle she hit the ground she had to have been pushed. There is no way Auden Wilder jumped off that cliff, so are you sure that’s the story you want to stick with?” A bead of sweat rolls down his face, I think he has himself all worked up from berating me.
“Yes.” I say, keeping my voice steady. “That’s the truth. She jumped.”