Chapter 12! Now I'm not continuing until reviews...evil grin

Everything went exactly according to plan. She left the café, hailed a taxi, and arrived at Sarah's flat. Sarah welcomed her in the lobby, and the two of them spent three days together, going to the theatre, catching up on gossip, boozing, having a few laughs, as she later told the press.

After that, she went back to Amos' flat. Put the key in the lock, turned it, opened the door, stepped inside the room and screamed. Screamed, and kept on screaming, even when anxious neighbours came hurrying round, and led her away.

"Now, Miss Bell-" the policeman was interrupted by Roxie.

"Mrs Hart, please," she sniffed, "Amos and I were just about to start living together again, you know, properly. And now...now," she broke off and started crying. The young policeman looked nervous. It was his first murder investigation, and, although he had to admit he felt a slight thrill when he thought of it, he was hating interviewing Roxie.

"Oh. I see," he said, taken aback, "Um, well, would you like to leave this until DA Harrison gets here?"

Roxie nodded, still whimpering into her handkerchief.

So the two sat there, not speaking, the silence only broken by Roxie's snivels. Then, the door flew open, and in walked the District Attorney. He pulled up a chair facing Roxie, telling the constable to take notes.

"Miss Bell, I realise that this is very upsetting, but I'd like you to answer a few questions."

Roxie nodded again, scrubbed at her eyes with her hanky, and sat up very straight in the cane backed chair.

"Mr Harrison, I'd appreciate it if you could call me by my proper name; Roxie Bell is my stage name, but Amos and I were about to start living together again. You see, he phoned me up after my manager died-" here a tear escaped from her eye and ran down her pretty face unchecked- "and asked if we could make it up. We...we discovered we still loved each other, and Amos forgave me for everything."

Harrison stared at her for a moment. Roxie held her breath- had he been taken in, or had she piled it on too thick? Then- "Quite," he said, and leaned toward her.

"Mrs Hart. We can't put an exact time to your husband's death. He was, obviously, murdered, and the doctor reckons it happened some time between about six o'clock on Friday and 10 o'clock on Saturday. Can you tell us, please, where you were then, and where you have been until now?"

Roxie gulped. "Well, I was at home all day. Amos phoned me from work to say that he'd be back a bit late, and did I want to stay at my friend Sarah's until Tuesday. He was at work a lot, and he was afraid it wasn't much of a life for me. I phoned Sarah straight away, at about five, and she said of course I could come. It's kinda been in the diary for a long time. Well, I got a case ready, and hailed a cab. I stopped off at the café on Hinden Street, the waitress might remember me? Her first name is Mary. I must have stayed there for, oh, ten minutes. I had a magazine. Then I caught another cab to Sarah's block- Sarah Lane, we were at school together in Lubbock. I arrived there about twenty to six., twenty five to, maybe. Well, we spent the weekend together. I was going to go home on Sunday, but we were having such a good time, I wanted to stay on until Monday. I rung Amos, but I thought he must have been working. And...and...he must have been dead by then!" Roxie broke off once more to start crying.

"Mrs Hart, please, try to keep yourself together,"said Harrison, frustrated.

"I'm trying! It's just that...dear Amos."

"You thought he was at work, what did you do then?"

"Well, he had originally said three days, so I thought he wouldn't mind. So, I stayed on. Then today I came back. I didn't think he'd be home yet, but there he was on the floor, with that awful pool of blood around him..."

"Is that everything?" questioned the District Attorney.

"Uhuh," sniffed Roxie, "Oh..."

"Yes?" snapped Harrison.

"Well, I didn't want to tell you before, I was a bit, well, embarrassed. But I thought I would have to show you these, now that there have been three."

Roxie produced the letters.

"Wow," said the constable, leaning over Harrison to get a better look. Harrison waved him away impatiently.

"Are these all the ones you have been sent?" he asked excitedly. Roxie shook her head.

"No, These were the first two. After the rest started arriving, I began throwing them in the fire when I got one. But I had lost these, I only found them the day I went to Sarah's, and I forgot to bin them."

"Well, it's a very good thing you didn't! Why didn't you show me before? And what did the others say?"

"I was a little embarrassed, that's why I didn't show you. And I thought it must be coincidence. They others said that they would kill any man I was with so that I would hang as a murderer. They said that just killing me was too good for me."

Harrison whistled.

"Alright Mrs Hart, you can go now. Have you got somewhere to stay?"

"Yes, I'm staying here tonight."

"Thankyou."

Roxie was dismissed, and decided to go to bed early. It had been a stressful day! She was rudely shaken awake about an hour later.

"Come on!" Harrison said, shining his torch in her eyes, "We're going down to Cook County Jail, you murderess!"