Serpent's Deceit (Entry 022)

 

There is a pendrive taped to the page for this entry. The person reading it hesitates at first. But curiosity gets the better of them. They insert the pendrive into their laptop. There is a single folder which contains only one audio recording. They click on the play button. The recording starts playing.

“The time is 10.30 a.m., November 5th, 2025. This is Detective Raine with the City Police Department. We are conducting an interview at the residence of Tulip Garcia regarding the murder case of Rachel Rosemary. Officer Adams and Officer Chen are present in the room. The interview is being audio recorded.

“Before we begin, I am required to inform you of your rights. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions. You have the right to have a lawyer with you during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you have the right to stop answering at any time. Do you understand everything?”

“I do.”

“Are you willing to proceed?”

“I…would like to have a lawyer present.”

“Okay. You are asking for counsel. We will pause the interview until an attorney is present.”

“Interview suspended at 10.35 a.m.”

“...”

“The time is 11.38 a.m., November 5th, 2025. The interview with Tulip Garcia regarding the murder case of Rachel Rosemary is resuming. Officer Adams, Officer Chen and her attorney Mr. Thomas Diaz are present in the room.

“Miss Garcia, you requested legal counsel earlier, and your attorney is now present. Have you had the opportunity to speak with him privately?”

“...”

“You have to answer verbally as the conversation is being recorded.”

“Okay. Yes, I spoke with him privately.”

“Alright. Are you willing to answer our questions now with your attorney present?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, let’s start now. When was your last encounter with Miss Rosemary?”

“Around eight, I think.”

“What were you doing?"

“We were getting ready for the party.”

“Just you two?”

“No, I had my other friends as well. Female friends.”

“May I have the names? Were they present at the party?”

“Yes, they were Jessie Truder, Erin Smith and Sophia Bell. They were present as far as I know.”

“Can you tell me when they left?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see them after that time.”

“After that, what did you do?”

“We just came downstairs all together and parted our ways.”

“What did you do?”

“I had conversations with people.”

“Who were they? You know them?”

“Yes. Alfie Ruiz and Rick Rosemary.”

“Miss Rosemary’s boyfriend and her brother?”

“What?”

“Are they not?”

“I…Rick is her brother, yes. But I didn’t know that about Alfie.”

“How did you know him then?”

“He is my boyfriend’s cousin.”

“Oh, got it. So, you are saying you didn’t see Miss Rosemary after all of you joined the party, and you then had conversations with Mr Ruiz and Mr Rosemary?”

“Yes.”

“Together or separate?”

“Separate.”

“What did you talk about?”

“Alfie gave me a birthday present, and Rick was just reminiscing about our childhood.”

“Okay, what happened after that?”

“I went to find my boyfriend, and we left the party.”

“Has anyone seen you leave?”

“I think? I was pretty drunk at that time, so I don’t remember correctly.”

“Who is your boyfriend?”

“Dax. Dax Miller.”

“Oh, I have witnesses mentioning they saw him getting into a big fight last night.”

“Yes, that’s where I found him as well.”

“What was it about?”

“I don’t know.”

“This is his house, I assume?”

“Yes.”

“I haven’t seen him all this while. Where is he?”

“I don’t know that either.”

“Have you contacted him?”

“I didn’t have the time. I also don’t have my phone with me. It’s in Ray’s house.”

“Okay, so you left the party with your boyfriend and had no contact with Miss Rosemary?”

“I didn’t have contact with anyone as far as I remember.”

“Understood. Okay, so I also have witnesses mentioning a brief physical altercation between you and Mr Rosemary before you left?”

“I slapped him. He did something out of line.”

“What did he do, may I know?”

“I…would rather not say it. It's also not relevant.”

“I understand. If it's something you are not comfortable saying right now, it's your right. But if it's something that happened to make you feel threatened or unsafe, I suggest you share. It's important and could help us understand the full picture.”

“It's really not relevant. My personal issue with Rick won't help you solve the case.”

“Mr Raine, my client has already declined to answer. Let's move on.”

“Understood. We respect your decision. Moving on to the next question. So, anything happened or caught your attention that could lead to the murder? Or anything in general that's unusual and caught your attention?”

“Um…. No, I don't think so.”

“Okay, so who would you suspect among the people invited to the party?”

“It was a high school party and a lot of people were invited. It could be any one of them. I don't know most of the people there.”

“It was your birthday party, no?”

“Yes.”

“Why were these people invited whom you didn't know?”

“It was a surprise party. I wasn't aware. Moreover, like I said, it's a high school party as well. So it's normal to not know people there.”

“Okay, one last question. Since it was your birthday party, why did you leave so early? You didn't even open the gifts, may I mention?”

“I was very drunk and wasn't feeling too well. I don't even remember exactly when or how I left.”

“Got it. So that will be all for now, Miss Garcia. We appreciate your cooperation and the information you provided today. You will be contacted later if needed.

“Concluding the interview with Miss Tulip Garcia regarding the murder case of Rachel Rosemary. The time is 12.21 p.m. The recording ends here.”

The listener notices that there's still nearly five minutes left of the audio recording. There's no sound after the detective ended the recording. Five minutes of pure silence? They want to put it off at first. Then they decide to just let it play. The silence continues for a few more minutes. When there's nearly one minute left, a voice speaks up.

“And this record never made it to the police station, let alone the court.”