Chapter 19

Anna was like, "Don't even look at me. I have no clue about Tammy. I heard what she said for the first time yesterday too. She's super secretive, and I don't know much about their family stuff! Damn Tony! He just listens to his mom all the time, like a total pushover. He's useless, has no skills, makes little money, and has almost every bad trait a guy can have. But if something really happens to Tammy, he definitely won't be okay. I really don't like her, but I'm not trying to throw her under the bus. Even though Tony is useless, he can't be without his mom."

This time I met Anna, she was almost surprising. Yesterday, in front of Tammy, she was sharp-tongued, showing no respect for her. But today, she seemed more mature overall. I wondered if this was what the relationship between in-laws was like.

Alan was an orphan and had never seen his parents, so naturally, I hadn't been through the usual mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship.

"You've thought it through very well. To be honest, what you just said surprised me a bit," I said sincerely.

"Do you think I'm an unreasonable, money-grubbing person?" Anna laughed self-deprecatingly.

"Not at all. Let's get back to Ms. Martinez. You mentioned she lied about something earlier," I changed the subject.

Anna looked hesitant, thought for a while, and then mustered the courage to say, "She hasn't always worked the night shift. It's only been in the past two weeks or so. She suddenly started working the night shift, and we've argued about it more than once."

I nodded. Yesterday, I did hear them arguing at their door, mentioning the night shift. Anna wasn't lying.

The suspicion about the witness testimony could now be confirmed. Tammy not only gave false testimony but was also involved in this matter. Several people conspired together to target Laura, trying to put her to death.

Combining this with Scott's final statement in court, I had a bold idea: the real culprit of this arson and murder case might be someone else.

When I came to this conclusion, I was shocked. I was actually trying to exonerate a husband-killer! But then I thought, 'The case is still unclear. Laura is still under police control. If it really is her, she won't escape the law's punishment. But if it's not her, Alan's death would be a grave injustice.'

The whole thing became more and more confusing.

Seeing me in a daze, Anna called out, "Ms. Johnson?"

"Sorry, I was lost in thought," I quickly apologized.

Anna asked, "Tammy... will she get into trouble because of this? She's a bit overbearing usually, but she definitely wouldn't kill anyone. I regretted sending you the message yesterday, but I was really worried that hiding it would have worse consequences, so I came to you."

"No, the case has been postponed for further investigation. Testimony isn't always considered direct evidence. Maybe she just remembered wrong. Has Ms. Martinez been acting strange lately? If you know anything, please tell me." I could only comfort her like this for now.

Tammy conspired others to give false testimony, and if she didn't correct it or explain her reasons, she would definitely face legal consequences. But I couldn't say this in front of Anna.

Anna thought for a moment and then said, "She's pretty much the same as always. She usually sleeps lightly, and after coming back from the night shift, she wakes up after just about three hours. Nothing else unusual."

I asked, "What about the day of the incident, on November 10th?"

"Nothing unusual, I think," Anna said, then added, "Oh, she did mention her old leg problem flared up that day, and she couldn't walk, so Tony took her to the Entertainment Club on his motorcycle."

Tony was at the Entertainment Club that day too!

I shuddered, trying to keep my cool, and asked in a calm tone, "What time did they leave?"

"Around 7:30, and he came back close to 9," Anna replied.

The incident happened around 9 PM that night. From Sand Village to True Love Entertainment Club, it took Tammy about half an hour by bicycle. I had followed her and calculated the time. By motorcycle, it would take at most 20 minutes.

From 7:30 to 9, there was an hour and a half. Subtracting 40 minutes for commuting, there were still nearly 50 minutes left. What was Tony doing at the Entertainment Club?

The timeline didn't match the incident, but it didn't mean Tony had nothing to do with the case.

I nodded, seemingly changing the topic but actually leading it towards Tony. "Alright, let's put this matter aside for now and talk about the demolition. Ms. Martinez said Tony was disabled from the beating. Where was he injured, and what level of disability is it?"

Anna suddenly fell silent, her face turning a bit grim. She stared at the sausage on her plate with a mix of resentment, hatred, and anger. She picked up her fork and stabbed the sausage hard. After a long time, she said sadly, "Ms. Johnson, what do you think is the most devastating pain for a man?"

I was stunned, slowly nodded, and didn't ask further. I finally understood Tammy's hysterical cursing at the demolition team. It turned out that they assaulted Tony, leaving him impotent. I felt a bit more sympathy for Tammy.

I continued, "Yesterday, you mentioned Ms. Martinez's other son who betrayed the family. Who were you referring to? How many children does Ms. Martinez have? It seems related to the demolition."

Anna sneered, "She has two children. The other one is Zack Garcia, older than Tony."

"Zack Garcia? Shouldn't his last name be Thompson?" I asked.

"I don't know," Anna shook her head, curled her lips, and laughed. "Maybe she was promiscuous when she was young and brought a child into her current marriage. I'm not making this up. I heard it from people in the village. Zack and Tony have completely different personalities. Zack is smart, did well in school, and has been scheming since he was young. He got into a good university, Silverlight University. On the contrary, Tony is dull, talks little, and is not very bright. He only got into a community college."

"How's the relationship between the two brothers?" I asked.

"I heard it was good, but ever since Zack did that treacherous thing, they haven't seen each other and Zack hasn't come home! That ungrateful bastard! Maybe Tony's injury was his doing!" Anna said through gritted teeth. "Tammy still defends Zack to this day. Just because he makes more money, does that make him great? He didn't give her even a penny!"