Ed McBain - Goldilocks

“Maureen told me my father wasn’t home, and ah... asked me if I wanted to come in.”

“Did you go in?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Through the front door?”

“Yes.”

“Where did you go? What part of the house?”

“Well... ah... first we went into the kitchen.”

“Yes, go on.”

“We sat down in the kitchen.”

“Yes.”

“There’s a table there in the kitchen.”

“Go on.”

“And while we were sitting there... it’s hard for me to remember all this.”

“I know it is. But while you were sitting at the kitchen table...”

“I guess I saw the knives.”

“What knives?”

“There’s a rack on the wall. In the kitchen. It’s a magnetic rack, there’re four or five knives on it. You know, different kinds of knives.”

“What happened when you saw this rack with the knives on it?”

“I guess I... ah... got up and grabbed one of the knives from the rack.”

“Which knife?”

“It had to be one of the big knives.”

“Can you describe the knife more particularly?”

“No, I don’t really remember what it looked like. One of the big ones on the rack. I just... I just reached up and grabbed the... nearest knife.”

“But you don’t remember which knife it was.”

“I know it was one of the big ones.”

“How many big ones were there on the rack?”

“I don’t know.”

“But you reached for one of them.”

“Yes.”

“Reached how ? Can you show me where the knife rack was in relationship to the table here in this room?”

“Yes, it was... it would have been to the right. I got up, and I walked to the right, and I took the knife off the rack.”

“What did Maureen say when she saw you doing this?”

“Nothing. I don’t remember.”

“What were you talking about before you reached for the knife?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Well, was it a pleasant conversation?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Would you remember why you got up and reached for the knife?”

“I just got up and grabbed it from the rack.”

“What did you do then?”

“I stabbed her.”

“Were you still in the kitchen when you stabbed her?”

“Yes. Well, no, actually, we were... it was in the bedroom.”

“How did you get to the bedroom?”

“I don’t remember. I guess she ran in there.”

“And you followed her?”

“Yes.”

“With the knife?”

“Yes.”

“In which hand were you holding the knife?”

“My right hand.”

“Are you right-handed?”

“Yes.”

“Were you holding the knife in your right hand when you stabbed her?”

“Yes.”

“Did she scream?”

“Her mouth.”

“What about her mouth?”

“It was open.”

“She was screaming, is that it?”

“No.”

“But her mouth was open?”

“Yes.”

“Did she say anything to you?”

“No.”

“Where was she when you stabbed her?”

“On the... near the... she was... in the... in the... I didn’t see her at first, she was... there was...”

“All right, Mr. Purchase, calm down now. Calm down, please.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

“Would you like a glass of water?”

“No, thank you.”

“Just try to...”

“Yes.”

“Compose yourself.”

“Yes.”

“When you’re ready to continue—”

“I’m ready now.”

“Just tell me again what happened in the bedroom.”

“I stabbed her.”

“Where was she?”

“In the closet.”

“What was she doing in the closet?”

“I didn’t see her at first. I was looking.”

“But you didn’t see her.”

“Not at first.”

“And when you did see her...?”

“Yes.”

“What happened after you saw her?”

“I... stabbed her.”

“How many times did you stab her?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Were you angry?”

“Sad.”

“Why were you sad?”

“She was dead.”

“You were sad that you’d killed her?”

“It was true.”

“What was true?”

“She was dead.”

“Had you thought it wasn’t true?”

“I was wishing... I kept wishing it was a mistake.”

“I don’t understand. You kept wishing what was a mistake?”

“That she was dead.”

“When did you realize it wasn’t a mistake?”

“Well, I saw her... she... when I saw her on the floor... with... the gown all torn... all slashed... and... her... her throat cut, I... I knew she was dead, I knew it was true, and I... I took her in my arms. I held her, I rocked her...”

“Why did you do that?”

“I was crying.”

“Was this after you realized she was dead?”

“Yes, after I realized.”

“Is that how you got the blood on your clothes?”

“Yes.”

“When you held your stepmother in your arms?”

“Yes. And my sister Emily. I held Emily in my arms, too.”

“Did you also embrace Eve?”

“No, Eve was... under the covers. I... just Emily. I just held Emily.”

“When was this?”

“I... I lifted her... she was on the floor inside the door.”

“Are we talking about Emily now?”

“Yes, Emily.”

“What was she wearing?”

“A short nightgown and... panties.”

“What color was the nightgown?”

“A pale blue.”

“Did it have sleeves?”

“No.”

“What color were the panties?”

“I don’t know.”

“What was Eve wearing?”

“I don’t know. She was under the covers.”

“But Emily wasn’t in bed?”

“No.”

“When did you go into the girls’ room?”

“Afterward.”

“After what?”

“After Maureen.”

“Why did you go into the girls’ room?”

“Maureen was dead, I wanted to...”

“Yes?”

“I went in to see the girls.”

“Were you still carrying the knife?”

“What?”

“The knife. Was it—”

“Yes.”

“Still in your hand?”

“Yes.”

“You still had the knife in your hand.”

“Yes, I... still had it.”

“So you went into the girls’ room with the knife in your hand.”

“Yes.”

“What did you do then?”

“I stabbed the girls, too.”

“Which of the girls did you stab first?”

“Emily. She was just inside the door.”

“She was out of bed, and was standing just inside the door, is that it?”

“She was... yes. Yes, that’s it.”

“Did you say anything to her?”

“No.”

“How many times did you stab her?”

“A lot. It had to be a lot.”

“Did she scream?”

“I don’t remember.”

“What did you do then?”

“I went to the bed where Eve was. Against the wall. And I... ah... I stabbed her, too.”

“Through the covers?”

“Through the covers.”

“Then what did you do?”

“I left the house.”

“You said you embraced your sister—”

“What?”

“Emily. You said you embraced—”

“Yes, that must have... that was... I guess after I stabbed Eve, I... on the way out of the room, I... Emily was on the floor just inside the door, I... held her, too, I... knelt down beside her and just... held her in my arms, and I suppose I was crying, I suppose I was still crying. Because it was all so goddamn sad, it was all so sad.”

“What did you do then? After you embraced Emily.”

“I put her gently... I lowered her gently to the... the floor again, and I left the house.”

“Through the front door?”