Special Agent Alexander Davis sat in the hallway of Mercy Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For the last several days, he’d endlessly poured over the meager tips and clues that had trickled in regarding the poisoning of Taylor Hanson. Due to the victim’s high-profile status, the case had quickly moved to the national level, and so there he was. The fluorescent light above him flickered at random, and he cast a glare in its direction before turning his attention back to the file on his lap.
At the moment, he could only hope that a conversation with Mr. Hanson would solidify the case he’d put together.
“You can see him now,” a nurse told him after leaving Taylor’s room, “Just don’t be too long. He needs his rest.”
“Thank you,” Special Agent Davis said, nodding politely at her before entering the room she’d just vacated. Inside, he found Taylor sitting up in his hospital bed. It wasn’t the first time they’d met since the incident had taken place, but it was the first time they’d had the opportunity to speak alone.
“Special Agent Davis,” Taylor said, extending a hand to him. They shook hands and then Special Agent Davis pulled up a chair to the side of the bed. “I’m hoping you have some good news for me.”
“I’m afraid I don’t, Mr. Hanson. Detectives across the country have interviewed the three members of the Facebook group Taylor Hanson Must Die.”
“Oh, great,” Taylor sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes. Special Agent Davis ignored this and opened his file.
“Brielle Magnus of Chicago claims that the two of you had a strictly sexual relationship that lasted approximately three years. Is this true?”
“Yes,” he said softly.
“She stated that she ended the arrangement because she contracted syphilis from you. Is this true?”
“She came to me in Tulsa and told me that I had given her syphilis, which I didn’t. The night before she got her wisdom teeth removed, a few days after she’d been with me for the last night, she got plastered and slept with some random guy from a bar. I know because she sent me a drunken text message telling me so,” Taylor explained, picking up his cell phone from the bed beside him and scrolling through his messages until he found the one in question. He handed the phone to Special Agent Davis who read the screen.
just hooked up w someone who isnt a DICK. i h8 u!
“Colorful.”
“They always are. And I didn’t bother responding to it, or any of her other messages, because I was ready to be done with her once and for all,” Taylor explained.
“We’ll need to verify the authenticity of this message. Will you give us permission to search your phone records?” Special Agent Davis asked.
“Of course,” Taylor agreed, “And I got tested for syphilis and was clean. I can give you proof of that, too.”
“Thank you, that would be very helpful. Now, a Vivian Carter of New York City claims that the two of you dated for a year, and that also ended this spring.”
“Yes, we dated, but I didn’t mean to start anything with her. I’ve been a mess for the last several years. I know that. And when I met Viv, I was just looking for friendship. She kissed me the night we met and even though I tried to keep it platonic, it just didn’t work out that way. She’s a great person, and I never should have gone to her place that night. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind for it and I knew better. But I was already on such a downward spiral, I did it anyway.”
“She said in her interrogation that you’d told her that it was hard to find someone who liked you for you. Why did you say that?” Taylor looked down at his hands for a long time before responding.
“I was starting to feel paranoid about Molly. I’m sure it was my own guilt seeping through, and that I was just projecting. But, I went through this brief phase when Molly was really starting to get into the wedding planning and I just became convinced that she only wanted me because I was Taylor Hanson. She’d never given me any reason not to trust her, but for a few months I didn’t. And it was during that time that I met Viv,” Taylor explained.
“Speaking of your ex-fiance, Molly Stewart, could you tell me more about your relationship with her?” Special Agent Davis asked. Taylor took a deep breath before starting in.
“I was young when I met Molly, only eighteen. She took me completely by surprise. She was a fan, but she wasn’t like the others. That’s how we met, but it wasn’t why we started dating. Once we were together, I didn’t want to be with anyone else. Molly is my perfect complement. And then, as we got older and more serious, I started to get scared. With the exception of a couple of one-night stands before I met her, she was the only person I’d ever really been with, and was the only real relationship I’d ever had. I was young and it started to feel like my life was crushing in on me. Like it was over already.
“I met Brielle and I’d had way too much to drink. She wasn’t nice. I didn’t like her, and she didn’t like me either, but we were attracted to each other. In my mind, it was perfect. I didn’t, and knew I couldn’t, have any kind of emotional connection to her. So, we slept together. I felt awful. I actually threw up the next morning, not because I was hungover, but because I was so disgusted with myself.
“But, it happened again. And again. And the longer it kept going, the more awful I felt, but it was like I’d opened a floodgate that I couldn’t close. I knew I had to stop it. Just a taste of being with Brielle showed me that I wanted to be with Molly. I proposed to her and she accepted.”
“You thought that becoming engaged would stop you from being promiscuous?” Special Agent Davis asked.
“Basically, and it worked for awhile. But Brielle kept calling me and the sex was so fantastic that I couldn’t resist. I was weak and pathetic, and I know that. Every time we’d get together, I would swear that it was the last time. My brothers were furious with me and hated lying to Molly for me. And then I met Viv, and everything started to spiral seriously out of control. I really tried to just be friends with her, even bringing her out to lunch with my brothers. But, it didn’t work out that way. And then with the way everything came out in the open…” Taylor trailed off. He took a moment to compose himself before continuing and Special Agent Davis’ eyes never left his face. “I hadn’t seen Brielle in months and hadn’t talked to her since she left me messages accusing me of giving her syphilis. That was the final nail in the coffin, and once I got tested and proved her wrong, it was such a relief to finally be done with her.
“I went to Tulsa to get my head on straight and to spend some time with my family. I wanted to make a clean break with Viv and to get my relationship with Molly back on track. She was really suspicious by that time, even though she never said anything to me. I could see it in her eyes and I had to make it stop. But then Viv showed up in Tulsa to surprise me. I thought it might work out great, because I could break up with her in person and it would be okay. When I came back from the sound check, she was gone but her stuff wasn’t, so I figured she might have bought a ticket to the show and was in the crowd. When I came backstage after the show was over, I found all three girls sitting with each other on the couch in my dressing room and it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room.
“Brielle came up to me first, again accusing me of giving her syphilis, but she wasn’t the one I cared about talking to. I think that Viv was more mad at me for cheating on Molly than for anything else, but I still felt terrible about the way it ended with her. Like I said before, I never should have gotten involved with her in the first place and if I would have been stronger, she never would have gotten hurt.
“And then there was Molly. She looked broken, and I knew right then that no matter what I said, nothing could make it right. She was mine for eight years and I destroyed it because I was scared of forever. I haven’t spoken to her since that day when she threw the ring back at me and walked out. I’ve tried to get in touch with her, but she changed her e-mail address and always screens my calls. I sent the ring back to her, but never heard a word back. I don’t know if she still has it or if she threw it away or sold it, but it’s hers and I wanted her to have it. When I went to Tulsa, I was trying to make it right, and it all blew up in my face. I deserved that, though. Right?” They sat in silence for a few moments before Special Agent Davis cleared his throat, flipped through the papers in the file, and looked back at Taylor.
“Mr. Hanson, thank you for confirming the suspects’ claims. If you’ll allow me, I’d like to tell you what I believe happened the night you were poisoned,” Special Agent Davis started, waiting for Taylor’s agreement before continuing, “When the ladies found each other in Tulsa, you lost all three of them at once. When Miss Stewart wouldn’t return your attempts at communication, you were hurt even further. You were feeling lost and desperate.
“Now, your dressing room at Cain’s Ballroom has been searched and fingerprinted endlessly. Every surface of everything in that room has been scoured, and the only fingerprints we can find on the wine bottle are your own. The video surveillance in the hallway outside of the dressing room shows only one other person entering your room that night, an employee of the building with a cart clearly housing all of the items found in your dressing room except for the wine bottle,” he said.
“What are you saying?” Taylor asked, looking suspiciously back at him.
“I’m saying that given the evidence, I believe that you were the one to place the wine bottle in amongst the items left for you by the venue. I believe that you poisoned the wine. What I don’t know is whether you intended to take your own life or if you simply wanted the attention, knowing that it would be highly publicized. I’m leaning towards the former.”
“I think it’s time for you to leave,” Taylor replied dryly, “I’m tired.”
“I’m going to recommend that a psychologist come speak to you, Mr. Hanson. Regardless of what the reason is for your self-poisoning, talking to someone will definitely be in your best interest. We do not take false claims lightly, and I will be in touch,” Special Agent Davis replied, not shaking Taylor’s hand before he left. As he left the room, he practically ran into an exhausted looking girl with long brown hair.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, hoping he wouldn’t notice that she’d been eavesdropping the entire time. She watched as he stalked down the hallway, clutching a file tight in his right hand. Eyes darting back and forth, she searched the hallway for a nurse, but found it thankfully vacant. With a trembling hand, she pushed open the door and stepped inside, closing it behind her.
“Molly?” Taylor asked, his eyes opening wide. Her chin trembled as she hurried forward, throwing her arms around him as she sat on the edge of the bed.
“You’re okay,” she breathed, pulling back and placing her hands on his cheeks, “You’re going to be okay, right?” He reached up to place a hand over one of hers, pressing her hand harder into his face.
“I’m going to be okay,” he said, “But why are you here? I thought you hated me. You should hate me.”
“I can’t hate you. I tried. I tried really hard, but I can’t,” she said, looking down and inhaling shakily before continuing, “I heard what you said to the guy who just left.”
“What did you hear?”
“Every word. The second they let me out of the police station, I got on a plane. I had to come see you then, and that was before I knew everything. It’s going to take a long time to fix this. You cheated on me for years, and I know why, but I still don’t understand. If you were scared, then why didn’t you talk to me?” she asked. He shook his head and gave her a sad smile.
“I don’t know,” he said, “And I don’t know why I let it go on for so long. I knew you were suspicious, but I still just couldn’t stop. I was going to fix it all, and I was going to tell you the truth, but I didn’t want you to find out that way. I’m so sorry you had to find out from them and not me.”
“It would have sucked the same either way,” she told him, “I want to try to rebuild, but only if you can promise me that it will never happen again. If it does, I’m gone for good. I mean that. This is your only chance.”
“When I saw your face that night in Tulsa, I was so scared. You might as well have punched me in the chest when you threw the ring at me, because that’s what it felt like. I’ve been a mess for the last month. I was shitty and I wasn’t faithful, and I’m so sorry,” he said, tears spilling over his cheeks as he pulled her close. They sat that way for a long time, both crying and holding each other until Molly couldn’t take it any more.
“Taylor, please tell me. I have to know,” she said, “Did you do this to yourself?”
Special Agent Davis stood hidden from sight outside the hospital room door, just as Molly had done, waiting for Taylor’s reply. At this point, it didn’t matter what his answer was, because foul play had been ruled out and his superior had told him that the case was closed unless new information was revealed. Now he just wanted to know for himself.
As the whispered word met Molly’s ears, it just managed to make its way to Special Agent Davis’. Shaking his head lightly, he pushed off the wall and walked away, flipping open his cell phone as he went.
The End