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His eyes, when he opened the door, first flashed with impatience.
But now that he sees our third, his entire countenance changes. “I’d like to say it’s a pleasure to meet you, Chief.” He takes her hand, caressing it in his right, and patting his left over top. “But I happened across a news article recently that cast shadows over your integrity.”
“Funny.” Her expression glacial, Minka tugs her hand from his and wipes her palm on her pants. “I don’t recall being interviewed for that news article, Mr. Jones. I gave no statement. I remain silent on the matter. So to think you would lay your trust in an article written by someone I’ve never met, someone whose very job is to appeal to the sensational, seems foolish on your part. Perhaps that’s why you never made a successful career in police work.”
Fletch snorts by my side, his chest and shoulders bouncing with muted laughter.
Jones, on the other hand, scowls the way someone would after taking a bite out of a lemon.
That’s my girl.
“We have more questions for you,” I butt in, gently nudging Minka back and stealing Jones’ attention. “About Adrianna Alves.”
“Jesus Christ.” He rolls his eyes to the ceiling and huffs, but in the same breath, he steps forward, forcing us back unless we want to be so close that our toes touch. “You’re not coming into my home,” he grits out. Before closing the door, he allows a massive fluffy dog out who bounds from the front stoop and onto the grass. Sniffing, Jones pushes past our trio and heads onto the lawn, giving us his back.
Not something anyone I know would do. Cops or mafia. To turn your back on a perceived threat is downright stupid.
“I don’t know what else you want from me,” he exhales. “I don’t particularly think Adrianna killed her husband. I don’t know who did. I don’t know if she was close enough with anyone in class to collude with them, or even admit it to them. I do, however, think she’s smart enough to know she would be the first suspect. It’s no mystery the woman lived and breathed for her kids, so to go away for a man’s murder doesn’t seem all that copacetic regarding what’s best for her daughters.”
“You had all of that ready, like a speech.” I dig my hands into my pockets and wander forward. “We didn’t even ask you questions yet, and you had a whole thing prepared.”
He scoffs in the back of his throat, turning from his dog and coming back around to face us. “I know the questions you’ve come to ask. I know you want a fuller picture of your number one suspect and the world that surrounds her.” Then he smiles chillingly and looks at Minka. “Guess all that police training was good for something.”
I step to my right and block his view of my wife. Which is dumb, really. I invited her here. I asked her to come.
“What if we told you Adrianna was no longer our number one suspect?” I don’t move again, even when Minka steps around me. But I stare into his eyes and work to hold the man’s attention. “Like you said, she was an obvious first choice. She was in the home, she had no alibi, and the bruises on her face gave her motive.”
He sets his hands on his hips and considers my words. “Okay. I’ll play. Who are you looking at right now?”
“My understanding is that the Detectives are considering a white-knight-type scenario,” Minka inserts. She so easily takes control of a discussion. Her small frame, a non-issue once she begins speaking. “It’s not out of the realm of possibility a man did this for her. To save her, ya know?”
“A man?” Jones laughs. “What man? There’s no way in hell that girl was having an affair with someone else. She wasn’t entertaining a relationship on the side.”
“What makes you so sure?” I question. “The last time we spoke with you, you were adamant you didn’t know your students outside of class. You didn’t know their personal lives. And you sure as shit didn’t know their private relationships.”
“I don’t—” Stumbling, he frowns. “I’m a detective, Detective. I don’t have to know people personally to know how they tick.”
“You think so?” Minka saunters forward, her shoulder-length hair worn loose today. Her outfit, medical-examiner professional. “How do I tick?”
“You?”
“Me.” She grins. “We’ve never met before this moment. You don’t know me professionally, nor do you know me in a private capacity.” She stops, still six feet from where he stands. “What makes me tick?”
Instantly, his eyes shoot over the top of her head and stop on me. “You’re married to him,” he grumbles, like the words alone taste bad in his mouth. “That means you probably have low self-esteem and lack the ability to speak up for yourself. Like Adrianna.”
“Oh?” Minka nods, just a slight movement of her head. “Okay. What else?”
“You’re married to the mob. Which means you’re a woman for sale.” His lips curl up, but in a sneer. “You hold a powerful position within the city, which means, now, the Malones do too. You stand in front of them both,” he looks across to me and Fletch again, “which means they’ve already conditioned you into becoming their target.” He stops now, before gritting out, “Take care, Ms. Mayet. When a Malone is at risk of falling, his shields will go down first.”
“Doctor Mayet,” Minka inserts. “I haven’t been a miss since high school. You seem concerned for me, Mr. Jones. However, you speak to me with disdain. I can only assume that is because of who I chose to marry. Had we met outside of this, had I never met Archer Malone?—”
“I would consider you exceptionally attractive,” he agrees easily. “I would think your drive to become a doctor, admirable. Somewhat cute, I suppose. Depending on your personality and how you manage the stress of the job. Should you and I have met in a professional capacity, I would have thought you a go-getter, but naïve.”
“Someone who needs protection,” she adds smoothly. “You think my dreams of becoming a doctor were as realistic as another girl’s dream to become a princess?”
He chuckles. “You make me sound like a chauvinist. My intention is to guard you from the pain of rejection and work you’re not fit to complete.”
“Right…” Minka turns on her heels, giving me a perfect view of her face in profile. Of the dimple on her cheek and the playful expression in her eyes. “And my position now, as Chief Medical Examiner?”
