‘You look like something,’ Ripley said.
‘I know it looks bad, but I’m just a writer.’
Ella put herself in the killer’s shoes.She tried a different approach.‘Pretty weird, isn’t it?Those puncture wounds in Julia’s ribs.’
‘I don’t know anything about their deaths.I just know that they were killed.’
The frustration gnawed at Ella’s core.As far as she knew, the details of the victims’ deaths hadn’t been released to the public.Only the killer would know the finer details, and such a killer wouldn’t be able to resist correcting police on the details of his murders.She tapped her fingers on the table while she searched for her next angle.
‘The past two nights,’ she said.‘Where were you?’
‘I have a solid alibi,’ he said.
‘Go on.’
‘Two nights ago, I was working late at the Sentinel office.We're running on a skeleton crew, so I often work late hours.My editor, Marianne, was there with me.She left around midnight, but I stayed until nearly three in the morning.Security logs at the building can confirm that, and so can Marianne.’
Ripley scribbled something on her notepad.‘And last night?’
Todd clenched his teeth.‘I was at home.Alone.’
‘No one to verify that?’
‘No.’
‘So youdon’thave a solid alibi.’
‘Look, I know how it sounds.But I'm telling you, I had nothing to do with those deaths.I was just chasing a story.’
‘A story that conveniently placed you at the center of a double homicide.And why’d you run from my partner here?’
‘You think I’m stupid?Like I said, I know how it looks, and I know how quick the cops are to pin murders on innocent people.’
‘Good excuse.’
Ella raised her hand slightly, signaling Ripley to ease off.If Todd had an alibi for one of the nights of the murder, that was a starting point.If he had no alibi for the second night, she’d have to confirm his innocence another way.Until now, she’d been on the fence about Todd’s guilt, but now, studying his feeble profile and his crippling nerves, she doubted the man in front of her could have pulled off two violent, premeditated homicides.Todd was a scavenger picking at the bones of a story that he could sensationalize.He might have been a shark, but he wasn’t a predator.
‘Here's the deal, Todd,’ Ella began.‘You claim to be a journalist chasing a big story.I'll overlook the fact that you ran from me – which, let's be honest, wasn't your brightest moment.But in return, I want to see your notes.Every single thing you've gathered about the group, the victims, everything.If you're as innocent as you claim, those notes will help us find who's really responsible.’
‘My notes?They’re for my story, not for the police.’
‘It’s that or five years in jail for obstruction of justice.Not to mention assaulting a police officer.Take your pick.’
The journalist’s posture slumped.He glanced between his interrogators like a deer in the headlights.‘You don’t understand.Those notes could be my break.If you take them…’
‘And if your notes helped catch a killer?’
Ella could see the wheels in motion now.‘But what if-’
‘Todd, use your goddamn brain,’ Ripley snapped.
‘Fine.I’ll hand them over.But I want them back when you’re done.’
‘Nothing to hide, nothing to fear,’ Ella said.‘We’ll be keeping you here until we’ve checked everything out.’
She was out of the room, back into the warm air of the precinct corridor.Ripley followed, closing the interrogation room door behind her.
‘Thoughts?’Ripley asked.
