Jared stared at the photo like it was a venomous snake about to strike.His face drained of color and left him a sickly shade of grey.‘I don’t...I have no idea.I swear to God, I’ve never seen this girl before.’
Ella leaned forward, elbows on the table, invading his space.‘See, I find that hard to believe, Jared.This thing just magically ends up on a dead woman’s body?That’s one hell of a coincidence.’
‘It is a coincidence!Or someone’s trying to set me up!’
‘And who would want to do that?Who’s got it in for you so bad they’d kill two women to pin it on you?’
‘I don’t know.Rose’s psycho sister?One of Rose’s new guys?’
Ella had to admit, Jared’s confusion and desperation seemed genuine.She’d grilled enough perps to know the difference between authentic bewilderment and acting.But she couldn’t let him see her doubts.
‘Or maybe you’re exactly what you look like.Someone with a history of abusing women, who finally escalated from emotional torment to physical violence.’
'That's insane!I never laid a hand on Rose or any woman.I'm not a monster.'
Ella had played her ace.An accusation.And Jared had responded exactly how an innocent man would.She didn’t like this at all.
‘Where were you last night?’
‘What time?’
‘Between ten PM and one AM.’
Jared glanced up and to the right, suggesting he was recalling a visual memory, not an invented memory.Another nail in the coffin for any guilt this guy might have.
‘Let me think.I picked Leo up from daycare about six, then went back to mine.He fell asleep about seven, but woke up at nine.Then I took him to my mom’s at ten PM.She was having him all day today, but I took him last night to save time.Then she picked him up from daycare.That’s where he is now.’
Ella looked over at the two-way glass and gave the silent signal for Ripley to hit up Jared’s mother and check the alibi.‘And after that?’
‘I had a flooring job up in Baton Rouge.I lay hardwood and tile.Me and my partner, Danny Briggs, took the van up there last night.We both slept in it so we could get an early start.Danny can vouch for me.He was in the passenger seat the whole drive up and sleeping three feet away from me all night.We started the job at six this morning and got back about four this afternoon.’
She sucked in a breath and held it.She could pick holes in body language and microsignals, but she couldn’t pick holes in airtight alibis, and if Jared Novak was in another city from last night until this afternoon, he wasn’t her man.Her instincts were pinging, and while she’d made mistakes in the past, she was usually bulletproof when it came to recognizing innocence.Something about Jared’s reaction felt genuine, from his shock at seeing Rose dead to his desperate denials.If this was an act, it was a good one.
‘You know anyone who could have gotten their hands on this figurine?’
‘No.I haven’t seen it since we broke up.’
Ella pulled out the second evidence bag.The ballet dancer.She set it on the table.
‘What about this?Ever seen it before?’
Jared looked at it.He turned the bag over and examined the figure from every angle, and Ella watched for the faintest spark of recognition.
She didn’t catch any.
‘No,’ he said.‘That’s not from the music box.I don’t know what that is.’
Ella believed him.She scooped everything up and stood.
‘We’re going to check your alibi.If it holds, you can go.’
‘Please find who did this to Rose.’
‘That’s the plan.’Ella made for the door.She still had a long way to go, and it wouldn’t be long before she was ushered onto a plane with Austin Creed and sent back to D.C.She couldn’t live without knowing the truth, so she had to work fast.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Call it a hunch or women's intuition or whatever label cops liked to slap on it, but Ella knew Jared Novak wasn't guilty of anything more than being a lousy boyfriend.His shock and sorrow had rung true, and if this homicide had really been some twisted play for revenge, he would've postured more, slipped up, and cried less.
