Page 98 of Playing With Temptation

“How’d you get Samantha Williams to the sawmill?”

“Sand mill,” Mercer corrected. “There’s a dirt access road off Rogers Pasture. It winds through the woods. Almost where it ends there’s another dirt road that leads right to the back pond.”

“Fact,” Devon confirmed. “That’s exactly where we found fresh tire tracks.”

“You strangled these women to death?” Radcliff huffed.

“Yes. Both of them.”

“Why?”

Mercer shrugged his shoulders and leaned back.

“I wanted to.”

“So, you, what? Drove around and just picked two random women to kill?”

“Yep.”

“You’d never had contact with either of these women before?”

“Nope.”

Radcliff pushed his chair back from the table and looked over his shoulder at the one-way mirror. The detective couldn’t see that Tyler’s gaze had followed. Radcliff shook his head. Mercer’s eyes went wide and he suddenly looked terrified.

Radcliff slowly turned back around but didn’t push his chair back in.

“You have a problem, Mr. Mercer. I don’t believe you killed those women.”

“I did! I’m confessing. I killed them and shot the cop.”

“Oh, I know you shot the cop. I’ve got you in the neighborhood. I’ve got video of you ditching your hoodie and I’ve got you on traffic cameras from Oak Crest straight to your house.” Radcliff started drumming his fingers on the table. “But I don’t have the gun. Do you have it, Tyler? Maybe if you give me the gun, I’ll believe you killed those girls.”

“Damn, he’s good,” Ethan noted.

“Sure. I have the gun. I’ll go home right now and get it for you.”

“Go home? I can’t just let a murderer walk out of the station and roam around town.” Radcliff pointed to the corner. “That’s what he’s for. All I need you to do is sign a permission slip allowing my partner to enter your home and he’ll go get the gun. Then we’ll talk more about you killing those women.”

Mercer violently shook his head. “No. No way. I don’t want anyone going into my house. I’ll get it.”

“Why don’t you want my partner in your house? You got another dead girl stashed there? Maybe an alive one tied up? Now, see, that would make me believe you killed Bridget and Fonda. If you had another dead woman in your closet.”

“I killed them.”

“The moron isn’t even smart enough to remember their names,” I sighed.

“Maybe now’s the time for you to call an attorney,” Radcliff suggested.

“I don’t want an attorney,” Mercer shouted. “I fucking killed them. Strangled them and dumped them.”

I checked my watch and nodded toward the door. It was nearing five-forty-five, and I was officially off duty forty-five minutes ago

And Radcliff could be at this another five hours—as interesting as it was watching him work, I wanted to get home to my family.

“We’re out of here, Cap. See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, have a good night,” she distractedly bid.