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“Why would you run?” Jeffries seemed determined to find fault with myactions.
Leaning across the table, I decided to speak slowly so he might better understand. “The man had a gun pointed at me. And since he’s probably the killer, I took himseriously.”
“You could’ve called the police,” heretorted.
Reaching up, I held my head in my hands. I had a shooting pain behind my eyeballs. I felt physically ill. And the strange, tingly fire inside me felt angrier the longer I was away from Mishal. “I tried. He knocked the phone out of my hands. I couldn’t find it in the dark. I thought he was going to shoot me, so I ran.” I kept my lids squeezed shut. The stark lighting in the room wasn’thelping.
Jeffries leaned forward too. His chest hit the table, giving it a jolt. His hot breath was in my face. Even though I hadn’t eaten since the predawn pizza, I felt like I could puke at any moment. After a dramatic pause, he spoke. “Then how do you have your phonenow?”
I opened my eyes long enough to roll them. “A security guard for Draco called it while looking for me, found it, and returned it to me before I was announced as a person of interest.” This was mostly true. No way would I implicate Mishal in any ofthis.
“Why are your eyes closed? Afraid they’ll give you away?” he askedsmugly.
Cupping my hands around them for protection, I stared across the table at him. “Migraine,” I murmured. “Probably the stress of losing my boss, fearing for my life, and being the primesuspect.”
“If you tell the truth, then you have nothing to worry about.” His eyes widened as he tried to feigninnocence.
“Since I’ve told you nothing but the truth, does this mean I can go?” I pushed my chair back as quietly as I could manage. “And can I get my phoneback?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Toboth.”
“I don’t understand. I’ve told you everything I know. I answered your questions. Hell, I even managed my temper when you behaved like a donkey,” I groaned. His cheeks turned pink. Note to self: never tell the detective in charge of your freedom he’s acting like a donkey. I shook my head in disbelief. “And why are you even asking me questions if you aren’t going to believe a word Isay?”
“That’s how investigations work. We pull in people for questioning. Some get to leave. Some don’t.” He leaned back in his chair. “I gotta say it’s not looking good foryou.”
“I gotta say you’re still being a donkey.” I closed my eyes while chastising my own behavior. Now I’d called the detective a donkey twice. He was right. I’m never getting out of here. Then I thought about Mishal. No doubt he was already working on extricating me. In that moment, I found my happy thought and I could breathe more easily. Fear was finally kept further atbay.
“Donkey or not, so far you have means, motive, and opportunity.” He slapped his hand on thetable.
I threw my hands in the air. “I don’t have any ofthose!”
“Oh, so you’re not the beneficiary of his will?” His brows rose in challenge and I knew he thought he hadme.
“Actually, as you obviously know, I am.” I released an empty laugh. “I wasn’t supposed to be the beneficiary. That was changed last minute. Maybe you should look intothat.”
“We will,” Jeffries sneered. He shut the file and stood. “I’m waiting on another report to come back. Then we should be able to charge you. Get comfortable, Ms. Winkler. You’re going to be with us for a longtime.”
My throat constricted, my heart raced and though I wanted to chase after him and make him listen to reason, I decided instead to speak the four words that upset every detective: “I want alawyer.”
Sure enough, he spun around on his heels. “You don’t want to do that. We won’t be able to helpyou.”
“Help me into a charge I don’t deserve? Help me into a sentence I didn’t earn? I don’t need your help. I need a lawyer. Give me my phone and I’ll take care of that.” I was so angry, I could feel a tick in my jaw from holding it so tightlyclosed.
A second later, the door behind him opened. In walked Spencer Morse. He wore a serious look on his face and I could read the hatred in his eyes. Unfortunately, I was pretty sure it was forme.
“You heard her.” He set his briefcase on the metal table. “She asked for a lawyer. I’ll need to speak to my clientalone.”
24
Mishal
At first,I paced furiously. Peri was at the police station. Not only had she not listened to me, but I hadn’t been able to protect her fromherself.
“I’m sure she was just doing what she thought was right,” Stephensuggested.
I paused and turned to face him. I started to open my mouth, but I could actually feel the steam rising up from my gut. Instead, I rushed to the sink, turned it on full blast, and scooped up handfuls of water to guzzle down. After a nasty sulfurous burp, I felt better and there was little danger for our driver at the moment. He wouldn’t become accidentally extra crispy on mywatch.
“That’s noble, yes, but not smart. Police…make mistakes. Some are bad…dirty. And since we know Peri’s innocent, there’s no need for her to end up in custody when she could be here, helping us find the actual killer,” I explained as calmly as I couldmuster.
