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That was a tricky question to answer. Maybe a killer would be nervous about being found out, but a true psychopath might not care. At the same time, there were plenty of other reasons why he might be nervous about being taken into custody like that.
“It’s hard to tell,” Paige said. “He looks guilty aboutsomething.”
Currently, he was in there, in discussions with a harassed-looking lawyer who clearly knew how difficult a situation his client was in. The lawyer was in his fifties, with salt-and-pepper hair and spectacles. He was making notes while Paige watched.
“He’s not going to say much,” Christopher said. “The lawyer will tell him not to say anything, and he’s the kind who’ll listen. He looks like he’s been here before.”
Paige didn’t agree, though. “We’ll find a way to get him to talk. All we need is the right leverage.”
The two of them headed into the interrogation room. The lawyer looked up as they did so.
“My client wishes to make it clear that he will be suing for your excessive use of force during his arrest.”
Paige did her best not to let any worry show at that. “He was a suspect in a murder who was fleeing arrest, and who was clearly engaged in other illegal activities. I don’t think that having a clock thrown at him is going to count as excessive force.”
“Ah, the clock,” the lawyer said. “That brings me to a second point: my client would like appropriate compensation for the damage to his property you caused. Veryexpensiveproperty.”
“I’m sure that he has receipts for all of that property,” Christopher said. He took a seat opposite the pair. For the moment, at least, Paige stayed standing. She couldn’t be as intimidating as Christopher was, but she knew that there would be something unsettling about her moving around the room rather than sitting calmly in front of Glenn Harper.
“Every single piece,” Harper said.
His lawyer gave him a look as if to remind him not to talk too much. “My client would also like to know on what basis you entered his property. Did you have a search warrant? If you didn’t, then we’re going to walk out of here, right now.”
Christopher answered that one, too, in a clipped tone. “We went to talk to Mr. Harper as a suspect in a murder investigation. We found suspicious activity around his home, and the door was open. It was clear that he welcomed in anyone who wanted to come in. There were also items that appeared to be stolen goods visible. We didn’tneeda warrant at that point.”
“I don’t know anything about any murders,” Harper said. He looked particularly worried as he said that. Paige guessed that he was ready to deal with all the rest of it, but he didn’t want them going after him for the murders. Perhaps because that was the part where he was most afraid of the two of them finding out the truth.
“But you did know Aiden Martlet, didn’t you?” Paige said.
Harper shrugged. “We worked together, sure. He was an attendant at the museum.”
“The museum he got you fired from by saying that you were planning to steal one of its paintings?” Christopher said.
Paige caught the flash of anger that passed over Harper’s face. He didn’t like that at all.
“He ratted you out, Glenn,” Paige said. “Did you know that? Were you angry with him for that?”
The lawyer interrupted then. “My client denies any knowledge of a plot to steal any kind of painting. This is just a fishing trip, Agents. You need to let my client go.”
That wasn’t going to happen. Paige kept her attention on Harper.
“Aiden made the whole thing up,” Harper said. “Hewas the one who was planning to steal a painting. He knew I had a sideline in selling antiques, perfectly legally obtained antiques, and he offered to obtain a painting for me. At first, I thought that it was one of his own, he was a hack artist, but when it became clear that he meant one of the ones from the museum, I told him no.”
Paige felt certain that it was a lie, but there was no immediate way to disprove it. Aiden Martlet wasn’t alive to dispute that version of events, after all.
“And you didn’t take any action against someone who was threatening to steal from the museum you were employed to guard?” Christopher asked.
“I was going to talk to the curator, but like an idiot, I gave Aiden a chance to own up to it. So,hewent to the curator and told him that it was all my plan.”
Paige didn’t believe the lie for a moment, but she had to admit that it was at least vaguely plausible. Certainly, Harper delivered it plausibly, making it sound as if he believed every word.
“You’ve heard my client’s explanation,” the lawyer said. “I think we’re done here.”
The problem for him was that it didn’tmatterright then whether it was true or not.
“Either way, it must have made you very angry with Aiden,” Paige said. “Maybe even angry enough to lash out at him. Angry enough tokillhim.”
“I had nothing to do with Aiden’s death,” Harper said.
