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Eli’s brow crinkled with confusion as his gaze drifted between the two of them, but he didn’t say a word. Still, Hannah's cheeks heated in response as she belatedly realized they’d been flirting.Flirting. Her and Ryker. That’d never happened before. A sure sign that whatever was transpiring between them was growing by the second.
Then again, maybe not. Ryker was a notorious flirt. Now he was just treating her like every other female in his presence.
Hannah cleared her throat and once again straightened her shoulders. “Let’s do this.”
Together, they walked down the hall to the interview room. Jose rose to politely shake their hands. His suit was impeccably tailored, his tie dark blue to match the pinstripes in his shirt. Hannah settled in the chair across from Thomas. His expression grew serious as Ryker read him his rights, but it felt like a carefully placed mask rather than genuine emotion.
Jose adjusted his cufflinks. “For the record, Dr. Anderson has come in for a voluntary interview in order to aid law enforcement in their investigation into the murder of his wife and the attacks on you, ADA Lawson. He maintains his innocence in both matters. We hope his cooperation is noted.”
“It is.” Hannah nodded. “Thank you, Dr. Anderson, for coming in to speak with us today. As I’m sure your lawyer has explained, the man who attempted to kidnap me from the courthouse bears a striking resemblance to the man you identified as Cash.” She placed a still photograph taken from the courthouse surveillance video next to the artist rendering done after Thomas came forward about being threatened by the drug dealer on the table. “As you can imagine, this new development is causing me to question everything we know about Julie’s murder.”
Thomas glanced at his attorney before looking back at her. “What does that mean? Are you going to drop the charges?”
“I’m seriously considering it.” She tossed a hostile look in Ryker’s direction. The lawman was slumped in his chair, glowering like he’d been chewed out by the school principal. “The Texas Rangers have requested time to investigate. I’ve reluctantly given them some leeway.”
She turned back to Thomas and let some sympathy leak into her expression. “Of course, any information you can provide about the man who threatened you would be helpful.”
He scraped a hand through his hair. “I’ve been over this story with the police again and again, but I’ll do anything to help you find Julie’s real killer.” Thomas’s chin trembled. “All I’ve ever wanted was justice. For her and my unborn baby.”
The words sounded good, but the emotion behind them felt forced. As if Thomas was playacting. Hannah understood why Ryker immediately suspected him of Julie’s murder. People grieved in all kinds of ways, but this… it was off. She couldn’t pinpoint why though.
Hannah picked up a pen. “Let’s start at the beginning. When did the man approach you?”
“It was about two weeks before Julie was murdered. I stayed late to finish charting, and when I walked to my car in the parking lot, he appeared out of the darkness. The way we were positioned, he blocked access to my vehicle. The man identified himself as Cash and said he had a business offer for me. If I wrote prescriptions for painkillers to certain clients, he’d make it worth my while. Of course, I immediately refused. That’s when he threatened to hurt someone I love if I didn’t comply.”
“Did he attempt to harm you?”
“No, just scare me. Cash took off when he heard police sirens coming down the street. I considered reporting the incident, but I was tired and it was late. Law enforcement would have to take my statement, they’d want to search the parking lot, etc. I wanted to get home. The next morning, my office was slammed with patients and…” Thomas shrugged. “I forgot about the whole thing.”
Sure. That sounded completely reasonable. Hannah lifted a brow. “Are you often approached in the parking lot by scary men threatening to kill you?”
“No, but we do get people who come into my office looking for pain medication, which I don’t prescribe. Narcotics addiction is a problem across the US. While Cash was more aggressive about it than most, I figured he was high when he threatened me. I’d never seen him before, and since he didn’t hurt me, let it go. That is until…” He grabbed his water bottle and took a long drink. Tears shimmered in his eyes when his gaze met Hannah’s again. “When Julie was killed, I was a wreck. It never occurred to me that the two incidents were linked until weeks later. The moment I thought of it, I called Ranger Montgomery to explain what’d happened.”
“There’s one thing you forgot to mention when we interviewed you about Cash though.” Ryker pointed to the scar creeping across the man’s face in the surveillance photograph. It was absent in the artist’s rendering. “This scar doesn’t look like something you’d forget if you were standing face-to-face with a man.”
“Excuse me, Ranger Montgomery.” Jose sniffed. “I understand your reputation is on the line here, but surely you aren’t attempting to blame my client for your shoddy police work.”
Ryker’s neck heated and he opened his mouth to respond, but Hannah cut him off with a look. His lips mashed shut, and he promptly leaned back in his chair with just the right amount of attitude. Honestly, the man should get an award for his acting skills.
Hannah turned back to Thomas. “Did you notice the scar during your interaction with Cash in the parking lot?”
He glanced at his lawyer and waited for Jose to nod before answering. “No. The altercation happened at night and I didn’t get a good look at his face. Part of it was in the shadows. Plus he was playing with a large hunting knife. I spent most of my time looking at that.”
“It’s common for victims to pay more attention to the weapon than to the perpetrator’s face.” Jose smoothed a hand down his tie. “Mr. Anderson didn’t purposefully leave out the scar when working with the sketch artist.”
Hannah resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The artist sketch was detailed. If Cash had truly been standing in the shadows, then Thomas wouldn’t have been able to describe him so well. But challenging them with that fact wouldn’t help gain their cooperation.
Instead, she pushed the photograph closer to Thomas. “Other than the altercation in the parking lot, have you ever seen this man before?”
“I’ve been racking my brain since Jose showed me this picture yesterday. The scar is distinctive. I recalled seeing a patient in our waiting room with a similar mark on his neck. I can’t swear the man is the same one that attacked me, but…” Thomas frowned. “It’s possible he was one of Julie’s patients.”
Julie’s? This took a turn Hannah wasn’t expecting. Her mind whirled. Julie had been a dentist. She and Thomas had shared a waiting room and some staff, but operated separate offices. “When was this?”
“About a month before she was murdered. I only got a glimpse of the guy, so I can’t be certain. The person you should talk to is Lorrie Michaels.”
Ryker’s brows shot up. “Your mistress? Why should we ask her?”
Thomas barely glanced at him. His attention was locked on Hannah, as if willing her to believe him. “For starters, Lorrie and I broke up a while ago. She has no reason to lie for me. And second, you should ask her about Cash because she was working as Julie’s office manager during the time frame in question.”
