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“How did she take it? Was your parting amicable?”
“We didn’t shake hands and wish each other well, no.”
“Hostile, then.”
“You could say. Her parting words were ‘go fuck yourself.’”
After another taut silence, Compton said, “Calder, is it possible that she leaked this story in retribution for your breakup?”
Maybe Compton only wanted to defuse his anger, but he was surprised that she had addressed him by his first name, and in such a soft and confidential tone.
Her question, however, came as no surprise at all. It had occurred to him that Shauna had pulled this stunt in retaliation for his attraction to Elle. But he hadn’t wanted to acknowledge, even to himself, that she would do something so vindictive and harmful, and not only to him. She’d put the lives of people who weren’t even involved into jeopardy.
It was a disturbing thought, but he kept it to himself and avoided giving the detectives a direct answer to the question. “I can’t comment on Shauna’s story because I haven’t even seen it. What exactly did she report?”
“That we’d conducted closed-door meetings with five witnesses to the shooting. That’s it in a nutshell. But she editorialized, saying that you five were obviously key to the investigation and that you had been recalled by us for a specific reason. She also identified each of you by name.”
He dragged his hand over his face. “And one of us has already received a death threat?”
“Dawn Whitley. You met her outside our office at the precinct.”
“The lady who’d given Shauna an interview and was so enamored of her.”
“The irony of that hasn’t escaped us.”
“Will there be blowback on Shauna?”
Compton gave a bitter laugh. “If we issue any kind of official reprimand or bring her in for questioning, she’ll raise a hue and cry about First Amendment rights. Her colleagues will be envious of her for getting the story, but they’ll also rally in her defense. Meanwhile, the culprit is laughing up his sleeve, and we’re left with five lives to safeguard.”
Calder looked down at his suitcase standing beside his chair. “Safeguard for how long?”
Before Compton could respond, the telephone on the desk rang. Perkins punched a blinking button, and a male voice came through the speaker. “The other two are here.”
Perkins thanked the voice, clicked off, and moved toward the door. He said to Compton, “Give me five minutes; then we’ll explain it to them as a group. You may want to use this time to…” He hitched his chin toward Calder.
“Yes, I will.”
Perkins went out and closed the door behind himself.
“What was that about?” Calder asked. “Use this time to what?”
“To speak to you alone.”
“About what?”
Shauna might have ratted out Elle and him, although he didn’t see how anything personal between them would affect the investigation. And would Shauna own up to losing her man to another woman? Unlikely.
Whatever this was about, Compton was in dread of it. She left her chair and walked over to an antique water cooler. “Want some?”
“No thanks.”
She filled a plastic cup from the belching machine and brought it back to the desk. After she had sat down and taken a drink, she asked, “Have you returned to work yet?”
He forced himself to hold her incisive gaze. “Not yet. When I finish PT.”
“Hmm. Your last client was a company called JZI for short, wasn’t it?”
He waited a beat and then gave a dry huff. “You’re not really asking for verification, are you?”
