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At least with the others who work under him.
Naomi stands at my side, wringing her hands and waiting for the bomb to drop. Hunched and prepared for a hit. At least with Layla, she would have cracked a joke or something to ease the tension.
Guess it’s up to me now.
“She’s a suspect, sir,” I explained. “She was present at the last crime scene and has been marked as a person of interest. She agreed to come in with me today.” In a manner of speaking.
“You’re telling me she came down with you of her own free will?” Ashcroft’s eyes bug. “You’re shitting me.”
“Um…”
He groans and strides around behind his desk, dropping hard into his seat. “Dammit, Bishop. You don’t have anything to hold her. This is going to look very bad on us if she decides to press charges. It’s not like the police are above scrutiny. We’re the goddamn law.”
“I’ve got several of the IT guys looking into her records—” I start.
Naomi opens her mouth to answer, but Ashcroft beats her to it. “Her record is clean,” he tells me. “I ran her right after you brought her in. A few parking tickets, a few speeding tickets, nothing out of the ordinary. Just another face in a crowd who happened to stick out for us, but she’s a dead end.”
My insides still.
“She has ties to Broderick Stevens.
“She’s gotnothingtying her to that piece of filth,” Ashcroft continues.
“She’s been seen entering and exiting a residential property known to be owned by him,” I argue. “You’re telling me it’s nothing?”
“Circumstantial at best.”
Fuck.
Of course they weren’t going to find anything on her. Aria is a hacker. She can clear her things.
“If she’s not willing to stay and talk, then you need to let her go beforeshepresses charges against us,” Ashcroft replies. He pinches the bridge of his nose before reaching into his desk drawer for a bottle of Tums. The kind any man or woman at the station knows to keep on hand at all times. Stress is a killer, but so is heartburn.
My knuckles crack, and only at the sharp twinge do I realize I’ve clenched my fists in my pockets.
Out loud, I show a different mask. “Yes sir.”
“You’re on thin ice. One more foot out of line, Bishop, and as much as it pains me, I’ll put you on desk duty and reassign all your open cases. Think about someone other than yourself, for once.” His gaze shutters, and Ashcroft is done with this conversation.
“Dev, what’s going on? Why won’t you talk to me?” Naomi presses once we’re out the door. She dogs me toward the interrogation room. A glance at the clock shows that only five minutes have passed.
How is it possible? Feels like an eternity.
“I’m following leads,” I tell her.
“I know you’re the head of this case, but I'm not green, either. I’ve already been through my share of trauma. We’re working together for a reason.” Naomi tries to reach for my elbow to stop me, but I quicken my steps to stay just out of her reach. “If you refuse to let me in, then there’s no way for me to help you, and we’re ineffective.”
“I’ll fill you in on everything later.” I stop at the door, definitely not planning on following through. “Right now, I’ve got to deal with Aria. Miss Darklyn.”
Naomi looks worried when I finally bring my eyes to her face. “What’s really going on?” she asks. “It’s got something to do with the woman you brought in. Do you know her?”
I walk into the room without answering, a part of me left out there in the hallway with Naomi and wondering how long she’s going to wait for me to exit again.
She’s too worried for nothing. She’s not wrong, either, because we are one of the most ineffective teams in the unit right now, and I made it so.
My smile is ice cold. “You’ll be happy to know that you can go home.”
“Oh, can I?” Aria has the chair pushed away from the table with her long legs crossed, and as I watch, she uncrosses them. The movement is slow and deliberate. Designed to capture my attention and make me think about what’s between them. “What an interesting turn of events.”
