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“I made an off-color comment,” the young cop mumbled. The rest of his face had turned the same red as the handprint on his cheek.
I cuddled Lee to my chest and kissed the top of her head. She clung to me in a way that Lee in her right mind never would have. She was an absolute wreck.
“So, Ms. Vance is not under arrest, is she?” I glared at the cop. He was younger and smaller than me. I hoped I scared the shit out of him. A gun and a badge didn’t make a man.
He put the cuffs back on his belt. “No. A person of interest, in a homicide.” He added emphasis to the charge, like I might have missed it the first time he said it.
I knew in my heart that while Lee might commit any number of property crimes, she wasn’t a killer.
I ducked my head to whisper in her ear. “I’ve got you, angel.”
She nodded and took a handful of my shirt. Her eyes were focused down, and I followed her gaze. She wore a familiar pair of high heels that were spotted with dots of what had to be blood. A knot of dread wound tight in my stomach. There was no longer an option for her to keep me at arm’s length. The details of her criminal life would be the difference between freedom and jail. She had to let me help.
“Where do you need us to go, officer?” I asked it in the most reasonable voice I could muster.
“She’s going to an interview room. You’re not going anywhere.”
“Who caught the case?” This cop was making everything difficult.
“Alvarez.”
Alfred Alvarez was a good cop. Cuban guy with a big extended family. He was an ex-Marine. I’d been out on his family’s boat, The Wild Ride, more than once. Last trip, our team won a veteran’s charity spearfishing tournament. I mentally patted myself on the back for having sent a nice box of celebratory cigars to Alfred’s father after the tournament to thank him for use of the family boat.
“Tell Alfred that Ms. Vance is a client of The Smith Agency, and Derek Sawyer will be joining her in the interview room until her lawyer arrives. She is not answering questions until council is present.”
“Nah, that’s bull. Your lawyer is over there.” He pointed toward Sydney and Leck.
“She’s one of them. We have others. Now Ms. Vance and I would like to be taken to that interview room.”
Lee let me shuttle her through the squad room like she was a marionette.
The cop opened a door to a bland room with one-way glass on the far wall, a small window on the other, and a big table in the center. I settled her in a chair and kneeled in front of her.
“Amber Lee, you in there?”
“Yeah, Boy Scout. I’m here.”
The fragility in her voice cut through me. I cupped her cheek and smoothed her frazzled hair away from her face. Part of me rejoiced at touching her, holding her, and another more realistic part worried that the worst was yet to come.
“Good.” I pulled out a chair and sat next to her. Silence stretched for a few minutes.
“I didn’t do it.” Her voice was steadier than it had been.
“I know.”
“You do?”
“Of course, angel.”
“Thank you.”
She took my hand and twined our fingers together. The solid squeeze was a good sign. She’d pull herself together. Lee was made of tougher stuff than most people. I’d get her some water and food; her flight or fight responses were probably playing havoc with her body chemistry.
Chapter 32
Lee
“Iwalkedin.Hewas dead. I’d never even met the man.” I kept my voice even and repeated the same answer I’d given six times before, trying not to sound annoyed. But I was.
