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“No, I didn’t,” huffed Harper.
“Good, neither did I. I think we can call it a day.”
Harper pointed a finger at him. “You were the last person to access that box.”
“After you did, a long time ago. When you were still a sergeant.”
Harper shifted in his seat and shrugged. “Okay, you’re right. It was unsolved. I wanted to see if something clicked. It was part of my job.”
“Did anything click?”
“No.”
Something occurred to Devine. “Was the rape kit there whenyouaccessed the box?”
Harper didn’t answer right away. “Y-yes.”
“Would you swear to that on the witness stand?” asked a clearly incredulous Devine.
“I’m not on a fucking witness stand,” roared Harper.
“You might be one day,” Devine shot back. “If you push this.”
Harper sat there for a few moments before ending the interview and turning off the recorder. “Get out of here.”
“You read me my rights. Am I being formally charged?”
“We didn’t process you yet, and you haven’t been officially booked or arraigned. But we can pick you up anytime. So much as a parking ticket.”
Devine rose. “I’m not the enemy here.”
“The enemy is who I say it is.”
Devine walked out. In the lobby he saw Mildred James. She looked up at him guiltily. In a low voice she said, “I am so sorry about all this.” Her gaze darted toward the hall where the interview room was. “I know you didn’t take that rape kit. The rear doors are alarmed. You would have had to pass me with it, and you didn’t. It’s not like you could have hidden the dang thing in your pants. I told the chief that.”
“I appreciate that. Well, at least I’m free to go, for now. Where is Sergeant Fuss?”
“She got called out on something.”
He nodded and glanced through the glass partition into Harper’s office. He eyed the line of photos on the wall of former police chiefs he had seen before. As he looked more closely, the picture of the man next to Harper seemed familiar for some reason.
He pointed at it. “Who’s that man? The one who was chief before Harper?”
James glanced at it. “Oh, that’s Benjamin Bing.”
Devine’s jaw dropped. “Bing like in Bing and Sons?”
“Yes, he was the third brother. The other two followed their father and uncle into the funeral business, but Ben became a police officer. Worked his way up to chief. A little too overbearing and full of himself for my tastes. He would grind you up if you made him look bad.”
“What happened to him?”
“He retired and moved to Florida to be with his brothers.”
“Where in Florida?”
“Naples. I saw a picture of the house once. Right on the beach. It was breathtaking.”
“Interesting. Is he still alive?”
