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Perkins carefully placed the weapon in an evidence bag. “That theory won’t fly if her prints are found on the gun.”
Her prints could be planted there, too, but he held back from stating the obvious. The SIG Sauer was used by plenty of military and law enforcement personnel. And it was also the likely weapon used in these recent shootings. Yet if a woman like Harper wanted a gun for self-defense, she’d likely pick something smaller.
“We’ll get this tested ASAP,” Banner said.
“Go ahead. It’s not my gun.” Harper turned and left the room. He wanted to follow but forced himself to stand there while the ATF agents finished searching the room.
When they didn’t find anything else, he eyed them warily. “You know that gun was planted.”
“We don’t know that,” Perkins shot back.
“I assume you’ve gone over Harper’s financial records.” He kept his voice even, even though he wanted nothing more than to plant his fist in Perkins’s face. “Find anything suspicious there?”
“No, but she could have a secret account we don’t know about.” Perkins seemed intent on believing the worst. “Maybe she convinced Dillweed to hide money for her.”
“Yeah, and how does that work now that he’s dead?” When he realized he’d curled his fingers into fists, he forced himself to relax. “I’m anxious to see what the lab will come up with when they test the weapon.”
“Even if it’s clean, it could be one of Grotto’s guns,” Banner said.
Yeah, that was likely true. Of course, Grotto would have one of his men stash a hot gun in Harper’s apartment.
But again, the motive for this was fuzzy. If Grotto and his men were truly trying to set her up to take the fall, why bother shooting at her? Or trying to kidnap her? They could have easily used an anonymous tip to get them to this point. The same way a tip had led to her ex-husband’s arrest.
It didn’t make any sense.
“Are you planning to arrest her?” Steele forced himself to sound matter of fact.
“No,” Banner said. Perkins simply scowled. “As you pointed out, there are too many unanswered questions here.” Banner shrugged. “We’ll wait for ballistics and fingerprint testing to be completed.”
Small comfort, but he nodded. “Then I’m going to take her someplace safe.”
“Hold on, Delaney,” Perkins protested. “Who died and made you the woman’s protector?”
“I picked the short straw.” That wasn’t true, but he was tired of Perkins’s attitude. “Why does it matter who protects her? She’s been targeted by gunfire nonstop over the past few days. It’s only by God’s grace that she’s still alive.”
Perkins shrugged. “Seems Grotto is worried she’s going to spill the beans.”
“A valid point if she had any information to give.” He shifted to look at Banner. “Think about this logically. She’s pregnant. Don’t you think she’d drop the dime on these guys in a heartbeat to protect her baby?”
“Yeah, I do,” Banner admitted.
“Maybe” was all Perkins would say. “Or this is all an elaborate ruse to send us off track.”
He wasn’t sure what Perkins’s problem was, and he didn’t care. The guy was being obstinate about his theory that Harper was holding back key information. The ATF guys hadn’t spent the last two days with her the way he had.
Swallowing a sigh, he turned and headed back to the living area. He found Harper sitting on the chair near the door, her head bowed and her hands clasped on her rounded belly. It took him a moment to realize she was praying.
He stood for a moment, watching and waiting for her to finish. When she lifted her head, he saw the flash of pure anguish in her eyes.
His heart squeezed in his chest. The setup was obvious to him, but he couldn’t prevent the ATF agents from considering all angles.
“Am I going to have my baby in jail?” Her question made him wince.
“No.” He crossed over to kneel beside her.
“Don’t patronize me,” she warned. “I deserve honesty.”
She did. “You’re not under arrest, Harper. But I don’t control the ATF either. They’re sending the weapon for testing. Those results will determine their next steps.”
