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Jake couldn't help but feel a flicker of disgust at the man's taste, but he pushed it aside and focused on the task at hand. Sid lounged in a plush armchair, taking another swig from his bottle as he regarded them with amusement.
"Classy," Jake muttered under his breath, trying to suppress his disdain as he exchanged a glance with Fiona. She raised an eyebrow, seemingly sharing his sentiment. This place was gaudy, even by the standards of a man who flaunted his wealth as blatantly as Sid did.
"Have a seat, agents." Sid gestured to the leather couch, sprawling out in a matching armchair himself. The bottle of booze dangled precariously from his fingers as he leaned back, smirking at them.
"Thanks," Jake replied tersely, perching on the edge of the couch while Fiona sat next to him. The leather creaked beneath their weight, and Jake couldn't help but wonder what other secrets this room held, hidden beneath its extravagant surface.
"Alright then," Sid drawled, taking another sip from his bottle. "What can I do for you, agents?"
Jake clenched his jaw, forcing himself to focus on the task at hand. He couldn't afford to let his personal issues cloud his judgment. Not when lives were at stake. With that realization, Jake took a deep breath and prepared to delve into their line of questioning. He had to uncover the truth behind Sid's connection to Nadine and Harry, no matter how twisted or ugly it might be.
The tension in the room was palpable as Sid lounged on the couch, his eyes shifting between Jake and Fiona with a mix of curiosity and amusement. The dim lighting cast eerie shadows across the ostentatious decor, only adding to the unsettling atmosphere. As Sid swirled the liquid in his bottle, the clinking of ice echoed through the silence.
Fiona's voice was steady as she responded, "We're here to discuss a recent lawsuit you're involved in with a woman named Nadine Howe."
Sid laughed, the sound echoing off the walls like nails on a chalkboard to Jake's ears. "Should I call my lawyer?" he asked mockingly, taking another swig from his bottle. "I heard Nadine had an unfortunate accident." He emphasized the word 'accident' with a sly grin. "Still disputing with her family, though."
Jake locked eyes with Sid, his jaw clenched and his voice hard. "Nadine's death wasn't an accident, Mr. Jackson. She was murdered."
The laughter died in Sid's throat, replaced by a flicker of genuine surprise. His smirk faltered for a moment before it returned, albeit strained. "Murdered? You don't say. Well, that's certainly news to me."
Jake studied the man before him, searching for any hint of guilt or remorse in his intoxicated gaze. But all he found was a twisted sense of amusement, as if Sid found their accusations to be nothing more than a game. It infuriated Jake, making it difficult to keep his composure.
As he held back his mounting frustration, he couldn't help but think of Lauren, of how his life was unraveling around him. He knew he needed to focus on the case at hand, but the weight of the secret he carried threatened to crush him. It was a constant struggle to shove those thoughts aside and maintain his professionalism.
"Can you tell us about your relationship with Nadine?" Fiona asked, her voice cool and collected.
Sid's eyes flicked to her, his smirk widening as he appraised her. "What's it to you, sweetheart?"
"Answer the question, Sid," Jake growled, the anger bubbling beneath the surface finally breaking through.
"Fine, fine," he said, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Nadine and I had a little disagreement, that's all. You know how these things go. Look, it wasn’t my fault that she did CPR wrong on me and punched my lung with my own rib. I’m the victim here. Why do you think she was murdered, anyway?”
"Those are the questions we're trying to answer," Jake replied, his tone firm and unyielding. He could see the wheels turning in Sid's mind, but he needed him to open up if they were going to get any useful information. "We need to hear your side of the story, Sid."
Sid pressed his lips together, eyes darting around the room as if searching for an escape. It seemed to finally hit him the kind of trouble he could be in. "I-I can't talk about the details without a lawyer present," he stammered, his earlier bravado gone.
Jake leaned in closer, invading Sid's personal space to make his point clear. "Nadine is dead," he said, his voice like ice. "If you don't cooperate, I can bring you down to the station right now. We have reasonable cause to believe you wanted Nadine dead."
Sid's gaze locked onto Jake's, the coldness in the agent's eyes making him squirm. He swallowed hard, the sound echoing in the tense silence that had fallen over the room. Inside, Jake felt satisfaction at finally cracking through Sid's smug exterior, but he knew they still had a long way to go.
"Okay, okay," Sid acquiesced, lifting his hands in surrender. "I didn't want her dead. Yeah, we had our disagreements, but I never would've killed her. I just needed some cash to cover the costs of the surgeries I needed because of her screw-up.”
"Tell me about these disagreements," Jake pressed, trying to keep his impatience in check. Fiona, meanwhile, watched silently from the sidelines, her eyes trained on Sid's every move.
"Like I said before, it was all about money," Sid admitted, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "But that's all it was. Just business.”
"Business that led you to file a lawsuit against her," Fiona chimed in, her voice soft but firm. "Seems like more than just a simple disagreement."
Sid shot her a glare, clearly not appreciating the interruption. "It was complicated, alright? But I didn't have anything to do with her death. You need to believe me. She tried to offer to pay me off, but it wasn’t enough, and I wanted to take it to court. More cash that way.”
Jake studied Sid's face, searching for any hint of deception. He hated dealing with people like this – so slippery and evasive. But he had to admit, there wasn't enough evidence to pin the murder on Sid, at least not yet. The frustration simmered beneath Jake's skin, threatening to boil over as they hit another dead end.
"Your history with Nadine certainly raises some questions," Jake said, trying to keep his own frustration in check. Sid's smugness had been replaced with an almost comical look of shock, but Jake wasn't about to let him off the hook so easily.
"Look, I didn't kill anyone!" Sid insisted, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "I'm not a murderer."
"Then perhaps you can explain your connection with Harry Green?" Jake pressed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Another person you've sued and now, another murder victim."
