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“We’re interested in the jewelryyou design,” Amber said. “You do design jewelry, don’t you, Mich?”
“Looking for an engagement ringfrom your partner?” Mich joked. Amber winced slightly at that, but kept going.
“I’m more interested in somethingastrologically themed,” Amber said. "You like astrology, Mich?”
She saw him shrug. “Sure. What’s itmatter?”
“So this would have been a pieceyou designed?” Amber asked, holding up the pendant she’d found at Loretta’shouse.
Mich stared at it. He looked as ifhe were considering saying that he’d never seen it before in his life. One lookat his expression told Amber that wasn’t the case. There was recognition there,along with a sense of worry, as if he didn’t know how much trouble theadmission was about to get him into.
“Yeah, that’s one of mine.”
“And these?” Amber asked. Sheshowed him pictures of the other pendants on her phone, flicking from one tothe next.
Mich shrugged. “Yes. What’s all ofthis about?”
“Do you have an alibi for lastnight?” Simon asked.
Mich shrugged. “I’m meant toremember where I was every second now? Probably I was at a bar. Probably I wenthome with some woman, showed her the time of her life.” He looked over at Amberfor a second too long. “That’s just the kind of evening I have.”
“What bar?” Simon asked him. “Whatwoman?”
Mich smiled. “It’s slipped my mind.You know how it is when you get caught up in the moment.”
“You’d better start giving usanswers,” Simon said.
“Or what?” Mich asked.
It was obvious that Simon didn’tlike him. Amber didn’t particularly like Mich either, since it was obvious thathe was trying to play games with them. But she knew that they had to bepatient, at least for a moment, to try to get something that would make itclear whether this was the killer they were looking for, or not.
Maybe it was time to let him knowthe stakes involved in all of this.
“Three of these pendants belongedto women who have been killed,” Amber said. “The fourth belongs to a woman whohas been kidnapped, and who we believe will be killed tonight.”
“That has nothing to do with me,”Mich said.
“We think it does,” Simon said.“Right now. These pendants are the only connection between the victims.”
“So maybe they all bought them froma store!” Mich snapped back. “I sell them to lots of places.”
“You think four murder victims alljust happened to buy the same design of pendant?” Simon asked. “Because I don’tbelieve that.”
Amber could see Mich growingnervous, twitching slightly as he stood there.
“Do you know Loretta Kane?” Amberasked. “What about Rosalind Elm? Alice Chan? Katrina van Nuit?”
“I don’t know any of those names,”Mich said.
“I don’t believe you,” Simon said.“And you’re hiding something back there. Is it Loretta, Mich?”
Amber could see the panic rising onMich’s face, could see him building up to some kind of action. She could seehis fist tightening.
“Watch out,” she called to Simon,just as Mich threw a punch that cracked into the side of Simon’s head, brieflystaggering him. He lunged back into the workshop, making to slam the door.
Amber jammed it with her foot,ignoring the pain of doing so. She could see Mich running inside, and pushedthe door open, drawing her gun because she didn’t know if he was trying to getto a weapon or not.
She and Simon ran after him as heleaped over a countertop, heading for a back room. Simon jumped over it too,while Amber went around, only a second behind the two as they crashed into aback room. There were stacks of boxes there, but there was also machinery thatlooked far too heavy-duty just to make jewelry. Mich was running across thefloor, heading for a rear door.
