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“Two out of three,” Hadley replied before giving him an in-depth analysis of his answers. “Yes, my parents own this bar. Yes, I took the detective’s exam and passed with the highest score that they have seen in the past eight years. As for Hayden, he is my half-brother.”
Hadley had waited until Theo had taken another swig of his beer, her words causing him to choke back his laugh as the liquid attempted to go down his throat. She handed him a napkin, her green eyes sparkling with mischief.
“You don’t give an inch, do you?”
Whereas Hadley was biracial, Hayden was Caucasian. They shared the same distinct green eyes that resembled delicate jade crystals, which was how Theo had known that the two of them had been related by blood.
Theo came from a mixed family himself. While his father and mother were both African American, born and raised in Queens, his maternal grandmother was Asian. Both of Theo’s parents loved New York City, but it had been his mother who had pushed him to pursue his dream of being a federal agent. His father would have preferred Theo join the NYPD.
“No, I don’t give an inch. And I also don’t consider myself an idealist, Mr. Neville.”
Theo recognized her subtle hint that he hadn’t invited her to use his first name. He rectified that as he made himself comfortable after adjusting his chair so that his back was to the wall. He had to turn his head to the right to address her, but he didn’t like having his back exposed, even if they were in a bar full of law enforcement officers.
“What you consider yourself to be and how you actually view life are two completely different estimations,” Theo pointed out before explaining his reasons behind such a drastic change in his life. “I’m not well-suited to be confined behind a desk. I’d go stir crazy. I prefer the field and interacting with people. To not do so would have me losing my ability to read any given situation. Facts on paper don’t necessarily spell out the complete picture.”
“Your father doesn’t seem to mind a desk job,” Hadley pointed out, revealing that she’d done her homework.
“My father is at a different stage in his life where it makes sense for him to take an alternative path.” Theo was very proud of what his parents had accomplished, and he wouldn’t begrudge them their personal choices. “My mother is a decorated officer, as well. She retires next month. It’s my father who isn’t ready to give up his career, and an opportunity opened up that he couldn’t refuse. Much like the one that has been presented to you with your upcoming promotion.”
Hadley picked at the label of the bottle as she studied him, not hiding her interest in his eyepatch. She was brazen, and that was one of the reasons that he was attracted to her.
Unfortunately, he had a job to do first.
“What was your impression of Dr. David Kolsby when you questioned him?” Theo asked, changing the subject so that he could report back to Brook. She would be in the office until late, and there was a chance that Hadley had information that could aid Brook in somehow creating a profile that could help determine the man’s guilt. “You gave the impression that you believe Ms. Gwinn’s claims.”
“Kolsby is a borderline narcissist,” Hadley declared with confidence as she leaned forward with interest. “I don’t know how he could be one of the top psychiatrists in his field. He monopolized most of the interview, didn’t come across as being very genuine, and became rather impatient when I pressed the issue.”
“Could his reaction to you have been a result of the medication? I’m assuming he was still on some form of narcotic when you spoke with him,” Theo surmised, knowing just how different one could be when in pain and on drugs. He hadn’t been the most pleasant person to be around last year when he’d initially suffered his eye injury. “I take it you spoke to Kolsby when he was still in the hospital.”
“Yes, but his reaction wasn’t due to pain or any type of medication,” Hadley refuted, scrunching her nose as she thought back to her interview. “Kolsby was a bit ruffled. I could see it in his eyes. His older son was in the hospital room at the time, too. Oddly enough, he didn’t say a word. He just sat in the chair and looked down at his hands during the interview.”
“The entire time?” Theo inquired, finding such behavior abnormal. “If my father was accused of murder, I’m not so sure I could maintain my cool.”
“Agreed.”
Hadley lifted the bottle of beer to her lips, giving Theo time to make another observation.
“You mentioned that he was impatient. How?”
“Kolsby didn’t feel he needed to answer my questions. The formality of it seemed to be beneath him. He didn’t want to be answering any questions, and he was definitely angry that a nurse whose job it had been to simply monitor his recovery would question his character. All normal reactions, but it seemed over-the-top.” Hadley set her bottle back down on the table. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he sues her for defamation. Trust me, if he can prove that Ms. Gwinn’s words lost him a patient or tarnished his stellar reputation, he won’t hesitate to go after her in court.”
“Millie Gwinn seems genuine.”
“She does,” Hadley agreed. “It’s the reason that I suggested to Ms. Sloane that we speak outside of work. I can give you my personal opinion, but it’s basically her word against his, and I didn’t find any reason to believe that he was involved with any criminal activity. There are no bodies, nothing to tie him to any open murder investigation, and no other potential leads to keep the complaint on the books. You have your job cut out for you if you’re going to try and prove otherwise.”
“I’ll be honest with you,” Theo said after he’d taken another swig of his beer. “I’m not so sure we would have taken the case if Ms. Gwinn hadn’t called my cell phone this morning. She all but ambushed us at a pub near our offices. We were going to discuss her claims during our morning debriefing. Let’s face it. You’re right in that there are no bodies and nothing to point to any murder investigation.”
“Do you believe her?”
“You mean about the break-in this morning?” Theo asked, waiting for Hadley’s nod before continuing with his response. “I do. I also spoke with Ms. Gwinn’s sister today. Millie spent the night with the family, and she didn’t leave until an hour before she called me. The timing lines up. Someone definitely broke into her apartment, and I find it odd that nothing was taken.”
“The neighbor to the right of Ms. Gwinn had already left for work, and the neighbor to the left didn’t hear a thing over his music. As for the neighbor across the hall, the husband claimed to have heard something. Unfortunately, he got sidetracked by a phone call from his mother-in-law. He said that he forgot all about the noise by the end of the conversation.” Hadley shook her head in amusement at recalling said interview. “I’ve decided that mothers-in-law can make or break a marriage. In all seriousness, you and I both know that the likelihood of us locating the perp is next to nil. Also, Dr. Kolsby is still recovering from surgery, broken ribs, and a head injury. Do you really think that someone in that state of health could go traipsing around the city and barging through doors?”
Hadley made a good point, but Kolsby could have easily paid someone to scare Millie Gwinn into recanting her claims.
They spent the next forty minutes talking about the case, Hadley’s impressions of those who she’d interviewed, and her belief that there wasn’t much that could be done with so little evidence.
Technically, there was no evidence that any crime had been committed by Dr. Kolsby, and it all came down to one person’s word over another. Should S&E Investigations find that Dr. David Kolsby was nothing more than an upstanding citizen, they would have no choice but to close the case.
