“He trusted me more. I told him I’d make sure the guy was taken care of.”
“Where was this man?” Georg asks.
“Just north of San Antonio.”
Anja nods. “How did you get him?”
“I borrowed Tío’s truck,” he says, shooting a look at Javier, who rubs his forehead.
“Your uncle’s truck with the Mexican plates?” Georg verifies.
Ant nods.
“And you killed him with one of Javier’s knives?”
Charlie and Javier exchange a glance. Charlie had taken his knives and gun his first night here but gave them back when they got his dossier from Wimberley.
“I found his leather roll-up, and they were so cool. He has a few throwing knives, but I’m not very good with those. But the folding knife got the job done.”
Anja nods thoughtfully, bringing her hands together, her fingertips brushing the underside of her chin. “What did you do with the body?”
“I lured him into a hotel room, got him high, then slit his wrists.”
Javier curses under his breath, rubbing his eyebrows to disguise his response. I rub his lower back, and Erik catches the gesture.
Whatever.
“What drug did you use to get him high?” Georg asks, sounding more curious than anything.
Ant tips his head from side to side. “It was a blunt, but it was laced with hash. He got so gonged,” he says, chuckling at the memory.
“Was it your intent to make it look like a suicide?” Charlie asks, rubbing the long white scars running from wrist to inner elbow.
“Yeah.”
“What do you think the medical examiner will think when there’s no knife?” Charlie asks, keeping his voice even.
“I already thought of that. He had a knife on him, so I put it in his hand and put a little blood on the blade.”
“That was very smart, Ant,” Anja says, patting his shoulder. Erik opens his mouth, and she silences him with a look so sharp I’m surprised he doesn’t lose his eyebrows. “But we must be very specific in these instances. What was the size of his knife compared to this knife?”
Georg takes the knife from Charlie’s hands, examining it.
“It was a little smaller, but I felt like it was close enough.”
Georg looks up from the knife. “You felt like it was close enough?”
Ant shifts uncomfortably. “Uh…yeah?”
Anja joins Georg in looking over the knife. “The blood you put on the blade of the other knife…did you ensure it followed the same pattern you saw on this knife?”
“No…” he answers, hesitating. “What do you mean?”
Anja goes to the dining room, grabs the carving knife, and points at one of the roasted chickens on the table. “Bram, these are cooked to perfection. Would you mind terribly if I demonstrated to Ant by slicing through the chicken? I promise it will still be delicious.”
Bram gestures for her to continue. She slices through the chicken breast with our good carving knife and then gestures for Ant to come over.
“It is possible to very accurately determine the size of the knife based on the depth, width, and smoothness of the cut,” Anja says, pointing to the cut in the chicken and comparing it to the carving knife.
