“No. Of course not.” He slaps his palm down onto the table. “There’s nothing wrong with her and I—”
“Did her grade jump from an F to an A before or after you slept with her?”
His face blanches.
I’ve got him.
“She did the necessary work to improve her grade. Both semesters.”
“Uh-huh.”
“She did,” he says angrily. “There’s nothing in our contracts that says we cannot date students.”
“Date?” I frown. “Did you two date? Were you courting?”
“Courting?” He scoffs. “I’m married.”
“So ‘affair’ is a better word, isn’t it? How would your wife feel about you sleeping with another woman?”
“How the hell would I know? She won’t return my calls.”
Daisy said something similar.
“The last I heard, she was in Utah or somewhere out in the boonies,” he continues.
I think Daisy mentioned California. I stand, picking up my notebook. “I’ll be right back.” I want to give Buchanan enough time to stew on this conversation, plus I want to ask Daisy about her father’s visit. She never mentioned that either.
In the booth, I stop in front of Finch and the captain.
“I think you’ve got him,” Captain Billings says with a smile.
I think I do too. “I’m going to ask Daisy about his claim that he was there to see her.”
“Good.” He smiles. “I’ll watch him squirm until you get back.”
Out in the main room of Ames PD, I grab a set of keys and head back to the holding cells. I hate the idea that she’s back here, locked up. When I reach her cell, she’s lying on a cot, her eyes red and puffy.
“Honey,” I say softly.
“Gage?” She jumps up from the cot and races to the bars. “Can I go now?”
“Not yet. I need to ask you something.”
“Okay.” Her voice is hesitant.
“We have footage of your father taking the elevator from the parking garage up to your floor the night of the murder.”
Daisy gasps.
“He says he was there to see you. Is that true?”
“No.” Her face looks fierce. “He’s lying.”
“He said you asked him to come.”
Scoffing, she grabs the bars between us. “Like I’d call him.”
“That’s what I thought.” Turning, I reach out and touch one of her hands. “I’ll be back.”
