“Just a story I’ve read. More plausible than I care to admit.”
“You have to lend me that book. Sounds interesting.”
George looked a little flustered. “I’m not sure I still have it. It was on my kindle.”
“Stop talking about fucking books! You come to my home without a warrant and throw me down in my own backyard! What right do you have?” Ronald sounded so righteously indignant Andi had to suppress a chuckle. George didn’t feel so generous and started laughing.
“We are the police, Einstein. When we find evidence of wrongdoing, we have the right to question the suspect, even if it’s an upstanding citizen like yourself.” Andi found he liked George’s sarcasm. It was like a breath of fresh air around this foul-smelling excuse of a human being. He straightened and pulled Ronald to his feet.
“We’re going to have a nice long chat at the precinct. Now move it.”
They walked Ronald back to George’s car, put him in the back seat with the security net up, and drove back to hopefully get some answers.
INTERROGATION ROOMnumber three was the smallest, and even though the air ventilation worked overtime, the sour stink of Ronald Wallace had already permeated the entire room. Andi felt slightly sick every time he had to draw a breath. Talking was even worse because of the revolting taste it left on his tongue. In addition to obviously not being a great fan of things like soap, water, and a toothbrush, Ronald was also sweating bullets. He had been nervous from the beginning, which had become worse when George had shot down his attempts at playing the black membership card with a few choice words, and then escalated when they had shown him pictures of the three girls and the crowbar. The man was guilty as sin and dumb as a field of lard. Unfortunately, the two brain cells he had to rub together had made him lawyer up immediately. Now they were sitting here waiting for the lawyer, and Andi seriously contemplated the wisdom of staying in the room with Ronald as part of their intimidation tactic. They should have left him to simmer in his own stinking sweat, but now it was too late to change tactics.
A beeping sound from the speaker in the left corner told Andi Ronald’s attorney had arrived. Together with George he left the room, taking a deep breath as soon as the door had closed behind them. It said a lot that even the stale air in the first floor seemed sweet in comparison to the interrogation room. Andi relaxed even more when he saw who had come to counsel Ronald. Lewis Brackenport was a whip-thin man in his early fifties who had worked with Andi several times. Lewis knew the people Andi brought in were always guilty.
“What do we have today, Andi?” Lewis looked resigned. Working as a defense attorney was taking its toll on the man, and Andi secretly wondered how much longer Lewis would keep on doing the ungrateful work of public defender, though these were thoughts for another day. Now they had a murderer to crack.
“Lewis, this is my partner, George Donovan. George, this is Lewis Brackenport, a public defender with whom I’ve worked before.”
George and Lewis shook hands, and Andi went on. “Ronald Wallace’s fingerprints were found on the murder weapon for a girl named Lilly Cordon. We have two more bodies we found close to her, and once Evangeline is done examining them, I’m convinced she’ll confirm he killed these two as well. Especially since the murder weapon for the first girl was found with the other two.”
Lewis furrowed his brows. “What do you need from him?”
“What makes you think I need something from him?” Andi grinned, signaling Lewis how dead on he was.
“Because you have that gleam in your eyes. I’ve worked with you often enough to know how you look when you’re done with a case and how you do when there’s more.”
“If I’ve become that transparent, I guess I need to switch attorneys.”
Lewis snorted. “You can’t, thanks to our beautiful system, and you don’t want to, because deep down in that cranky heart of yours, you love me.”
“Idiot.” Andi only muttered because Lewis was right. Aside from Evangeline and perhaps Rose, Lewis was somebody he could tolerate, mostly because he didn’t see him that often and respected his moral integrity and work ethic.
“What do you want me to tell him? Are you willing to offer him a deal in exchange for information?”
Andi scowled. He hated making deals with murderers, but they needed information. According to what the insects had picked up at the storage unit, there had only been Ronald and the girls. They had nothing to work with. Sacrificing his deep-rooted sense of justice for the greater good of hopefully cracking a human trafficking ring was a small price to pay.
“Tell him we can see to it that the death penalty is off the table. Nothing else.”
Lewis nodded. “I’m going to convince him that’s the best he’s going to get. Give me ten.”
Andi went to open the door for Lewis. “Take a deep breath before you go in there and try to ration the oxygen you get. It’s not pretty in there.”
“Thanks for the warning, Detective.”
Chapter 11—A New Lead
GEORGE STOODnext to Andi as they watched Lewis talking to Ronald Wallace through the one-way mirror. The public defender had surprised George. He seemed to be on good terms with Andi, which made him automatically interesting for George. Apparently the two had already worked together, and the ease with which Lewis had accepted the evidence presented by Andi told him the attorney trusted Andi’s work. It could of course always be that he was simply lazy, though George doubted it. The man practically screamed integrity, which made him the second person in a position of authority who trusted Andi’s judgment. Third if he wanted to count Evangeline. She may not be one of the decision-makers in the precinct, but the position of coroner asked for a level head. George had a growing feeling Chief Norris might be barking up the wrong tree with Andi. His musings were interrupted by Lewis, who very pointedly stared at the mirror.
Andi turned toward the door. “It’s on.”
They entered the interrogation room, the air in it even thicker than it had been before. George made a mental note to complain about the lack of ventilation and to never use that room again. He sat down next to Andi, facing Ronald Wallace and Lewis Brackenport. Lewis was all business now, his face the serious and impenetrable mask George knew from his mother and oldest brother. It was the kind of face that had made him confess his sins as a child faster than he’d been able to commit them.
“Mr. Wallace here has, after carefully weighing his options, decided to cooperate with the police regarding this case. He’s going to answer all questions to the full extent of his knowledge.”
The empty gaze entering Ronald’s eyes upon these words made George’s heart sink. They were off to a wonderful start. Andi cleared his throat.
