“Because on Saturday at Chantilly’s I thought Ben was alive and he was going to Foster’s and if I told you that, you’d have gone there too.” I turn away and look out the window. “And I was afraid of what would happen if y’all were both there.”
Chapter 31
Hank
AFTER THE ALIBI
Thursday, October 15
Even though I promised Lila I was headed home, I need to swing by the precinct first and have a chat with Detective Sullivan.
As I make my way back to his cubicle, every cop and detective I pass takes the opportunity to give me shit for moving to the “dark side.”
“Time for some new material!” I shout back.
A few of them laugh but one guy rolls his desk chair into the aisle when I get close. “Hank, sorry about Ben. Hated hearing what happened to him.”
And there’s that knife to the gut again. Grief is a nasty bastard. So is guilt, because I’m not mourning him as much as I should be. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it. And everyone’s efforts to catch whoever did this. We’re on the same side on this one.”
He throws his fist up and I bump it with mine as I walk away. There’stime for a few deep breaths before I reach Sullivan’s cubicle and I’m able to push the pain and grief and sadness back into the place where I’ve buried them.
“They’re never going to let you off the hook for switching sides,” the detective says when I take the empty chair next to his desk.
“Yeah, I know.”
“How you holding up?”
“You want the answer everyone hopes to hear, or you want the truth?”
He gives me a sad smile. “It’s always the truth for me.”
“Well, the truth is I don’t know how I am. Between juggling both my and Ben’s active cases and trying to wrap my head around everything in Ben’s estate and keeping the office running and making sure Camille is okay all while grieving my friend…I don’t know if I’m coming or going. I’m glad tomorrow is Friday so I can put an end to this week and hopefully catch up on some sleep.”
Sullivan winces and I cough, clearing the emotion from my voice. “That may have been more truth than you were asking for.”
“It’s exactly how I’d feel in your position.” He slides a large manila envelope my way, thankfully getting back to the business at hand. “The items that were on Ben that we can go ahead and release. Need you to sign off, verifying the contents and agreeing to take responsibility for them.”
“Oh, sure.” I open it up and pull the items out one at a time, initialing next to the item’s name on the list stapled to the front. For the keys, there is a picture on the form with each one fanned out. I check each key to make sure it matches up.
“Looks like everything is here.” I put it all back inside and sign the bottom of the form before pulling it off and handing it to Sullivan. “No phone?”
“Gotta keep it awhile longer.”
I lean forward in my chair and lower my voice since there’s not much privacy here. “Tell me you have a suspect.”
He frowns and shakes his head. “I wish we did. Given that the knife is probably the murder weapon, this is looking more like a crime of passion than premeditation. Something went sideways that night and someone took advantage of it just sitting there.”
I consider everything I’ve learned since Sunday. Although “crime of passion” only refers to a crime happening in the heat of the moment and not planned ahead, the word “passion” always throws people because of the sexual connotation associated with it. There are those who will hear that term connected with this case and immediately assume Camille did it, strictly based on that word. “You only know that knife is missing because of that picture from an article. It’s reasonable to assume someone went in there that night knowing they had a murder weapon at the ready. Not sure you can rule out premeditation.”
Sullivan laughs, shaking his head. “You damn defense guys always looking to make my job harder. That might be a hard sell to a jury.”
“At least tell me you’re clearing Camille for this.”
He’s surprised by the question. “I’m not clearing anyone at this point. I consider everyone a suspect.” His pointed look tells me I’m not immune.
I roll my eyes. “Jesus, Sully, you saw her. She’s wrecked.”
He shrugs, lifting one eyebrow. “We both know being upset isn’t a sign of innocence. All I can tell you is we haven’t ruled anyone out at this point.”
