“Yes, sir.” I stood from the chair and nodded just once before backing out of his office and closing the door behind me. In the lounge, I found Korbin kicked back in one of our recliners, reading an open newspaper with one hand.
“Hey, Cap,” he said, tossing the paper aside. “What’s up?”
“We need to go see the mayor.”
“What for?” He jumped to his feet in a second, raring to go.
“If anyone has some pull to get Paisley out, it’s Jensen.”
“I don’t know if I trust Jensen, Cap,” said Korbin as he followed me out. “He wasn’t very supportive of Paisley’s employment in the first place.”
“Exactly. Something is up. I need to know what he’s done.”
The drive to the mayor’s office was quick and silent; neither spoke as the cogs turned in our heads. Once we reached the building and rode the elevator to the sixth floor, the receptionist at the front desk made a valid attempt to turn us away, but I wasn’t having it. Not when Paisley’s life was at stake, not this time.
“This is urgent,” I said, walking right past her. She opened her mouth to argue again, but when Korbin followed me, she closed it again, defeated. I didn’t knock before entering, and we found Mayor Jensen sitting behind his desk, typing away at his computer. He glanced up when we barged in but didn’t look surprised to see us there.
“Captain Hansen,” he said kindly. “What can I do for you, gentlemen?” He waved airily towards a couple of empty chairs on the far side of his desk.
“It’s about Paisley Hill.” I sat in one of the chairs, but Korbin continued to stand. Mayor Jensen looked at me, an expression I couldn’t quite read flitting across his face. It was gone as soon as it had appeared, and he replaced it with a warm smile.
“What about her?”
“She’s in jail,” Korbin said forcefully. “And we want to know why.”
“What do you mean, why?” The mayor stood from his desk and walked around us to pour himself another cup of coffee from the pot sitting on a small side table. He offered some to us with a motion of his hand, but we both silently shook our heads and refused.
“Paisley Hill is not guilty, sir. There’s no way she could have done what they’re saying she did,” I said, fighting against the rage that wanted to rear its ugly head.
“I guess I don’t understand, Mr. Hansen,” said Mayor Jensen. “We have a witness and a scorned lover. She has no alibi for the nights in question. No one can vouch for her. Ms. Hill is absolutely guilty. All evidence points to her.”
“She’s innocent until proven guilty,” Korbin said.
“Ah, yes, she is, my dear boy, and luckily for us, proving her guilt shouldn’t be any problem at all.”
“Mayor, something else is going on,” I insisted. “Someone else is behind all this. It’s not Paisley.”
“Do you have evidence to support that?”
“Do you have evidence to deny it?” asked Korbin. He stepped up next to me and rested his hands on the mayor’s desk, leaning down to look the man in the eye. “You’re doing, what, taking the word of a random witness and a fight with her asshole boyfriend before his house caught on fire? Hell, for all we know, it’s her ex doing this to her out of spite.”
“I’m sorry, gentlemen, there’s nothing I can do.”
“Bullshit.” The bottled rage I’d had simmering all morning finally boiled over, and my fist hit the desk with enough force that a pile of paperwork fluttered, a few of them falling to the ground. No one moved to pick them up.
“Please try to contain your anger when speaking to me, Captain, or I will have you both escorted out.”
“No need,” Korbin said, bending down to pick up the papers near the edge of the desk. He straightened up and placed them back on the pile, smiling. “We’ll see ourselves out.”
I looked at him, startled, unwilling to leave until we had some helpful information, but Korbin jerked his head towards the door and walked out. I had no choice but to follow.
“What in the hell was that all about?” I snapped as soon as we were back in the car. “We didn’t get anything from him.”
“He had nothing to say to us, Cap,” said Korbin, sliding into the passenger’s seat. “We can do this without him.”
“Great, Korbin, let me know when you come up with some extravagant plan to get Paisley released,” I said bitterly. “I’ll be here waiting.”
Chapter45
