"Why didn’t you report it?”
"Because nobody would believe that I didn't kill her."
"You're right about that. Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”
His eyes rounded. "I didn't do anything. I swear!"
I drew my pistol. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."
"Okay, okay." Bobby complied.
Jack ratcheted the cuffs around his wrists and read him his rights.
I called dispatch and had them send a patrol unit. I searched the rest of the boat, looking for the murder weapon, but didn't find it.
We escorted him to the parking lot and stuffed him into the back of Mendoza’s squad car when he arrived. Bobby was taken to the station, processed, printed, and put in an interrogation room.
JD and I logged the shoes into evidence, then filled out after-action reports. After Bobby had time to sweat, we paid him a visit. We went through the whole scenario again.
His story didn't change.
"Tell me about Andrew?" I asked.
"The guy’s a scumbag.Wasa scumbag."
"You kill him too?"
Bobby scowled at me. "I didn't kill anybody.”
"You certainly had a motive.”
"I'm sure there are a lot of other people with motives, too. You ever think this might have something to do with the work they were doing at the institute?"
"You mean the establishment of protected habitats?"
"No. I mean the real work they were doing over there.”
My eyes narrowed at him. "What kind of real work?”
20
"Idon't know," Bobby said. "Tess was always secretive about their work. That's what made me suspicious in the first place. She always acted like she was hiding something. I figured out Andrew was hiding something. His sausage in my wife."
"Did she ever talk to you about any genetic modification of wildlife? Gene splicing? CRISPR technology?"
"Like I said, I could never get any specifics out of her. But something was weird over there. I don't know if you’ve spent much time in that building, but there's too much security for an environmental group. They have secret areas with biometric access. It wouldn't surprise me if they were doing something wonky."
I took it with a grain of salt. Bobby would say anything to save his ass right now.
He asked, "So what happens now?”
"You get arraigned in the morning.”
His mouth tightened. "I'm telling you. I didn't do anything. I'm cooperating. I'm giving you information you didn’t have before. Doesn’t that count for something?”
"It's up to the state’s attorney to decide if there is enough to charge you.”
"It’s all circumstantial. You’ve got nothing.”
