Thomas took a few steps closer and leaned on the table. “The wrench we found in your truck says otherwise.”
“What exactly is this lady saying I did?” He wasn’t sure hewanted to know.
Opening the folder, Harmon picked up a picture, flipping it in his direction. Fuck. The woman’s face was barely recognizable. Eyes swollen and red, lip cut and bloody, and bruises dotting her cheeks. Her blue hair was apparent, though.
“Holy shit. I didnotdo this. Aside from the few minutes in the bar I neversaw her again.”
Harmon tilted his head. “And you have no one who can verify your whereabouts after youleft the bar?”
Damn it, no. Why hadn’t he gone to Heather’s to have her tend to his scratches? She may have kicked him out, but at least he’dhave an alibi.
“No, I told you I went home. By myself. I had another few beers and watched the game.”
“Do you often drink that much, Mr. Holland?” Thomas asked.
“It was a few beers. I’d only had one at the bar. I certainly wasn’t drunk. Not then. And I never touched that lady. She said I did this to her?”
Harmon put the picture back in the file. “She didn’t come willingly to the station. Someone reported her passed out a few streets over from Jake’s. The hospital called us and we took the report.”
Thomas leaned closer. “She said it was some guy she met in a bar who wouldn’t take no for an answer. We processed her clothing and jewelry and found your fingerprints on her bracelet. Plus the footage at Jake’s showed us yourconfrontation.”
His heart beat faster at the implications of this evidence. “It wasn’t a confrontation. I only tried to help her.” Taking a deep breath to control his temper, he continued, “My fingerprints are on her bracelet because she almost fell and I grabbed her to keep her steady. If you look at the footage you’ll see I didn’t do anything to her.”
“She seemed awfully upsetin the video.”
Scott shook his head. “I have no idea why she started flipping out. I didn’t do anything except help her up.”
“You say you had nothing to do with her assault yet your knuckles are all bruised and cut. Like you hit something a few times. There are bruises onyour face too.”
“We had an accident on the job site a few days ago. I got them then.” He glanced at his hands. Would they believe him? He certainly had witnesses for that.
“Did yousee a doctor?”
“No, it wasn’t that serious. My partner cleaned them up for me.”
“How did you get those scratches on your arm? From theaccident too?”
Running his fingers along the healing skin, Scott said, “No, that lady, Carla you said her name was, scratched me when she pulled away.”
Thomas narrowed her eyes. “Why would she have to pull away if you weren’t hurting her?”
“I thought you people said you looked at the security tape.” He was getting worked up and that wasn’t good.Deep breath. Keep it calm.Like when you were under firein the sandbox.
“We did.”
“Can’t you see that I didn’t hurt her in any way?”
Harmon shrugged. “There were a few people in the way so we can’t see much except Ms. Findley and her reactions. As you said, she looked anxious and afraid.”
How could he convince these people he was the good guy? The odds weren’t lookingtoo favorable.
“Ms. Findley claims you followed her out of the bar then forced her near your truck parked in a dark lot. You attempted to gain sexual favors from her. When she refused, you started beating on her. She fought back, kicking and punching, but at one point you grabbed the wrench from your vehicle and struck her with it. She said noise from a group of people caught your attention and she was able to get away. She stumbled into the alley and doesn’t remember anything until the paramedics showed up.”
Heat crawled up Scott’s neck and rushed through his blood. What the heck did this chick have against him?
“I don’t know why she’s saying all this, but I’m telling you I never touched herafter the bar.”
“But you admit you did touch her in the bar?” Thomas said. “We’ve got DNA from under her fingernails. Her hair, and I assume her blood, on a wrench found in your vehicle, your fingerprints on her bracelet. Not to mention the video evidence of you having an altercation with her in the bar. That’s pretty damning evidence, Mr. Holland. Are you sure you don’t want to give us a statement?”
