Pierce scribbled some notes on his notepad. “Did the other two robbers see you identify Lenny?”
I shook my head. “No. I was careful to shove his mask back into place and roll off him. I wanted to confront him right there, but the hot guy had his arrow pointed at me.” Hopefully, he hadn’t noticed because we needed Lenny in town to identify the other two. He’d probably be headed to Canada if his cover had been blown.
“The hot guy?” Pierce asked slowly.
“Yeah,” I said, heat filling my face. Did I bump my head? Because I felt really off. “He’s, well…tall. Taller than you, taller than Aiden, even. He wears tighter clothes, and his muscles are cut. I think he’s probably quite a bit younger than the other two. Lenny has to be, what? In his sixties? The guy about Lenny’s and my height moves like Lenny does—like he’s a little bit older. I’m just guessing.”
Pierce studied me for several moments. “But there’s somethinghotabout the guy in black?”
I swallowed. “Compared to the other two, yeah. I guess it’s more the way he carries himself. Like he’s in charge and still has a sense of humor about the whole situation.”
“Did you hit your head?
I chose to take that as concern and not him questioning my sanity. “No. I’m not even sure when I hurt my knee, to be honest.” An idea struck me. “The main guy has a great body. We should be taking a look at gyms in the area. He obviously works out.”
Pierce pursed his lips. “That’s a good idea. I’ll put a junior detective on that.”
I preened a little. If this whole lawyer gig didn’t work out, maybe I’d join the police force. “I hope you find him.” I still couldn’t believe he’d shot Nick and then tied me up this time.
Pierce nodded. “Could you identify anything different about the voices?”
I shook my head. “They were still tinny, so whatever’s under that mask is some sort of noise distorter.” Thinking back, I searched for an accent or unique cadence, but nothing stood out. I’d felt something heavy at Lenny’s face when I’d moved his mask, but I didn’t see the device.
“Tell me everything anybody said during the robbery.”
I gave Pierce the lowdown, word for word, and noted terror had filled Lenny’s eyes. There was no doubt he was afraid, but of getting caught, or of the guy in black?
Pierce made more scribbles, his look intense even with lines fanning out from his green eyes. The guy needed a break. Even his dark-blond hair lacked its usual luster. “Keep going.”
I wound down by saying that Lenny whispered apologies as he’d tied me up.
Pierce paused in writing and tugged my phone from his back pocket. “I guess that explains why your phone was found just outside the door. Lenny must’ve left it for you.” He tossed it onto the bed. “We’ve already dusted it for prints. Didn’t find any.”
I swallowed, reaching for my phone. “They wear gloves.” The redness in Pierce’s eyes concerned me. “When was the last time you took a vacation?”
“Do you know what all they stole?”
Fine. Back to business, then. He wasn’t mine to worry about, but still, I considered Pierce a friend. “Again, they tied us up, so I didn’t get to see much. But they took Depression glass and some Belleek china. I heard one guy brag about finding some hunting knives, and then…I don’t know. They were out of sight for quite a while, and it sounded like they were destructive, as well.” In fact, they’d been almost gleeful while breaking things. At least, it had sounded that way.
“Why were you covered in ink and paint?” Pierce asked, frowning. “Did they throw that on you?”
I looked at my discarded coat in the garbage can. “No. Lisa and I might have had a little bit of an argument when she found out I was representing Nick.”
His eyebrows rose. “She attacked you with paint and ink?”
“Plus a snow globe with glittery water,” I added. “Spices, too.” My right eye still burned.
His chin lifted. “Did you respond in kind or attack her in any way?”
Should I be embarrassed that I hadn’t? “No. I just tried to talk her down, but she kept throwing things at me. The snow globe even broke and smattered me with glittery goop.”
“Do you want to press charges?”
Ah. The woman had committed a battery—possibly an assault and battery, as I’d told her. I had cause, that was for sure. “Do you want me to press charges?”
His eyes gleamed. “I wouldn’t mind.”
“You’ve got it. I’ll press charges.” Then she’d have to talk to him. “She’s got some serious anger issues, Grant. I wouldn’t be surprised if she killed Richard and Imogen.” If she was this angry fifteen years after the fact, who knew how furious she’d been that night upon seeing them leaving? I gave Pierce all the information she’d shared while we’d been tied up.
