Her stomach rolled.
“We’ve also received a phone call from Pastor Zeke Caine,” Norrs said, his voice almost slurred. “He’s suing us for slander and emotional distress.”
“What? Because we called him in for questioning?” Laurel asked, her eyebrows rising.
Norrs shook his head. “You didn’t catch the last few minutes ofThe Killing Hourjust now?”
“No.”
“As he left your building, Pastor Caine was attacked by Rachel Raprenzi and her cameraman. They had the whole scoop on how he’d been pulled away from his parish and had basically been accused of murder.”
Seriously? What kind of reach did Rachel have? Or had Zeke somehow set this up? “How did they know all of those facts?” Laurel asked.
“Heck if I know,” Norrs said. “But he’s suing us, and he’s pissed.”
She thought back to what she knew. Zeke had horribly embarrassed Pastor John in front of their entire church. Perhaps John had taken a little bit of revenge. Not that she could blame him. However, a lawsuit would make her life even more difficult.
Agent Norrs stood. “Where’s the case file?”
“All of the files are in the conference room, as are the murder boards. You can take over the entire area if you want.” She’d already removed the pictures and notes from the board featuring Abigail so he wouldn’t see her evidence.
“Thank you,” he said. “I’m sorry about this.”
Laurel nodded. “So am I.”
He smiled. “The good news is that if I’m here for a while, Abigail will be here as well. You two can finally bond.”
Chapter 39
Darkness had fallen as Laurel rode in the passenger side of Huck’s truck, idly thinking that she hadn’t driven her own vehicle in much too long. It had been at least a week. This was getting ridiculous.
“So they just released you?” she asked.
His grip tightened on the steering wheel. “Not exactly. I called in my attorney, and he pointed out that Rachel could not positively identify me as her kidnapper and that anybody could have stolen Aeneas’s blanket from the back of my rig. Plus, there’s absolutely no damage on my truck and a lot on Rachel’s vehicle.”
Laurel cocked her head to the side. “Who’s your lawyer?”
“He’s an old pal from the military who lives outside of Seattle. That’s part of what took so long. We had to wait for him to arrive. You’ll like him—I assume we’ll be seeing a lot of him over the next months.”
Laurel nodded. “They’re not dropping the case against you?”
“No. They’re going to up the charges. My cell phone being in the vicinity of all the murders doesn’t look good.”
She watched the rain beat the ground outside. When would spring come? “You’re most certainly their prime suspect.”
He set his windshield wipers on a faster speed. “They’re definitely building a case. My lawyer convinced them not to arrest me at this time, so long as I relinquish my weapons, badge, and passport. I’m on indefinite leave.”
“I’m off the case as well.” Her fingers itched to get back to her case files. “I think Norrs is a good agent, and Nester said he’d be back tomorrow.”
Huck flicked her a glance. “They’re not as good as you.”
Her shoulders sagged. The fact that she could get into a killer’s mind would always bother her. “You were deliberately set up,” she murmured.
“Could it be by Abigail?” he asked.
“She, for some unknown reason, wants a close relationship with me, or at least whatever ‘close’ means to her. You are in the way.” Did it track, though? Abigail wasn’t somebody who liked to get her hands dirty, and drowning a woman by forcing her head beneath ice was definitely dirty. Yet Laurel had no doubt Abigail would sink to such lows if the ends justified her means. “We’ve been looking at this case by asking why each victim was murdered.”
“That sounds standard to me.”
