“Sure.” Huck stood and waited until Laurel crossed around the desk to walk in front of him. Today she wore heeled boots, so she felt a little bit taller than her normal 5’2”. She’d paired black slacks with a green sweater, and she had her badge at her waist.
“Do you want to lead or want me to?” Huck asked.
She shrugged. “Let’s both ask questions.”
“Sounds good.” He pressed his hand to the small of her back, and she felt his warmth all the way to her toes.
Regaining her composure, because she wasn’t a woman who lost her composure, she walked down the hallway and into the conference room. “Thank you for coming in, Ms. Johnson,” she said, noting Haylee pouring a glass of water.
Melissa Cutting sat next to her niece and across the table from the door. For the meeting today, she wore a high-end pantsuit with subtle gold and diamond jewelry. In her early fifties, Melissa had thick brown hair that curled around her shoulders, a smoothly botoxed forehead, and fully filled lips. She played with a thick emerald ring around her right finger. “We heard that Jason Abbott escaped,” she said without preamble.
“Yes.” Laurel looked at Haylee, who today had dressed back to form in a gray sweatshirt and faded jeans, her blond hair pulled up in a ponytail. “Did you know Jason was going to escape?”
“No.” Haylee shook her head wildly. “I had no idea. I’m so glad he’s out, though.”
Huck pulled out a chair for Laurel and then sat next to her across from the other two. “Why is that? Do you want him to kill more people?”
Haylee flattened her hands on the rough wooden door serving as a table. “You have him all wrong. He is not a killer. What happened is all Abigail Caine’s fault because of those experiments she conducted on him.”
Laurel tilted her head, studying the young woman. Her facial expression showed markers of truth. Did she really believe that nonsense? “He cut the hands off women after raping and strangling them,” she said slowly. “Nobody else in the world can make somebody do something like that. He is a bad person, and if he gets near you again, he will hurt you.”
Haylee’s eyes flashed. “You’re just mad because I’m suing you.”
“I couldn’t care less about your lawsuit,” Laurel said honestly. “The suit lacks merit. I’m surprised it hasn’t been dismissed already.”
Melissa Cutting smiled, her teeth perfectly aligned. “We think we have a good case, and I’m greatly looking forward to your deposition next month. You were reckless and unprofessional, considering your sister was involved in the whole situation. We will prevail, Agent Snow.”
“I disagree based on the law and the facts,” Laurel said easily. “However, I don’t have time to worry about that right now. We need to concentrate on finding Jason Abbott before he murders somebody else.” If he was killing women by drowning them, he had just struck twice, so hopefully he’d take some time to cool off. If he wasn’t the current killer, he would murder soon. She focused more directly on Melissa Cutting. “Why did you move to dismiss our injunction against Dr. Abigail Caine visiting Jason Abbott?”
Haylee swung to face her aunt. “You did what?”
Melissa met Laurel’s gaze evenly. “I represent Jason Abbott, and he requested Dr. Caine’s visit. He has the right to see anybody he wishes, especially when it comes to his defense.” She glanced at her niece. “Dr. Abigail Caine is how we get him free, Haylee. Now, control yourself.”
Haylee gulped and looked down at the rough table.
Huck cleared his throat. “Ms. Cutting, you perfectly match the description of his former victims. Please tell me you understand the risk and are taking precautions to protect your safety.”
“I’m taking precautions,” Melissa said. “But I represent Jason Abbott, so he has no need or wish to hurt me.”
Laurel shook her head. “You do not understand the compulsions that drive him. If that craving builds up in him again, he will come after you, absent, of course, another potential victim.”
“I hope he gets to Abigail Caine,” Haylee burst out.
“Haylee!” Melissa said, drawing back.
Haylee sank in her chair. In her early twenties, she suddenly looked much younger. “I don’t care. Jason would not have hurt anybody without that woman. Surely you understand that.” She glared at Laurel.
“No,” Laurel said. How could the woman be so lacking in self-preservation? “I do think that Dr. Caine accelerated tendencies that wouldn’t have manifested themselves so soon otherwise, but anybody who would brutally kill the way Jason did was going to kill at some point. You need to understand that.” Jason would eventually murder Haylee if the woman didn’t begin to take precautions. “You have to understand.”
“I don’t know what to think.” Haylee flattened her hands on the table.
Huck studied the two women. “Where were you both the night Jason Abbott escaped from custody?”
Melissa drew back. “Excuse me?”
“We just need to clear you, Ms. Cutting. You’re Jason Abbott’s lawyer.”
Melissa swallowed. “I was home working on a brief.”
