“That’s not helpful,” Bella commented.
After a frown, he turned to Bella. “You want me to be helpful?” he questioned.
“Would be nice,” Bella muttered sarcastically.
With a hateful look that would give a lesser woman a chill, the man responded. “I am no one and I don’t know why you need to die. I don’t question. I don’t care.”
Bella exhaled a frustrated breath. “Where are you from, Mr. No One?’ Who do you work for?”
Bella was wasting her breath. It was clear that the man didn't plan to answer any of her questions, so she wasn’t irritated by the knock at the door. When it opened, Donna entered and took the chair next to Bella. The man glared from one to the other with no reaction to their similarities.
Donna slid a file over and glared at the John Doe sitting across from them. “Which one of us do you want dead?” she asked.
Bella frowned, but it was a good question. All along, she’d just assumed thatshewas the target.
The man chuckled with an evil grin and yanked at the handcuffs that latched his wrists to a metal loop in the table. He glared at Donna. “You!” Then, his hateful glare darted toward Bella. “Or you...” he said with a shrug. “It does not matter.”
Bella scoffed at his callousness and opened the file. She rolled her eyes, unable to hide her disappointment at the lack of information. His prints came back to nothing. Either he’d never been arrested and printed before, or he just hadn’t been arrested in the United States.
“Maybe you both die,” he growled sadistically.
Donna leaned forward, shooting daggers at the man in cuffs. “Not today, asshole!”
“It seems I am in need of counsel,” he replied with a menacing grin.
Another knock at the door drew their attention. Bella tapped her sister on the shoulder and stood. She walked over to the door and waited. Donna stood, making a loud screech when she kicked the chair from behind her. She never took her eyesoff the man as she walked to the door. Bella opened the door and held it open until Donna walked out. The would-be killer glared at her one last time before retraining his eyes on the wall. Bella snatched the ponytail holder from her hair and left the interrogation room.
Maria Mendez was waiting in the hall, and the look on her face wasn’t conveying good news. “Process him.”
“What’s up, Lieutenant?” Bella questioned. “We’re in the middle of an interrogation.”
Maria folded her arms and raised a brow at Bella. “You heard hm ask for a lawyer. This interrogation is over. Get him processed.”
Bella blew out a frustrated breath as her sister spoke the words swirling in her head.
“So far, all we have is a misdemeanor gun charge. He’ll be out in hours.”
Maria nodded. “Fortunately, you stopped him before he killed Bella, butunfortunately, that’s why we don’t have a charge that can hold him.”
“Well, fuck!” Donna. barked “Maybe, I should have just let him take my sister’s head off.”
Bella rolled her neck when she turned the glare at her sister. “Or… maybenot,” she countered.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Detective. It would’ve been nice if you could’ve gotten some information on this guy, but you know the law as well as I do. He’s gonna bond out.”
Donna groaned and nodded in compliance. Bella looked at her sister, surprised by her reaction. The lieutenant was right. She knew the law better than most, Bella suspected. One would have to have a good working knowledge of police procedure to work undercover.
Maria smiled sympathetically. “So, go on and process him. Then you two can cut out.”
“All right, Lieu,” Donna agreed. She turned to Bella. “I’ll knock out the reports. You can go on home and get some rest.”
“Don’t forget to photograph his tattoos,” Maria reminded Donna before walking away.
Bella raised both brows. She was surprised but grateful for her twin’s generosity. “Ohh-kay. You ain’t gotta tell me twice.”
Bella walked over to her desk, grabbed her bag, and headed towards the stairwell.
“Text me when you get in the house!” Donna shouted at her back.
