“Funny. Steven said the same thing when I asked him that question. I guess we all know how that turned out. The guy’s got a mean jealous streak.” Tran tapped his shiner. “Speaking of which, the magistrate should be here any minute about those assault charges. You’ll be hearing from me, Ms. Donovan.” He winked at me with his good eye on his way out the door.
Nick’s hands clenched at his sides. I took him gently by the arm to keep him from doing something he’d regret.
“You two better get out of here,” Joey said once Tran was finally gone.
“Thanks for the heads-up, Joe. I owe you one.” Nick squeezed Joey’s shoulder and followed me into the hall.
Right into Julian Baker.
Julian steadied me with a hand on my arm as we collided. “Finlay, what are you doing back here? I came as soon as I got your text. You should have waited for…” His eyes lifted to Nick behind me and Julian quickly shut his mouth. He acknowledged Nick with a quick, professional nod and assumed a more reserved tone. “I brought Parker with me,” he said quietly. “She’s meeting with Steven now. I don’t know that she’ll agree to represent him, but she can help him through his hearing with the magistrate tonight and we can figure out what to do from there.”
Julian’s roommate, Parker, wasn’t very fond of me. This wasn’t the first time Julian had called her to get me out of a jam, but hopefully she wouldn’t hold that against Steven.
“Don’t worry,” Julian assured me. “He’s in good hands.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“Can you tell me anything about what happened?” he asked Nick.
Nick waited for two uniforms to pass by before answering in a low voice. “Mike Tran is looking at Steven’s affair with Penny Dupree as a motive for the murder. Tran was trying to prove Steven can be violent when he’s jealous. He played dirty during the interrogation and brought up Finlay’s relationship with me. Steven took the bait and reacted. Frankly, I’m not sure you being here is the best idea right now.” It was coolheaded, rational advice, but there was a steely undertone to it.
Julian nodded, color rising in his cheeks. “Got it. I’ll fill Parker in and wait outside.” He turned to me. “I’ll text you after the meeting and let you know how it went, but I doubt the magistrate will let him leave here tonight. She’ll probably want to keep him in custody until his bond hearing. You going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” I forced myself to smile, resisting the temptation to ask him for a referral to an attorney for myself. After my discussion with Mike Tran, I was convinced I was going to need one.
I opened my arms to hug Julian but thought better of it when I felt Nick’s palm on my back. I extended a hand to Julian instead, settling for a shake. “Thank you for everything.”
“I’m glad you called me.” His eyes flicked to Nick’s before he let me go.
Nick didn’t say a word as we exited the station. I started toward my minivan, too exhausted to deal with the argument I felt brewing. He took me by the hand and marched me to his Impala instead. He opened the passenger door and deposited me inside. I braced myself as he rounded the hood, got in the driver’s seat, and slammed the door.
I waited for the inevitable lecture to start, the one where he asked me how I could be so foolish showing up here, after he’d told me to stay as far away as possible from Tran. The longer Nick didn’t say anything, the more my stomach tied itself in knots.
“Why did you call Julian?” he asked without looking at me.
“I needed a lawyer.”
“Heisn’ta lawyer.”
“I didn’t know who else to call.”
“You could have called me.”
“Joey said you weren’t answering your phone.”
His eyes snapped to me. “I would have for you! When are you going to start trusting me?” The silence stretched between us. He rubbed a hand over his mouth and lowered his voice. “How certain are you that Steven didn’t murder Gilford Dupree?”
“Completely.” I waited for him to ask me why. To ask me for proof.
He stared out the windshield for an intolerable length of time. His voice was thick with gravel when he finally spoke. “Tell me you have Mrs. Haggerty’s house key.”
“It’s in her purse, back at my—”
He held up a hand. “Tell me she gave it to you.” It wasn’t a question. He wasn’t looking for an answer. He was looking for permission. An excuse to make a decision he wouldn’t be able to if my answer was no.
I nodded. “She gave it to me.”
“Good,” he said as he started the engine. “You and I are going to solve the Dupree murder before this case gets out of hand. We’re starting at the crime scene, and we’re doing it tonight.”
