Would kissing the man on the cheek be too presumptuous? Probably. And she absolutely didn’t need any romantic intrigues at a time like this.
“Thank you, Marcus.” She lightly pressed his arm and turned away.
He reached around her to the doorknob. “Go straight—”
“Miss Pelton. What a coincidence. We were just coming to see you.”
While Lydia did not recognize the smooth voice, she did recognize the air of authority and underlying warning not to leave that accompanied it. The police had caught up to her. Too bad she was an author of the written word instead of oral tradition. Her drafts were always a mess before she edited them. Telling the first story that came to mind wasn’t likely to work in her favor, and there would be no changing the words after they escaped. A dreadful reality.
She forced a smile and faced the man who had addressed her.
If his plainclothes suit was any indication, he was a detective. Though his newsboy cap hid his hair, the white and gray of his close-cut beard indicated he was not a young man. That would make convincing him even more difficult. Papa often equated the age of an officer with his expertise in handling liars and crooks.
Her stomach twisted again. Was she really comparing herself to liars and crooks? What was wrong with her? She hadn’t stolen anything.
Except a goat.
And she wasn’t lying.
Yet.
Maybe it wasn’t too late to vomit on the floor.
“I’m Detective Lawson. Would you be so kind as to join me and Detective Hall in an empty office? We have some things we’d like to discuss with you.”
Detective Hall? He couldn’t mean the same man asOfficerHall. The surname was fairly common, so it stood to reason that they were different people. At least she prayed so. It was bad enough he’d arrested her. She didn’t need him investigating her.
However, when Detective Lawson gestured toward the back offices, Officer Abraham Hall stood in the way.
Could this situation get any worse?
Not that Officer Hall didn’t deserve a promotion to detective. From what she could tell, he’d be great at it. But not right now. Not on this case. And definitely not with her as a suspect.
Already disappointment cast a pall over his deportment, as if he knew her secret without her ever saying a word. With a disgusted shake of his head, he pivoted and strode toward the offices.
So much for convincing him that she was a woman of upstanding character. She forced herself forward and prayed her terror at what lay ahead remained hidden.
“You too, Mr. Monroe. As you’ve already seen fit to abandon your post, we have a few questions we’d like you to answer as well.”
“I did not abandon my post. I was still in the lobby. However, if you’ll allow me to lock up, I will take us to the conference room. It has a table that will more comfortably accommodate us.”
Suspicion dipped Detective Lawson’s brow, but he said nothing.
After securing the front door, Marcus placed a protective hand on Lydia’s back and walked alongside her.
Once they passed the detective, Marcus kept his face forward and whispered, “Keep your secret, no matter what they say. I’ll do the same.”
CHAPTER10
DID ALL INTERROGATIONS TURN Aroom into an icebox? Lydia shivered despite the open window allowing in the summer heat. She accepted the curved-back seat Detective Lawson offered, but she refused to rest her elbows atop the chair’s arms. Neither he nor Officer—no, Detective—Hall would be such tyrants as to tie her into place, but they might if they discerned how much she desired to flee. Is this what her characters felt? If so, she’d not done their torment justice.
Detective Lawson motioned for Marcus to claim the seat next to her, then he made himself comfortable in the one across the table from her. Leaning back in his chair with one ankle crossed over his knee, he appeared relaxed and nonchalant. Detective Hall, on the other hand, stood in the corner behind his colleague and cast a thundering cloud over the room. She tried not to squirm under the intensity of his scrutiny, but it was hard not to with how it felt he could see straight past the lies she’d yet to form.
Lies she debated whether or not to follow through with.
Marcus had insisted once the police knew Dupin’s identity, so would the newspapers. Her and her family’s safety would be at risk, but was deception really the best course of action?
All it took was one peek at Detective Hall to know what his answer would be.
