Nichols shook her head. “No, I’m not accusing Piper of anything. Piper reported a break-in at her garage a few days ago.”
“Yeah. I was there. Officer Bronski’s smooth police work helped the culprit get away.”
“Our current theory is that someone attacked Mr. Carmichael and intended to frame Piper.Andyou. If this Seattle sweatshirt is indeed yours?” She pointed at the other photo.
“I have no idea.” I wasn’t ready to give up anything just yet. How could I know that sweatshirt was mine, based on some photo?
Could this possibly be a trick? An elaborate ploy to get me to make an incriminating admission?
It didn’t seem like it, though.
“I had more than one break-in at the place I’m renting from Piper. The first was when Danny broke in looking for something he wanted. A jewelry box that belonged to Piper’s mom. Piper told you about that already. The second was whenever the fake package of drugs was planted, and you know about that too. But I thought Danny was responsible.”
“Do you have any idea who’d want to harm Daniel Carmichael and frame you and Piper?” Chief Nichols asked.
“No. None whatsoever.” Then I thought of my confrontation with Danny at the bar last week. Again, Nichols knew about that. But there was something else. “When I saw Danny on Thursday night at the bar, he said, ‘You’re late’,before he looked up. Like he’d expected someone else. I have no idea who he was meeting.”
“We’ll look into that.” Nichols took out her phone and typed out a note. “God willing, Mr. Carmichael will recover soon andbe able to share what he knows. I’m sure this process hasn’t been pleasant, but your cooperation has been very helpful.”
“I’d say you’re welcome, but…”
“I’m afraid I need more, though. I’ll be asking Piper the same thing. If you think of anything else, any reason someone would try to frame you, please share it. We have no idea if Mr. Carmichael was the real target, or you, or Piper. We have no idea what this person is really after. Or what they might do next.”
Nichols had a few more questions for me. But finally, she gave me back my phone and told me I could go.
“Do you still have my card with my number?” she asked. “In case you think of anything?”
“I’ll figure it out.” I just wanted the hell out of here.
And I wanted, more than anything, to see Piper.
Someone opened the interview room door for us. Nichols waved me forward, and I stepped out into the hall.
Then I stopped short. Teller Landry was leaning casually against the wall just outside the interview room.
“Susan,” he said, nodding at Nichols.
“Hey, Teller. Can you see that Mr. O’Neal gets where he needs to go?”
“Plan to.”
“Do I get a say in this?” I asked.
It was the first time I’d seen Teller in about fifteen years, and I was just leaving a police station after spending last night at his sister’s house. I had no idea if he’d want to slug me for touching her or what.
The hell was he doing here?
Chief Nichols winked, like we were all friends. “Officer Landry is here as a private citizen today. I think you two should have a chat.”
“That’s what I was hoping for.” Teller’s light-green eyes, thesame as Piper’s, were serious. But angry? Ready to dismember me for defiling his baby sister?
Not so much.
We walked toward the exit. The other officers and staff members stared, and I noticed Officer Bronski wasn’t here. Maybe he’d leave me the hell alone next time we crossed paths.
In the parking lot, Teller said, “Piper sent me. She’s been very worried about you.”
As he spoke, I saw the notifications on my phone. Piper had called and texted. So had Callum and Grace. The only other friend I really had was Milo. I wondered if he’d heard about what happened.
