"Where's the gun?"
"Bobby grabbed it, bagged it."
Quentin nods. "And the perp?"
"In the holding cell."
"Good. Let's draft up a complaint for murder." He glances around, assessing the state of the investigation. "Where's her husband?"
"With all the other people, waiting to be questioned, I suppose."
"Do we have any evidence linking him to the crime? Did he participate in any way?"
Chao exchanges a glance with a few police officers, who murmur among themselves and shrug. "He hasn't been questioned yet, apparently."
"Then get him in here," Quentin says. "Let's ask him."
Chao turns to one of the bailiffs. "Roanoke, find Caleb Frost, will you?"
The older man looks at Quentin and quails. "He, uh, ain't in there."
"You know this for a fact," Quentin says slowly.
"Ayuh. He, well, he asked me if he could go get his kid, but he told me he'd come back."
"He said what?" This is little more than a whisper, but coming from Quentin's great height, it is threatening. "You let him walk out the door after his wife murdered the man who's charged with molesting his son? What is this, the Keystone Kops?"
"No, sir," the bailiff replies solemnly. "It's the Biddeford District Court."
A muscle jumps in Quentin's jaw. "Get someone to go find this guy and interview him," he tells Chao.
"I don't know what he knows; I don't know whether he's involved, but if he needs to be arrested, do it."
Chao bristles. "Don't pin this on the police force; it was the bailiff's mistake. Nobody even told me he was in the courtroom."
And where else would he be, if his son's abuser was being arraigned? But Quentin only takes a deep breath. "Well, we need to deal with the shooter, anyway. Is the judge still here? Maybe we can get him to arraign her."
"The judge is ... indisposed."
"Indisposed," Quentin repeats.
"Took three Valium after the shots flew, and hasn't woken up yet."
There is a possibility of getting another judge in, but it is late in the day. And the last thing Quentin wants is to have this woman released because of some stupid bail commissioner. "Charge her. We'll hold her overnight and arraign her in the morning."
"Overnight?" Chao asks.
"Yes. Last time I checked, there was still a York County Jail in Alfred."
The detective looks down at his shoes for a moment. "Yeah, but . . . well, you know she's a DA?"
Of course he knows, he's known since the moment his office was called to investigate. "What I know,"
Quentin answers, "is that she's a murderer."
Evan Chao knows Nina Frost; every detective in Biddeford has worked with her at some time or another. And like every other guy on the force, he doesn't even blame her for what she's done. Hell, half of them wish they'd have the guts to do the same thing, were they in her position.
He doesn't want to be the one to do this, but then again, better him than that asshole Brown. At least he can make sure the next step is as painless as possible for her.
