Then she turned off her phone, set it aside, and drifted into a dreamless sleep.
Darius pridedhimself on being able to control his temper, but Deputy Marcs was getting on his last nerve.
“I understand why you didn’t call in the cocaine. If you had, we’d have ended up in a dick fight with Boulder PD. They would have taken him in, processed him, and we’d be lucky if we got to question him before tomorrow.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
“Why aren’t we taking that bastard in?”
“The only evidence we have against him is circumstantial.”
Marcs shook her head. “Look at the totality of that evidence. He has motive. The SUV was stolen from a driveway less than two miles from his house. He hangs with a buddy, and there weretwomen in that truck. Sasha said it was blaring heavy metal music, and that’s what the two of them were listening to just now. He lied about his whereabouts until you pressed him and was visibly agitated. Then he admitted to being in Boulder Canyon yesterday afternoon. He’s hiding something. Youknowhe is.”
“What does any of that prove?” Darius spelled it out for her. “Boulder is the last stop for anyone heading up the canyon to Scarlet Springs. That’s probably why the SUV was stolen here. Riggs and Watts weren’t the only duo at Boulder Falls yesterday afternoon. They’re also not the only men their age who listen to heavy metal. Yes, he’s hiding something, and he was agitated. That’s what cocaine does. None of that proves anything.”
“Don’t forget that he asked for a lawyer. Why would he want a lawyer if he wasn’t guilty?”
Darius raised an eyebrow, surprised that she’d said this. “We all have a right to counsel, deputy. Asking for a lawyer doesn’t make a person guilty. You know that.”
Deputy Marcs glared at him. “You are stone-cold, aren’t you?”
“I learned the hard way not to let my emotions cloud my judgment.”
“What happened? Did you blow a big case? Is that why you left LA?”
He didn’t owe her or anyone else that story. The ordeal had almost ruined his life. “No, I didn’t blow a case, and that’s not why I left LA. Stay focused.”
“Fine. Keep it to yourself. So, what do we do now, Mr. Big City Detective?”
He needed to finish this investigation so he could go back to working with pros like Irving, Detective Wu, Hunter, and Darcangelo. It wasn’t that Deputy Marcs was a bad cop or that he disliked her. She had good instincts. But she clearly hadn’t worked many big cases, and she talked too damned much.
“Which government agency manages Boulder Falls?”
“That’s Boulder County. Why?”
“I’d like to ask them if they have wildlife cams on the trails there. We know when Ms. Dillon was hit. If we can show that Riggs was at Boulder Falls at the time, we can eliminate him as a person of interest. If not, we bring him in.”
“I’ll contact Boulder County in the morning. What else?”
“I need to talk with Ms. Dillon. She’s being discharged tomorrow. I’m hoping to finish my conversation with her. I brought a monitor system that I can hook up to her computer to intercept and trace threatening emails.”
“And if you find threats from Riggs?”
He hoped it would be that easy, but in his experience, it rarely was. “Then we have some actual evidence.”
They passed the spot where Ms. Dillon had been attacked, yellow crime scene tape still tied to the trees where she’d been hit. Soon, they reached Scarlet Springs and the roundabout at the center of town.
“You heading to Knockers?”
“I hadn’t planned on it.” He needed space to go over the details of the case, and he wasn’t going to find that in a brewpub.
“What are you going to eat? They don’t have room service at the Inn.”
Shit.
He should have grabbed some take-out in Boulder. “Does anyone deliver?”
“Knockers delivers pizza.”
