"Well, we have you pretty dead to rights. Attempted murder charge will stick. Of course, you assaulted a cop, while attempting to murder another. That's not going to go easy for you. The arrest was clean, paperwork-wise. So tell me, why did you do it? What did you have against Brett Naylor? What had he ever done to you that would make you risk this?”
“I’m not sure what you are talking about. I was just minding my own business, wandered into the wrong hospital room while there to visit my…old friend. That woman just took it upon herself to assault me.”
“Do you really think we are going to buy that? I’ve seen the knife you carried. Well, knives, rather. You were there to kill Detective Naylor. And the funny thing is…we are putting together the why. See, Naylor was injured during…an incident…over a month ago. By dirty cops. Now here you are, trying to kill him. So tell me why?”
“If he’s dirty, I’m sure he has plenty of other enemies. Like I said, I just wandered into the wrong room and everything. I’m as innocent as a choir boy.”
“Sure you are.”
"I'll talk to her, maybe. You get her here. We can roll around some more. I’d enjoy that. But until then, I want my lawyer. Attorney, right now. And…give her my number and a heads up: I’ll see her again sometime. She can count on that."
Well, didn’t that soundthreateningand everything?
Madison roundedthe hallway right by the interview room just as the door opened and a rather large, muscular man creature stepped right out into her path. She looked up. Into brown eyes. “Dom.”
Strong hands went around her waist. “I didn’t think you were in for another few hours.”
“Miriam asked to trade shifts, someone kept prank calling her last night and she overslept her alarm. And she is with Hope’s family today. I told her I’d cover the first four hours for her. Hope needs her.” And Madison thought it sounded beyond weird. Miriam had been getting prank calls for a few weeks now. Almost like someone was doing it to scare the younger woman. “I am half-tempted to ask one of my digital forensics people to run her number. See what’s going on. She’s starting to get scared. And she’s not sleeping at all.”
“You think this is related to something here?”
“She says it started after she transferred here, yes. Well, she’s not fully transferred yet. Not yet—but I am going to try to get her here permanently. She is working half her shifts here and half in the Wichita Falls lab.” Miriam was one of the best, Madison would say that honestly. They needed her. Especially with Hope and Haldyn both out. If Madison had her way, they’d keep Miriam after Haldyn and Hope returned, too. Maybe theycould give Wichita FallsPete.That would make Madison’s life a lot easier, too.
Pete was really being a jerk lately.
“I see. I’ll…make a note of it. Talk to her about it.”
“I was looking for…someone from Major Crimes. I have this.” She held out the DNA report in her hand. She hadn’t seen Dominic Vincent Acardi since the night she’d fallen asleep in his arms on her mother’s couch. Talk about awkward right now. And the man was just not taking his hands off her waist.
Madison wanted to press closer. She hadn’t exactly slept well last night, either. And he just felt…perfect…around her.
Maybe it was time she admitted it—if some cosmic fate was assigning Major Crimes major pains to her and all of her friends,thisone was apparently hers. Forever.
She was going to be tormented and taunted by him forever. Maybe she should just accept her fate?
“What is it?”
“Fingerprint match to the guy who attacked Brett and K.J.” She’d checked the reports herself as soon as she’d arrived. Everyone in the post was talking about the latest attack. “He has a warrant, you know. Lila ran him five minutes ago, and then told me to give you the message if I found you before she did. I cross-referenced him in AFIS, too. His prints popped about four years ago in Wyoming. I am also waiting on his DNA to be run. We were a few samples behind this morning. Pete flaked on me yesterday.”
That was happening a lot lately. Something was going on with that man—she just couldn’t figure out what. Seemed like something was going on with just abouteveryonelately.
“Wyoming. Imagine that.”
“I think he lives there. That’s where AFIS’s hit pointed, too. But…that’s your department, not mine. So have at it, bigguy. His name is Denver Creevey. Address in…Sublette County, Wyoming and apparently Finley Creek, Texas.”
“Thanks.”
Okay, so why was he not stepping back like she’d pinched him, like he normally did whenever she got this close to him? Dom was not following predictable patterns here. Madison wasn’t sure what to think about that. An unpredictable Dom was just too much to contemplate today.
“Any word on Heather?” Madison asked.
Dom just shook his head. “All I know is that her family gave permission for Holden-Deane’s people to try a new antibiotic. Now, everyone is just waiting.”
Madison pressed closer. “It isn’tfair.Hasn’t Heather been throughenoughlately?”
“I know.”
He washoldingher right there in the hallway. Where anyone could see.
