Page 17 of Go Alone

Marcus decided not to look at the rest of her. He was blushing enough as it was.

He smiled instead. “Carla Finch?”

Carla’s voice was as cold and clear as her eyes. “Speaking.”

“I’m Special Agent Marcus Reid, FBI. I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute.”

“Concerning?”

Marcus’s smile usually disarmed women, a tactic he used frequently on the job. His warmth froze long before it reached Carla’s eyes.

“Howard Greer.”

Something flashed in those eyes, hidden deep below the surface, but not so deep that Marcus didn't catch it. The deep breath and the instinctive folding of arms across her chest were easier to spot. It all added up to the same thing. I don’t want to talk about this.

But she had to, and she knew it. “If you must,” she replied, the ice in her voice gone brittle.

She stepped aside and gestured for him to enter. He did, and she closed the door behind her and followed him into her living room. The house was modestly appointed but the furniture was of high quality, hand-carved hardwood that made up for a lack of style with a surplus of sturdiness. The décor was tasteful, not overdone, and, he suspected, chosen to look exactly that way. Overall, the place lacked the lived-in feel he would expect from a home in a neighborhood like this.

“Lived here long?” he asked.

Carla sighed. “If you’re here to talk about Howard Greer, then I suggest we limit the conversation to that subject.”

Carla’s tenure in Columbus might be relevant to that subject, but Marcus tabled it for now. “May I be blunt, Miss Finch?”

“I’d prefer it,” Carla said, lowering herself regally into a high-backed chair and crossing one flawlessly toned leg over the other.

Marcus smiled again, this one not so kind as the first. “Howard Greer was murdered two days ago in his neighbor’s home. Your name came up as a person of interest.”

Carla raised an eyebrow. “In his neighbor’s home? Have you spoken with the neighbor?”

“He’s been out of the state for the past week,” Marcus replied. “Let’s talk about you. How did you know Howard?”

Carla scoffed. “You must know that, or you wouldn’t be here.”

Marcus’s smile widened. A little more kindly. “Your mother lost her home due to a zoning conflict created by Howard Greer.”

Carla’s eyes flashed, and for the first time, something that looked like murder crossed her face. “That wasn’t how the city of Columbus chose to see it.”

“Right,” Marcus agreed. “From what I understand, the city cited your mother for multiple violations and gave her thirty days to correct all of them or quit the property.”

"Let's be clear," Carla said, the brittle tone coming to her voice again. "They fabricated numerous violations and insisted that my mother work with vendors contracted to the city rather than seek independent verification. The vendor, of course, sided with the city. My mother filed an appeal, which was denied. At my insistence, she filed a lawsuit, which was dismissed with prejudice. We reached out to an advocacy group for assistance, and they provided a token effort, which ended in failure."

“What was that advocacy group?” Marcus asked.

“Homes for Columbus,” Carla replied, “but I’m afraid you won’t find them. They shuttered their operations five years ago. I received a thank-you email from them.” Her upper lip curled, “Though I would hardly describe myself as supportive.”

“I imagine you were upset that they couldn’t do more to help you.”

Carla shrugged. “Those groups are a last resort. They exist to help people in financial distress. My mother was not in financial distress. She was only elderly and infirm and wanted to spend her final years in the home she and my father purchased three weeks after they married rather than in the apartment she died in three years after Howard Greer stole the home.”

Once again, murder crossed her face. Marcus decided to get straight to the point. “Did you kill Howard Greer?”

Carla stared at him incredulously. Then she scoffed. “Does that strategy usually work for you? Bluntly asking someone if they’re a killer?”

“People never come right out and admit it,” Marcus replied, “but they reveal the truth.”

Carla laughed. It contained very little humor. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, Special Agent, but I was visiting my cousin Dottie in Cincinnati on Tuesday. We went to see a movie if you don't trust her word. The theater was the Cinemark on Taurus Court."