"We need to talk to you," May said.
"Right now?" He sounded angry. “You know I’m ex-army? I’m not just some random criminal. All my guns are licensed.”
"I am sure they are. This is an urgent matter," May said, pressing her point.
Dean glowered at them angrily. She was getting resentful glances from other directions. The manager had disappeared, leaving her on her own with a lot of shooters who were all still mad at the police.
These really were not the best circumstances, May acknowledged. But then, her gaze sharpened.
Dean didn't only have a gun on him. He also had a knife, sheathed in a small scabbard on his hip. The man with a fascination for swords was still carrying a bladed weapon. Perhaps he'd used it on the victims. Now, there was even more reason to question him and push through his resistance.
"It's noisy here," she pointed out. "We'd like to talk somewhere quieter. Can we drive you back to the police station?"
"That'll take the whole day!" he protested.
"We'll go to the closest one."
"You're trying to trick me!" he accused. “What do you want from me? You guys try and set people up. I know you have your quotas that you need to arrest.”
May decided to ignore that completely illogical comment and continue treating him like a normal human being. Maybe, if she did, he’d start reacting like one.
“Do you have any reason to worry that you might be tricked?" May asked. “It doesn’t seem like you do. But we do need information from you, and it’s in connection with three people you used to know.”
As she said that, she watched very closely for any signs of guilt. But there were none. Dean was still a closed book. However, it seemed she’d gotten through to him with that argument.
"Okay, I'll come with you. But I'm telling you, if I don't like the questions you ask, I'm walking out. You have no reason to keep me there!"
May felt relieved. Dean had been reluctant, but ultimately, calm persuasion had won the day. And the backup police, standing behind, were surely a deterrent to any other rash decision, like fleeing the place or trying to shoot.
He climbed in the police car, and they all drove to the nearest station, which happened to be Fairshore. Luckily, it was a quick drive, because May didn't think Dean's patience could have coped with the prospect of a long drive.
Dean sat in the back of the car, scowling, looking as if he already regretted his decision to help.
"Do you want to tell me what this is all about?" he asked, not even looking at them.
"It's a series of murders. Two are recent. One is older," May said. She didn't want to talk too much off the record. It might be that he knew all about these murders already.
She didn't ask him anything else in the car. What was going to be said next needed to be done in official surroundings and while being recorded.
But, when they pulled up outside the police station, to her surprise, she saw Sheriff Jack was outside.
He was about to leave, but when he saw them arrive, he hurried over. As he saw Dean Linn climb out of the car, his face changed. From looking set and determined, May saw a look of absolute horror cross his face.
"May, there's something important you need to know. I don't know if this is relevant to the case, but I need to talk to you inside. Now," he muttered to her.
While the police escorted Dean inside, and Owen led him to the interview room, May rushed after Sheriff Jack, who was making a bee line for his office.
Something else disastrous had happened, and she needed to find out what this new development was, and why it had thrown her boss so badly.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Sheriff Jack strode through the police station, heading for his office, and May followed, her blood pressure rising with every step. Why was Jack so upset? Why had he turned away the minute he'd seen Dean Linn?
What on earth was going on here, and why was this case seeming to become more of a nightmare with every twist and turn it took?
He walked into his office, closed the door, and then massaged his temples, looking as if he had a serious ache in his head.
"This might complicate things," he said quietly. “It’s important you know.”
