Exposed (Rosato & DiNunzio #5)(57)

“There’s no sides.”

“There is to us. Todd is, was, our friend. You’re here working for Simon.”

“No, I came to help.” Bennie held her head high. “You want the whole factory searched? Then I’ll go.”

“Go. Jason’s on the way. Leave the premises, right now.”

“Fine.” Bennie turned away and headed for the door, her low heels clacking on the floor.

“And we want our documents back,” Ray called after her.

“Which documents?” Bennie paused, turning around.

“When you interviewed Todd this morning, you asked for some documents. They got delivered to your office. We emailed you a digital file too. Those documents are ours, property of OpenSpace. We want them back tonight.”

“The office is closed. Send a messenger in the morning.” Bennie turned away. It was an odd thing to bring up, and her thoughts started to churn. She pushed open the exit door, covered her head with her purse, and sprinted to the car, reenergized. She couldn’t explain why Ray would care about a bunch of personnel files and emails.

But she was going to find out.





CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Mary moved her chair over closer to Simon so he felt supported, as Detective Lindenhurst entered the room. He was a beefy blond and came off as older than he probably was, which was probably fortysomething. His face was so fleshy that his cheeks pressed against the bottom rims of his oversized aviator glasses, making little red marks on his face. The lines that traveled from his large, flat nose to the sides of his mouth were deep, as if he frowned a lot, which Mary suspected was an occupational hazard for a homicide detective.

“We’re ready to get started if you are, Detective,” Mary said, putting her legal pad and pen in her lap.

“I appreciate that. Can we hold on a sec for my partner, Detective Chang?”

“Sure.”

“Thank you.” Detective Lindenhurst smiled in a friendly way as he eased his large frame into the chair opposite her, looking from her to Simon. “Simon, you look like you could use a coffee or a bottled water. Are you sure I can’t get you anything?”

“No thanks,” Simon answered, his tone subdued.

“By the way, I didn’t get to say this at the hospital, but I know what it’s like to have a sick child. My five-year-old niece had bone cancer. She was at CHOP, too. It’s hard to see a child go through that kind of treatment. My wife used to say it was harder on us than it was on my niece, but I didn’t agree. At least we understood what was happening and why. She didn’t.”

“How is your niece?” Simon asked, interested.

“Happily, she recovered. They’re terrific at CHOP.”

“Good to know,” Mary interjected, breaking up Detective Lindenhurst’s attempt to connect with Simon. Being a person of interest placed him in a legal purgatory, in that he wasn’t under arrest but he was nevertheless in custody. It wasn’t completely to his benefit, since not all the constitutional protections applied, and the police would try to make him feel relaxed, as if nothing he could say would hurt him, when in fact the opposite was true.

Suddenly the door opened, and Detective Chang came in with a smile. He was younger, of compact build, and reserved. His dark hair shone with gel, and his build looked slight in a dark jacket. He sat down against the wall, ceding the floor to Detective Lindenhurst. “Folks, sorry I’m late. Hope you didn’t wait for me.”

Mary didn’t bother to reply. “Detective Lindenhurst, can we first clarify my client’s status? I understand that he’s a person of interest, but why?”

“We’re in possession of facts that lead us to believe he may know something about the death of Todd Eddington. We’d like to explore that with him. That’s all.” Detective Lindenhurst shrugged his heavy shoulders, and Mary knew that he didn’t want to start the interview on this basis, which was why she wanted to, to remind Simon that in this case, the policeman was not his friend.

“But you’re not arresting him. That means those facts must fall short of probable cause to believe that he committed the crime.”

“Yes, exactly.” Detective Lindenhurst pursed his lips, which were thick. “This is just an investigatory interview. You both are free to come and go at any time.”

“But it is custodial interrogation.”

“That’s a harsh way to put it.”

“But is it accurate? Will you Mirandize him, for example?”

“Yes, but only out of an abundance of caution. You understand.”

“I do,” Mary said, hearing that she had good reason to be concerned.

“And we will ask Simon to provide some samples before he leaves today.”

“What sort of samples?” Mary asked, though she knew. She wanted it spelled out for Simon.

“A hair sample, blood, saliva, fingerprints, and a DNA sample. Only a mouth swab.” Detective Lindenhurst turned to Simon. “This is standard operating procedure, as a point of information.”

Mary interjected again, “You’re not asking for his consent, are you? Because we’re not consenting to a search for bodily evidence.”

Detective Lindenhurst looked back at Mary. “We’re not asking for consent. We have a warrant.”