Be With Me(94)

The chief nodded.

“You’ve got the right guy in custody?” she asked, cutting quickly to the point. She didn’t have time to spend exchanging pleasantries. Not when her entire future was dangling by a thin thread.

Both the chief and David nodded.

“We have his confession,” David said. “We’re stil col ecting evidence, but it’s formalities. I read your statement, so I know you didn’t get a good look at him and couldn’t provide a description, but do you think you’d recognize him if you saw him again?” She frowned. “I just don’t know. Sorry. It al happened so fast. I might be able to ID his voice, but he didn’t say much. Just the one line about him waiting for me and making ‘him’ pay.” David grimaced. “That’s the only angle we haven’t been able to shore up.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “What do you mean?”

“His connection to you and who he meant to make pay. He’s admitted to the murder, and he provided cursory details about the crime. Location, motive, et cetera. But there was no mention of you, why he attacked you or what his motive was for doing so.

We were hoping you’d remember something else about that night that might help us.” She flashed an uncertain look at the chief. “So you don’t know if you have the right guy?”

“That’s not what we’re saying,” the chief responded evenly.

“Everything adds up,” David broke in. “Except his connection to you. He’s admitted to the murder; however, he hasn’t said a word about the break-ins or tampering with your vehicle.”

“You think he’s copped to a murder he didn’t commit,” she said.

“I didn’t say that either,” David replied.

“Then what are you saying?”

“There are two possibilities,” David said. “One, that the murder and the attack on you that night have nothing to do with the break-ins or the bomb and we’re looking for two different suspects. Or two, that we’ve got a guy in custody who for whatever reason has confessed to a murder he didn’t commit. I’m leaning toward the first possibility.” She shook her head. “But that doesn’t make any sense. The coincidence is too staggering, and the guy who murdered Misty Thompson most definitely knew who I was and made specific threats against me.”

“We’d like to question the suspect again with you present,” David said. “I’d like to get a feel for whether he recognizes you, pick up on his body language and see what else we can get from him when we question him directly about you.”

She nodded. “I agree. I’d like to hear him speak. I realize a voice ID is shaky at best, but I don’t think I’l forget his voice anytime soon.”

“Okay, then let’s do it,” the chief said. “I’l have the prisoner brought in to one of the interrogation rooms.” Then he eyed Regina across his desk.

“You’re stil not acting in an official capacity. You’re a witness, nothing more.”

“I understand, sir. I’l fol ow your lead.” She rose from her seat.

“Just a minute, Regina,” the chief said. He reached into his desk and pulled out her service piece. He slid it across the desk toward her.

“This was through processing a few days ago, but you were out of town. If the doc clears you, we’d be glad to have you back on Monday as we discussed.”

“Thank you, sir,” she murmured.

She patted the badge in her jeans pocket, drawing comfort from knowing that with everything else in her life spiraling out of control, she at least had her job back. The chief started for the door, and she quickly arranged the shoulder holster and secured her gun before fol owing him out.

It should have meant more. She should have been more relieved. As she walked down the corridor toward the interrogation room, she tried to shake the foreboding that gripped her. It would be al right. She had her job back, and once she explained everything to the guys, things would be okay there too. They had to be.

She took a seat beside David and waited for the prisoner to be brought in.

Two hours later, Regina headed home, her mind in overdrive. Her gut screamed that the guy in custody wasn’t the one. He was a smooth son of a bitch. He said al the right things, and if he hadn’t kil ed Misty Thompson, he’d sure done his homework.

But he hadn’t so much as blinked in recognition when he’d walked into the exam room. He’d treated her just as he did al the other cops. With polite disdain and smug assuredness.

And his voice was al wrong.

There was enough doubt that the chief had warned her to keep on her toes, even though things had been remarkably quiet since the car bomb incident.

David was groaning over the idea of having the wrong guy, and worse, having the wrong guy cop to a murder he didn’t commit.

If this guy wasn’t the one, it meant they were back to square one. No leads. No suspects.

She increased her speed, her reasons for wanting to get back home in a hurry twofold. Not only was she desperate to make things right with the guys, but now she had to worry that a kil er was stil on the loose.

Someone she knew in her gut was after Hutch.

Then she had to bring them al back in for questioning. Whether they were stil speaking to her or not. And now, once again, she was going to be faced with their skepticism over her motives. She sighed. How was she ever going to be able to make them see that she loved them and wanted to be with them, damn the consequences?