Cold & Deadly (Cold Justice: Crossfire #1)(18)

“It’s not that, I…”

“What is it then?” Kanas pushed.

Dominic sighed. Patience was a virtue. Thankfully it could be learned.

Gabany pressed his lips together. “We all met at church, okay? Reza and Jessica were best friends. I know Jessica is gone and all, but the idea of having…relations outside of marriage…bothers me.”

“Relations?” Dominic held Kanas’s gaze, willing her not to say anything. To let the other man fill the silence.

There was something Gabany wasn’t telling them. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was gossip or narrow-mindedness. Whatever it was, Dominic wanted to know.

Gabany scratched his head and lowered his voice to a whisper presumably so his wife didn’t overhear. “Sexual relations.”

Again, Dominic let the pause ride and could practically feel Kanas grinding her teeth. She remained silent this time, fingers clenched in her lap as if physically holding back the need to force answers from the man. He felt like he’d won a major victory.

Finally, Gabany spoke again. “I know a man has needs, but it felt wrong.”

“Felt wrong?” Dominic mirrored the words, pulling out information one word at a time. Mirroring built rapport and forced the speaker to expand on their thoughts. It was a common technique negotiators used to build trust.

“Yes, wrong. When I went into the house, I could tell from the smell something terrible had happened.” Gabany shuddered. “I went into the office and found Van…” His knee started to bounce.

The dog whined, ran back to the deck and went over to comfort his master.

Two shiny stripes appeared on Gabany’s pale cheeks. “I didn’t want everyone to see him like that.”

“Like what?” Kanas asked.

“His pants were undone and…” Gabany swallowed. “He was exposed.”

“His genitals were exposed?” Dominic clarified.

Gabany nodded, red deepening in his cheeks.

“So, you, what? Zippered him back up?” Agent Kanas’s eyes were huge. She needed to work on her poker face.

“I didn’t want him found that way,” Gabany said defensively.

He’d messed with the body which could mean nothing or could mean everything.

“What do you think happened?” Dominic asked softly, shooting a quelling look at Kanas.

Gabany shifted his feet. He was obviously uncomfortable talking about sex in front of a woman. “I don’t know.”

“Well, there are two choices. Either he masturbated alone or there was someone with him.” Kanas had no such qualms. “Was there any evidence of semen?”

Gabany’s mouth dropped open in shock as if a woman wasn’t supposed to know about basic human biology. Yeah, tact was definitely not high on her list of attributes. Kanas had switched to full-on investigator and Gabany was still thinking about the death of his friend.

Dominic was trying not to think about Van at all. “Can I clarify a point?”

The man looked aghast but nodded.

“You adjusted his boxer shorts to cover his penis?”

A quick nod.

“What about his pants?”

Another nod. “I zipped them up and fastened the button.”

“He never mentioned another woman? Not even in passing?” asked Kanas. “Because he definitely didn’t mention anyone to me.”

Gabany shook his head, looking defeated. “No.”

Dominic paused. He wasn’t sure quite how this changed things. Perhaps Van had been knocking one out before ending it all. But would he really have wanted to be found that way?

Or was Agent Kanas right and someone else had been in the study, someone who’d helped that bullet find his brain?

Or had Van had a sexual encounter that evening and been so overcome by guilt and remorse and self-hate for cheating on his dead wife that he killed himself and left his humiliation right out in the open for everyone to see as some sort of twisted self-punishment?

The trouble with that scenario was that no way Van would have wanted anyone in the FBI finding him that way. Van understood the black humor and notorious urban legends that abounded within the Bureau. He simply wouldn’t have wanted that humiliating detail to be his legacy.

But if there was another woman involved who was she and when had she left? Before or after Van ended up with a bullet in his brain?

“Would you be willing to make an official statement?” asked Dominic.

“Will it get me in trouble?” Gabany sounded defensive now.

Dominic let out a breath through his nose. “It might get you a caution. But as long as you tell the truth I can’t see the District Attorney being keen to prosecute.”

Gabany went white around the mouth. “Does my wife have to know? Or the general public? I did it to protect Van’s reputation…”

“I can’t guarantee someone won’t find out,” Dominic told him honestly. “But no one inside the FBI wants to see Van’s memory sullied in any way. He was a highly respected agent whom we loved and esteemed. No one is going to release the information unless we have to.”

Gabany nodded slowly. “Give me your card, and I will send you a signed statement.”

It didn’t quite work that way, but Dominic would figure out how to handle it when he had the document in hand. No way would the DA go after a conviction for this. Dominic handed over his card, and Kanas did the same.