Shadow Of Suspicion. Christy Barritt

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СКАЧАТЬ “I’m sure witnesses told you that no one saw me leave the house with Sarah. Because I didn’t leave the house with her. I don’t know why she came over while I was on my walk. I don’t know how she got inside or where she went from there. But I didn’t do anything with her.”

      He sighed and leaned back as if weary from the conversation. “Anyone else have a key?”

      “No.”

      “You sound concerned about her. Were you desperate to get her away from her father?”

      Laney shook her head more adamantly. “No. Not at all. Why won’t you believe me? I’ve been framed for this. I’m innocent here. Check my record. It’s clean.”

      “We did check it. You’re right. You have no priors. Stranger things have happened, though.”

      She leaned back, determined to think everything through. Something wasn’t making sense to her, and she needed to pinpoint just what that was. Finally, it dawned on her. The way everything had played out today didn’t make sense.

      The situation had escalated too quickly. The police had just barged into her home and deemed her guilty. She realized the urgency of the matter, but something was missing.

      “Don’t you think sending a SWAT team to my house is a little extreme?” she started. “You could have just questioned me.”

      “In situations like this, time is of the essence. An Amber Alert has already been issued. Sarah mentioned your name when she called, a neighbor confirmed Sarah showed up at your house, and financial records show a large sum of money was recently taken from your account.”

      Her jaw dropped open. “A large sum of money? I sent that to my in-laws to help with some medical bills.”

      “We’ll have to confirm that.”

      “All of that was enough evidence to get a no-knock warrant?”

      He stared hard at her. “Yes, it was, as a matter of fact. We couldn’t risk you harming the girl.”

      This was getting old. How long were they going to keep her there? Were they going to lock her up? Would they question her until she confessed purely out of exhaustion to a crime she didn’t commit?

      Her head ached, her mouth was dry, and her muscles cried out for relief. She had to try a different approach here. She shifted, determined not to be defeated. “Please, you’ve got to listen to me. I’m innocent and the real bad guy is getting away with this.”

      “Who do you think the real bad guy is, Ms. Ryan?” Detective James leaned toward her again, obviously changing tactics himself.

      His broad shoulders, she would guess, could either bulldoze someone or offer a landing place for tears. Muscles rippled beneath the material of his button-down shirt, confirming that he was not someone she wanted to mess with. His jaw was strong and tense with thought.

      But right now, he leaned back, as if softening.

      Her guard went up. This man wasn’t her friend, and he would do whatever he had to in order to get answers. She’d be wise to remember that.

      “I have no idea. But she didn’t seem happy this morning. Maybe this was random. Maybe she ran away. Maybe she’ll check in at any minute.” Her voice escalated with each new sentence. “There’s nothing else I can tell you.”

      Someone tapped on the one-way glass that composed half a wall. The detective excused himself and stepped out of the room.

      She sucked in some deep breaths. Detective James had perceptive eyes. He was watching her every move, just waiting for her to mess up. But she had no reason to walk on eggshells, she reminded herself. She’d done nothing wrong.

      Would he ever believe her? She wasn’t sure.

      When he came back into the room a few minutes later, his face looked grimmer than before. The lines on his forehead had tightened. His eyes cooled. His shoulders were rigid. Something was in his hand.

      He sat across from her and held up a device. Her phone, she realized. How had he gotten her phone? Had they gotten her computer, as well? She hoped not, although the classified projects she was working on should be safeguarded by the measures she’d put in place.

      “Do you recognize this?” he asked.

      She nodded stiffly. “Of course I do. It’s mine.”

      His eyes flickered. “Do you recognize the message on the screen?”

      She peered closer and sucked in a breath as she read the text message.

      Meet me at 11:30. It’s urgent.

      Those were Laney’s words. Written from her phone. Listed as coming from her. And the message was being sent to Sarah. She recognized her number.

      Sarah replied:

      I have school.

      The person pretending to be Laney had written:

      It’s urgent.

      Laney backed harder into her chair and shook her head. Someone was framing her—and they were doing a good job at it.

      “I didn’t send that,” she muttered, knowing she was wasting her breath.

      The detective’s blue eyes were unyielding. “So you’re saying someone took your phone and sent this for you?”

      “I know it sounds far-fetched. But yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” But, in her gut, she knew this was far worse than she’d ever imagined.

      * * *

      Mark met his police captain in the hallway outside the interrogation room an hour later. Captain Hendricks was a stoic man who was twenty years Mark’s senior, putting him at around fifty years old. The man had a light brown mustache and thick hair that matched. He was well respected in the department and was known as a man who could get the job done.

      In the hours since her arrest and the interrogation, Laney hadn’t caved in the least. If anything, she seemed even firmer in her insistence of her innocence. Honestly, he felt a little sorry for her. It was his job to get answers, but the woman seemed downright frightened.

      “Let her go,” Captain Hendricks said, staring through the glass at Laney.

      Mark followed his gaze. She looked so innocent and unassuming. Like a computer geek—the cutest computer geek Mark had ever laid eyes on. But beneath all of that, who was hiding? Someone manipulative? Out for herself? Drowning in her own delusions?

      “Let her go?” Mark asked, certain he hadn’t heard correctly.

      The captain put his hands on his hips and frowned—though the man always looked like he was frowning. “We don’t have enough evidence to hold her.”

      Mark thought back to his sister. If the police had stayed on top of the case, she would still be alive right now. He never wanted that to be the case for one of his investigations. He’d vowed to be better than that.

      “What СКАЧАТЬ