Page 66 of No Good Deed

Troy sat in Marcus’s desk chair, and swiveled to face the cell in the corner. He used his phone to record Westerlake in case he said anything incriminating while Marcus was gone.

The man didn’t look much like his profile picture from the Urban Planning office. That photo had shown a well-dressed man who stared at the camera with a lift to his chin and arrogance in his eye. The suit had likely cost as much as Troy’s house mortgage payment.

Now, Westerlake was disheveled and had bags beneath his eyes, although the arrogance remained. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Troy. “What do you think you’re looking at?”

Troy didn’t respond in any way, simply continued to watch.

“Answer me.”

Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.

Westerlake’s eyes widened and he leaned forward. “Do you have any idea who you’re dealing with? Do you think anyone in this pathetic little town has the power to arrest someone like me? As soon as I speak to a real law enforcement official, I’m pressing assault charges against you. False arrest and confinement charges against that idiotic deputy.”

When Troy didn’t react, Westerlake gripped the bars and shook them. Like a caricature of a villain in a movie. “You’re going to be sorry you messed with me. And that bitch is going down with you.”

Troy almost responded to that, but forced himself to remain still.

Ethan rewarded his patience.

“All she had to do was give me my data. All of this is her fault. She’s going to answer for putting me through this idiocy.”

Troy wasn’t sure if the video would hold up in court as he hadn’t told Westerlake he was recording, but he figured Marcus could use it in an interview to get a proper confession.

When Troy heard the door handle turn, he zoomed the video in to record the man’s reaction to Piper. Like the caricature he’d imagined earlier, Westerlake’s eyes bulged and he shook the bars again with a growl.

Ignoring him, Troy rose and showed his phone to Arrow. His friend nodded, then used his chin to point at the table that sat in one corner of the room. Troy turned off the video and helped Marcus turn the table so it faced the cell, but remained across the room.

He held out a chair for Piper with a smile, but didn’t touch her in any way. She’d told him she didn’t want to show any weakness in front of Westerlake.

Marcus set up his phone pointing toward the cell. “I’m recording this interview. You’ve already been read your rights. Do you have any questions before we begin?”

“You have no right to hold me here. I demand that you release me immediately. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

Troy wondered if the asshole had somehow convinced himself to believe his own bullshit.

Piper sat straight and raised her head to look at Westerlake. “Why did you attack and kidnap me?”

“You can’t prove I did.”

Piper blinked twice and pointed at her cheek. “I most certainly can. I was there. This bruise is from you, as is the one on my ribs.”

Westerlake rolled his eyes. “No one is going to believe you over me. Who the hell do you think you are?”

“I’m the person who’s going to testify at your trial and ensure you’re locked up for a very long time.”

Westerlae growled. “You’re nothing.”

“I’m not the one behind bars.”

“Bitch.”

“I know you put some valuable information on a Cloud Goat USB and put it in my Cloud Gate tin. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t simply ask me if you could look through the tin because you’d returned the wrong one and needed to retrieve it. You could have had it back without a problem.”

Westerlake’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. Had he never really thought of doing that? Because he was practicing subterfuge of his own, did that make him think everyone else did the same?

“You drugged me and attacked me. You broke into my car, apartment, and the office. You even caused a car crash when all you had to do was ask.”

“I didn’t do any of that. You’ve got proof of nothing.”

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