Page 134 of Say Yes to the Death

He glared at her with cold fury in his eyes before shifting back to Claire. “I know your clothing sizes. I probably paid more attention to you than that boyfriend of yours ever did. Not that you were worthy of it.”

Even though he wasn’t in the room, Claire could swear she felt tension radiating from Luke. She stared right back at Barney. “Congratulations on your complete lack of hobbies. What’s this about, Barney? I don’t have time to listen to your weird brags. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve won.”

Barney laughed, and Claire jumped. The sound was unnatural, almost animal. She clenched one fist under the table.

“You haven’t won at all. You know as well as I do that this is far from over.”

Aha! He had basically admitted to knowing that she was still being targeted.

“Please. There’s a mountain of evidence that’s going to land you major prison time for trying to kill me. And then, while you’re incarcerated, they’ll come up with a plan to charge you with six other murders.” She took a sip of water from the plastic cup the guard had brought and sat back in her chair. “Pretty sure that means I’ve won.”

Barney raised an eyebrow. “In case you haven’t noticed, I haven’t been tried for any of them. It’s pretty hard to charge someone with murder without a body or a murder weapon.” He leaned forward and stared at her intently.

Her skin crawled, but she met his unforgiving gaze.

“Have you felt safe in your bed since that night in the parking garage?”

“Mr. Windsor,” Rachel said sharply.

He ignored her and continued. “Do you sleep soundly? Can you walk down the street without looking over your shoulder?” His voice was quiet, dangerous.

Rachel sighed and tossed her legal pad back into her briefcase. She sat straight as a nail and stared at something on the table. Her expression wasn’t as severe as it had been on entry.

He smirked, leaned closer, and propped his elbows on the table. “Do you still like to read for an hour before bed?”

Claire bristled. That was enough of this shit. “Tell me why I’m here, or I’m leaving. Did you just want to observe your greatest failure up close and in person, or is there something else?”

The mask of calm had started to slip from his face. His eyes bulged slightly, and his face was turning red. His gaze moved from her face to her collar. They were probing desperately.

“I want to see your scar,” he said.

Gross.

“Why?” Claire said flatly, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I just need to see it.” His hands reached as if to tug her collar aside himself. One of the guards rapped on Barney’s chair with his nightstick.

“If you show it to me, I will give you one body location,” he added.

“Mr. Windsor,” Rachel warned.

“Shut it,” he hissed at her.

Claire glanced at the camera blinking in the corner of the room. Images of Kayley Herrold’s family weeping on camera, begging for information, sprang into her mind. Barney was definitely trying to manipulate her, even as he sat in chains. But this was what she signed up for. Closure for the families was worth more than a moment of lost dignity.

“How do I know you won’t lie?”

“What’s the point in lying? You’re so confident that I’ll be in prison for the rest of my life,” he said, gesturing to the handcuffs that bound his wrists.

She didn’t believe him for a second. But she had to try. Since it looked like he was willing to cooperate with a body location, maybe it was time for her to extend a small olive branch to Luke. Not much about Barney’s childhood was public record. Some probing questions could make a real difference in the documentary.

“All right. I’ll let you see the scar. But first,” Claire began, holding her stub of pencil to the notepad, “I’d like you to tell me about your mother.”

Rachel looked up from the table and narrowed her eyes. Barney blinked in surprise, finally breaking his unwavering eye contact.

“My mother? Why?”

“I’m just trying to understand why you are the way you are.” Claire tried to sound nonchalant as she scribbled on the legal pad. “Call it a morbid curiosity. What was your childhood like?”

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