Page 82 of Innocent Intent

Davis noted that Clark’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, but he did his best to seem unbothered. “Murder? I didn’t kill anybody.”

“I don’t think you did, but I do believe you can help me figure out if your girlfriend did.”

“You think Tia murdered someone?” He laughed, amused by the thought. “She’s a little irrational at times, and I like that about her, but damn, sure not the type who could kill someone.”

You’d be surprised.

“The first mistake in crime is underestimating people, but I will say, I believe she’s involved in a murder. I haven’t decided how involved. So, do you want to talk, or do you want a lawyer? Make up your mind. I too have shit to do.”

“I’ll talk for now, but the minute I feel like this isn’t going the way it needs to, like shifting from her to me, I’m done and requesting a lawyer.”

“Good, now tell me about the twenty grand you transferred into Tia’s account.”

“How the fuck you know about that?”

“You might want to rethink your focus by being more concerned with explaining why you did it. Not how I know. Let’s prioritize, Benji. Why did you give her that money?”

“I didn’t give her shit. She gave the money to me and asked if I would deposit it into my account, then transfer it to hers. Some shit about avoiding paying taxes. It could be considered a gift if I gave it to her.”

“And you believed her?”

“Didn’t have a reason not to, and it’s not like I really cared. She made it worth my while and gave me an extra five to keep for helping her out.”

“So she gave you five hundred to deposit twenty thousand into her account?”

“Five grand. Come on, Detective. I’m a businessman and much smarter than that. A little over 20 percent seemed fair.” He smiled arrogantly.

“And as a businessman, you didn’t ask where the money came from?”

“Nah, didn’t need to, but I assumed she got it from her boss, maybe a bonus or something. She always has money like that. Works for some rich lady who pays her way more than she should, considering she don’t do shit but check emails, post on social media, and occasionally make a dinner reservation.”

“What do you know about the woman she works for?”

Davis felt instantly protective of Cassidy, and the thought of ensuring she wasn’t a target hadn’t surfaced.

“Nothing other than she has money. Had to if she was paying Tia just to check her emails and shit like that. I never really knew much about it, though. Tia was closed off. We didn’t do a lot of talking. She wasn’t the sharing type or the relationship type. Said it was because her old man wasn’t shit. Cheated on her mother all the time. Now that I think about it, everything about her made sense. Tia didn’t do emotional shit either, which made us work even better.”

“So what did the two of you do?”

“You’ve seen her, right? I’m sure you can figure that out.”

“The nature of your relationship was strictly sexual?”

“It damn sure wasn’t a meet-the-family type of deal. Not that either of us wanted that anyway. We hooked up and had fun. Did our own thing when we weren’t together, and no one caught feelings.”

“So you never met her boss or her family?”

“Nah, neither.”

“She talk about her family a lot?“

“Not really. Nothing other than what I told you about her pops being a cheater, but I also didn’t ask. Like I said, she wasn’t the sharing kind, and I wasn’t the need-to-ask kind.”

“Just the deposit-money-into-her-account-without-asking-questions kind.”

“It wasn’t illegal.”

“If she acquired the money illegally, then your handling it makes you an accessory to whatever that illegal activity is.”

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