Page 146 of Shadows in Bloom

When Karl slams the full weight of his pained eyes on me, I allow his devastation to cut me wide open. “Stay away from my family.” Then he’s gone, and I’m left in the ruins of my bad decisions. I was right all along.

I would lose everything.

CHAPTER 9

DETECTIVE GRANT

Idraw my colleague to a stop outside the interview room, and she gives me an inquisitive gaze. Sarah O’Hara, a thirty-two-year-old detective, has a knack for sniffing out lies like a bloodhound, but suspicions and facts are two different things. Suspicions don’t hold up in court, for one. I’ve been in this job long enough to know that, but this case is proving difficult.

“Are you okay?”

“The case rides on this interview.”

Sarah’s face remains blank. No emotion flickers in her eyes. She knows the deal already.

“If he gives Cruz a solid alibi, we have nothing.”

“Cruz walks free,” she says, echoing my thoughts.

“With so little evidence linking him to the crime scene, we need to pull the truth from our key witness.”

Sarah flicks her eyes between mine, then sighs, waiting for one of our colleagues to walk past before she looks at me. “He’ll trust us. I know it.”

Inhaling deeply, I gnash my teeth. I’ve lost sleep over this investigation. “Fine… It’s showtime.”

Sarah opens the door and enters the small interrogation room smiling, wanting to get on Marshall’s good side. We know about the affair. The question now is how long it has gone on. Mobile records and Google searches prove that Cruz stalked Marshall and his wife for a very long time, going to extreme lengths to gain access to Marshall without his knowledge. Meanwhile, his colleagues reported that Ms. Phillips tried to gain Marshall’s interest. On the day of her death, she invited him out for drinks with their colleagues.

It doesn’t take a genius to put the pieces together.

“Hi, Mr. Kirk,” Sarah says, sitting across from him, and I pull out a chair at the small table and lower myself down.

While she introduces us, I study the dark circles around his eyes. His skin is pale, and he looks tired. When it’s my turn to talk, I interlace my fingers on top of the folder. “How well do you know Cruz?”

He stares at me for a moment, trying to figure me out. “I’ve known him his whole life. I grew up with his father.”

We already know this information.

“You’re close to his dad?”

“Best friends.”

“Tell me a bit about that.”

He bounces his eyes between Sarah and me before tapping his thumb on the table as he says, “We met as kids. Lived on the same street. Now we play golf and have dinner together on Wednesdays.”

I make some notes. “When did the affair start?”

Marshall’s throat jumps, his thumb tapping, tapping, tapping. “I was out drinking one night, and he was there. We slept together.”

“How long ago was this?”

“A couple of months.”

“His parents didn’t know?” Sarah asks as she rolls a pen between her fingers.

Marshall follows the movement, shaking his head. “No. We kept it a secret.”

“I see.”

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