Page 36 of Protecting the Newborn

Charla huffed. “You can’t possibly believe I was part of that. Why would I? I have no...” She stopped again. “Oh,” she muttered. “This is because of my mother.”

Bingo.

Charla laughed, but there was no humor in it. “I see. Because my mother sold babies, you believe I continued the family business. I didn’t.” She paused again. “The only thing I’m guilty of is not admitting I knew Zimmer.”

Ruston decided to go out on a limb here. “And protecting Tony. How long have you known about those mystery funds in his accounts?”

Another bingo. Charla certainly didn’t jump to deny it, and the look on her face confirmed she had indeed known. “Go ahead, report me to Internal Affairs. Better yet, I’ll save you the trouble and do it myself.”

Charla stormed out, and Ruston turned to Gracelyn. He didn’t get a chance, though, to get her take on everything the woman had just said. That was because his phone dinged with a text.

“It’s from Duncan,” he said. “Allie just came in, and Duncan has her in his office.”

Ruston didn’t need to ask for her take on that. She was both relieved and anxious, and she immediately headed out of the interview room. He was right behind her.

When they made it to the front of the building, Charla was thankfully nowhere in sight, which meant she likely hadn’t seen Allie. Then again, Ruston might not have seen her either if he hadn’t been specifically looking for her. Gracelyn’s sister was in the corner of Duncan’s office, standing away from the large window, and she was wearing a purple hoodie that covered not only her head but a good portion of her face as well. Her shoulders were hunched, her gaze aimed at the floor.

Duncan was standing by his desk, and the moment Gracelyn and Ruston were inside the office, he shut the door.

“She’s been frisked,” Duncan told them. “No weapons. And I’ve already Mirandized her.”

If Allie had objected to the frisking and Miranda warning, she didn’t voice it. However, when she lifted her head and Ruston got a better look at her face, he could see the agitation in her bloodshot eyes. He searched her face, looking for any resemblance between Gracelyn and her. Or her and the baby. But it just wasn’t there.

“Gracelyn,” Allie muttered, and the tears came. Probably not her first of the day. “You have to help me.”

Gracelyn didn’t respond, didn’t move. She just stood there for several moments and studied her sister. Then, on a sigh, she went to Allie and hugged her. It didn’t last long. Allie ended it and stepped away from her.

“Go ahead,” Allie said, defensiveness in her voice now. “Ask me if I’ve been using. That’s what you always do.”

“Have you been?” Gracelyn obliged.

“No,” Allie snarled. “I’m clean.” She paused and groaned. “I haven’t used anything today,” she amended.

That was possibly true. Possibly. And it drilled home for Ruston that Allie had to be beyond desperate to walk into a sheriff’s office and admit that she’d recently used drugs. Something she could be arrested for if they found any illegals in her possession. Then again, she could be arrested for something a whole lot worse.

“You said you wanted immunity,” Gracelyn reminded her. “Why? What did you do?”

Allie shook her head and folded her arms over her chest. “First, the immunity, and then I talk.”

Gracelyn shook her head. “That’s not the way immunity works. You tell us what you know, and then we talk about immunity or a deal.”

Allie did more head shaking. “But how do I know you just won’t arrest me?” She aimed the question at Duncan.

“You don’t, but I could have arrested you the moment you stepped in here, and I didn’t,” Duncan spelled out. “That’s because I want to hear what you have to say. Then I can decide how to help you.”

Duncan had clearly sugarcoated that, but Ruston figured if Allie was a victim in all of this, if she had nothing to do with the murders, then Duncan would almost certainly follow through on that “help” if what Allie told them led them to the killer.

“I’ll need to record what you say,” Duncan added, holding up his phone. “That’s for your protection,” he said when Allie made a soft gasp. “The district attorney will need to hear your own words before she can work any kind of deal. I can’t go to her and just give her a summary.”

Not entirely true. Deals happened with summaries. But Duncan wanted anything Allie might say to be on the record. Of course, Allie could lie on the record as well.

“All right,” Allie finally said, but she didn’t launch into the reason she was here. She sat there until Gracelyn gave her a prompt.

“The San Antonio police have been looking for you,” Gracelyn said. She had likely gone with that rather than a direct question to ease Allie into this.

Allie nodded. “I know.” She stopped again, and this time she pressed her fingers to her mouth. Both parts of her were trembling, and she looked on the verge of having a full meltdown. “It’s because of Marty, isn’t it? Because he’s dead, and they want to ask me if I killed him. I didn’t. I swear, I didn’t.”

Duncan went to a small fridge behind his desk and brought out a bottle of water for Allie. He also motioned for her to sit in one of the chairs. She drank some water but remained standing.

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