Page 52 of Sinner's Sacrifice

The lieutenant opened his mouth, irritation screwing up his nose, as if he’d caught the metaphorical scent of bullshit.

Ooh, a genuine reaction, and not a positive one. Benson had been warned about him. Interesting.

“I would like him to stay,” Sam said, diverting the asshole cop’s attention.

The lieutenant turned his cold irritation on her. “Why would you want that? You got hurt in his hotel by one of his clients. This is not a safe man to be around. He’s been investigated for a variety of crimes.”

Someone definitely didn’t like him.

“Investigated, yes,” Yvgeny agreed. “Charged, no. Convicted, no.”

“Semantics,” Benson said without looking at Yvgeny.

“It’s not nice to judge people before you even meet them,” Sam said evenly. “It’s also kind of stupid too. It means you’re happy to let other people do your thinking for you.” She smiled at him, but it was no more real than the smile on a plastic doll. “Yvgeny is a good boss.”

The asshole turned to Nika, a sneer on his face. “You didn’t tell me she was in this guy’s stable. She’s not a reliable witness. Any defense attorney alive will rip her credibility to shreds in minutes.”

“Stable? Did you just call me a prostitute?” Sam asked, her voice rising in pitch. She got half-way out of her chair, and he figured he only had a second or two before she got in the moron’s face.

“As I said, Sam is my on-site paramedic, not a prostitute.” Yvgeny smiled magnanimously. “I realize that both words begin with p, but they’re not interchangeable.”

Bazyli burst out laughing.

Nika punched him in the arm and hissed, “Stop that.”

Sam slowly sank back into her seat. “Look,” she said, leaning forward and putting her palms on the table. “I work part-time for his corporation as a paramedic, but the rest of the time, I volunteer for a couple of free clinics. I give free medical supplies out to street people of all kinds.”

The lieutenant’s sneer was still in place, but he appeared to be listening to her. Hopefully.

“I hear a lot and I see a lot. A couple of weeks ago two women I know were attacked and cut up badly. A couple of others have gone missing entirely. I’ve been asking questions and I guess someone didn’t like it.” She shrugged. “I went to offer first aid to a hotel guest, but it was a ruse. He was there to kill me.”

“Wait,” Benson’s frown was back, with a touch of confusion too. “How do you know that?”

“He told me. He said he didn’t get to talk to many people about his job or his hobby, and he knew I’d seen some of his handiwork.” She swallowed hard. “He acted like what he did to those women was art.”

“So, he confessed to you?” Benson asked.

“Mostly. Of course, he intended to kill me, so he thought he was safe gloating about his crimes.”

“You went into a hotel guest’s room, alone?”

“He assigned me a babysitter,” she angled her thumb at Yvgeny. “Who must have called him because Yvgeny got there before the creep could complete his contracted murder.”

The lieutenant’s expression had gone from scornful to disbelief. “Where were you in all this?” he demanded of Nika.

“With Yvgeny, working on setting up an information network throughout the city,” she replied. Nika shook her head. “None of us were expecting someone to try to kill her. We got there in the nick of time, restrained the perp, and held him until backup arrived.”

“What set him off?” The lieutenant asked Sam. “Did you threaten him?”

“He seemed normal until the door of the room closed and I realized that there wasn’t anyone needing medical attention.” She shrugged. “He told me I was a special order, and that I was better than the vermin he liked to clean up off the street. When I tried to leave, he threw me into a wall. I think he must have kicked me, because I have some bruised ribs, but I don’t remember that part.”

“Why do you think he’s a serial killer?”

“I asked him if he ever cut girls and he got excited and proud. Asked me if I’d seen the cuts and what I thought of his work.” Sam swallowed hard. “He seemed overjoyed to talk to someone who might have seen what he did.”

The lieutenant covered his face with one hand. “But no direct confession.”

“We have him for attempted kidnapping and assault,” Nika said.

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