Page 44 of Silent Smile

"I told you, I went to Dave's place after."

"Yes, your conveniently drunk friend who can't confirm exactly when you arrived." Sheila opened the file in front of her. "And you've already admitted that your alibi for the secondmurder was a lie—that you and Mick weren't actually together watching pay-per-view that night."

Hawke's confident facade cracked slightly. "But that means Mick was lying, too. Don't you get it? I made that up because I was scared, didn't want to admit I'd been alone. But I didn't have anything to hide. Mick, though…"

"He really does make a convenient scapegoat, doesn't he?"

"It's not like that," Hawke protested, running a hand through his hair. "Look, I know how this seems. But Mick... he's changed lately. Ever since we lost our jobs at the park, he's been obsessed with the dunes, talking about 'protecting them at any cost.' I should have seen the signs."

"Yet you continued working with him, harvesting protected plants," Sheila pointed out. "If you were so concerned about his behavior, why maintain the partnership?"

"Fear," Hawke said quietly. "You don't know what he's capable of when he's angry."

"And what exactly is he capable of?"

"Anything. Absolutely anything."

They both sat in silence for several moments. Then, sensing she'd learned all Hawke would tell her for now, Sheila gathered her files and rose. "Sit tight, Mr. Hawke. We're not done here."

Back in the observation corridor, she found Finn watching Mick through the one-way glass. "Your turn," she said. "Let's see how he explains these inconsistencies in their timelines."

Finn's shoulders relaxed slightly, and Sheila realized how much she'd missed seeing him confident, in his element. She'd fallen for him partly because of his quiet competence, the way he could read a suspect's body language or spot a hidden clue.

When had she started doubting those very qualities? Her need for control was pushing away the very man who'd stood beside her through her pursuit of Eddie Mills and all the other ups and downs of her mother's murder case, through Star'scustody battle, through every challenge of the past three years. The man whose touch still made her heart race, even if she'd been holding him at arm's length lately.

He noticed her watching him and raised an eyebrow. "Something on your mind?"

She shook her head and cleared her throat. "Just spacing out. You'd better get in there."

Finn watched her curiously for a few more seconds, then nodded and headed into Mick's room. Sheila turned her attention to the nervous man, fidgeting in his chair. Through the speakers, she could hear Finn's voice, calm and steady.

"Mr. O'Donnell," Finn began, "let's talk about these protected plants you and Jason were selling. The ones we found hidden in his closet—was that your entire inventory?"

Mick's eyes darted around the room, never settling on one spot for long. "Most of it. Look, I know Jason's trying to pin everything on me, but that operation was his idea from the start. He was the one who knew which species were valuable."

"Then explain something to me," Finn said, laying out photos of the terrariums they'd found. "These setups are pretty sophisticated. Special grow lights, humidity controls. That's not amateur work. Where'd you learn to do all this?"

Mick shifted in his chair. "I took some botany classes in college. Never finished my degree, but I learned enough. Jason knew what to collect, I knew how to keep them alive."

"And the buyers?" Finn pressed. "Who handled that side of things?"

"We both did. Jason's lying if he says otherwise. He dealt with the local collectors, I handled the online sales." Mick leaned forward. "But that's got nothing to do with these murders. I wouldn't kill someone over plants."

"Yet you were out in the dunes both nights of the murders," Finn said. "Convenient timing for someone who claims to be innocent."

"I told you—I was scouting new locations. The park closure was coming, we needed to harvest what we could before—" Mick stopped abruptly, realizing what he'd revealed.

"Before what?" Finn asked. "Before you lost access? Or before someone started asking questions about two dead bodies in your hunting grounds?"

Mick's face drained of color. "I want a lawyer."

As Finn continued to observe Mick's reactions, Sheila's mind wandered. The shovel was still their strongest link to the murders, but neither Mick nor Jason could prove they hadn't buried it. The symbol found on the victims remained a mystery, its significance unclear. And the timing of the murders still didn't quite add up with what they knew about either suspect's movements.

Finn wrapped up the interrogation and joined Sheila in the hallway.

"Well, what do you think?" he asked.

"Did you catch what Mick let slip?" Sheila asked. "He knew about the park closure before we announced it. The only way he could have known that was if he had inside information—or if he knew we'd have to close the park after the murders."

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