Page 38 of So Twisted

Turk growled low in his throat. James’s frown deepened. “Am I in some kind of trouble?”

“That’s what we’re trying to determine.”

James’s face changed again, this time registering shock. “What? Why?”

“May we come inside?”

“I’d really prefer to have some answers before I let you into my house or answer any of your questions.”

He kept his voice calm but firm, and when Turk growled at him again, he didn’t show any concern. Not all that surprising from a man who trained wolves for a living.

Faith decided to be upfront with him. "We're investigating the murders of Dr. Elena Vasquez, Alison Chen and Marcus Reeves. We believe you may have some information for us."

James stared blankly at her for a moment. He blinked and said, “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

James took a breath and released it slowly. “I haven’t spoken to any of those people in years. I’ve been trying hard not to think about them.”

“Well, someone thought about them,” Faith said. “Someone tore Marcus Reeves’ throat out, poisoned Alison Chen and chopped holes into Dr. Vasquez.”

James took another breath. His eyes flicked between the agents. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have anything that can help you.”

Turk took a step toward James, and this time, he did react, stepping through his doorway and trying to pull it closed. Faith stopped it with her foot. “James, wewillcome back with a warrant if we need to.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” James replied, still calm. “That’s what you’ll have to do.”

“And if things go that way,” Michael added. “We’ll report to the press that we’ve made an arrest in this case, and a lot of people are going to learn that you had history with our victims.”

James stiffened. “You know about my history?”

“We talked to Mr. Thurman at Global Wildlife Headquarters,” Faith said.

James sighed. “Of course you did. So what? I’m a suspect now?”

“At the moment, you’re a person of interest,” Faith clarified. “This conversation will hopefully tell us whether you should be considered a suspect or should be removed as a person of interest.”

James sighed again. “Do either of you work with animals? Besides your dog?”

“No.”

“Okay, well, I have a lot of animals here, and they all need food. I don’t have anyone to ask to care for them. Point being is that I need to make sure they’re fed, watered and enclosed securely before I come with you.”

“We can always start the conversation here,” Faith offered.

James shook his head. “Just… give me a moment, all right?”

"I don't think we can do that, James," Michael replied.

“Am I under arrest?” James asked.

Michael frowned and reluctantly admitted, “No.”

“Then you’ll have to wait for me to take care of my animals. You can come with me if you’re afraid I’ll try to run.”

Faith and Michael shared a look. Then Faith turned back to James and said, “You go ahead. Just pretend we’re not even here.”

Turk growled again, and James gave the dog a mistrustful look. He led the three agents into the house. Faith followed, one hand on her service weapon. It was too early to tell if James was guilty or not, but Turk's behavior suggested that they might have finally found their killer. It wasn't nearly enough evidence to hold up in court, but Turk had found more than one killer with his nose before. Maybe he'd come through for them again. Faith could always hope.

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