Page 30 of The Heart of Midnight

“We just want to ask you a few questions is all. We can talk while you eat your lunch.”

That grilled cheese wasn’t for me, and I can’t risk letting them in. I don’t think I shut the basement door all the way when I came up. “We can talk here,” I mutter. “I have a cat who’s real skittish around humans.”

“A cat, huh? This conversation is a little sensitive, so if you’re not willing to let us in, maybe you wouldn’t mind coming downto the station with us. It’s just a few routine questions, you’re not in any trouble.”

The fact that he even had to say that tells me I am, in fact, in fucking trouble. They didn’t buy the cat thing and I can’t prove it because I fucking hate cats, and now I have two choices: let them in and hope Avery doesn’t scream, or go with them and hope I can talk my way out of whatever evidence they may have.

I choose to trust myself and my cleanup efforts. If they had something substantial, they’d be hauling me out of here in cuffs with a SWAT team for backup, not asking me politely. “Yeah, I can come down to the station. Let me grab my coat.” Throwing on my leather jacket, I grab the grilled cheese from the pan and shove it into my mouth as I head out the door, trying to remain as unbothered as possible. “You guys want me to follow you or what?”

They exchange glances as Harbough checks out my bike and hesitantly says, “You can follow us. Try to keep up.”

Chuckling, I finish the sandwich as I grab my helmet, then wipe my hands off on my jeans the second Lange looks at me again. Better they think I’m a slob who leaves DNA everywhere than someone clean, tidy, and capable of getting away with murder.

The whole ride over, my heart races and my mind whirls. More than once, I consider taking a sudden right turn and heading for the highway and freedom, but force myself to stay the course. This is my chance to find out what they know. Maybe I’ve got nothing to worry about at all.

It gets harder to keep believing that when I’m led to an interrogation room, though. It’s not some desk in the middle of a bullpen, but a 5x8 broom closet with two-way glass and a camera in the corner.

Great.

Taking a seat, I lean back and cross one leg over the other, giving me a place to rest my elbow without appearing closed off. Relaxed, like I’ve got nothing in the world to hide. “Okay, you got me here. What’s so secretive you couldn’t ask me on my front porch?”

Lange stands up a little straighter. “I’m sure you’ve heard there’s a serial killer loose in Saint City. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

Here we go.

I look between them with raised eyebrows. Emotions reach your whole face when you’re telling the truth, so they also should if you want to sell a lie. “Just what I’ve heard on the news. A few girls missing, a few bodies found. Seems he likes young brunette women, so I can’t say I was too worried about him until recently. Why? Do you think that psycho is targeting me now or something?”

“He might be, yeah,” Harbough says. “Maybe. Would he have a reason to?”

“How would I know? I don’t know who it is, if that’s what you’re getting at. I don’t get out much so it’s not like I’ve got enemies all over the place. I haven’t even been in a bar fight in years.” That much is true, but I’m having a hard time figuring out their angle here.

“Your neighbor, Avery Valentine. You two are close, yes?”

Close is one way to put it. “Yeah, we are. She’s been pretty freaked out lately so I go over there frequently to hang out with her and make sure there’s nothing going on. She said she saw Muerte in the parking lot of Rines, where she works. A couple of her coworkers ended up dead just after that.”

“So you’re just there for protection,” Lange scoffs. “She’s pretty, isn’t she?”

“Gorgeous,” I correct. “But yeah. We flirt and stuff, but it hasn’t gone further than that. The last thing she needs is the guyshe’s counting on to protect her trying to get in her pants. Again, though... what the hell does my relationship with my neighbor have to do with anything?”

Lange opens his mouth, but Harbough raises his hand to shut him up. “That’s the thing. Seems Muerte might’ve taken an interest in Miss Valentine, and when he couldn’t get her, he got a couple of guys who were close to her. You asked if we think he’s targeting you, that’s why.”

This doesn’t make any sense. It’s a stretch even for a reasonable person, but I’ll let them keep going. I shift like I’m nervous. “Seriously? So what, now I have to be on the lookout for a psychopath?”

“It would be wise, yeah. We’d like to put a tail on you just in case he’s stalking you or tries something. Do we have your permission to do so?”

And there it is. They don’t have enough evidence to get a warrant to follow me, so they’re trying to get me to agree to it on the grounds of protection. What fucking morons. “Detectives, with all due respect, you’re barking up the wrong tree. If he does come after me, I have a gun. The last time I checked, self-defense is still legal in Saint City, is it not?”

Harbough’s jaw ticks. “It is. So you’re declining police protection?”

“Unless you can prove to me he’s after me and also bulletproof, yeah. No offense guys, but I don’t pay taxes to have you guys waste manpower on people who don’t need it. I’ll be okay. Can I go now?”

Lange moves in front of the door. “Not exactly. Can you verify your whereabouts on the nights of April 10th, May 14th, June 8th, June 22nd, July 3rd, August 9th, August 10th, and October 14th?”

Ah hah. Five of those dates coincide with the bodies I’ve left to be found, and the rest are dates my victims who haven’tbeen found yet went missing. They’re missing a few, but at least now we’re getting somewhere. “That’s a lot of dates, Detective. I might’ve been at work for some or with Avery on others, but I’d have to check my schedule to be sure. What exactly do those dates have to do with me?”

Harbough leans forward. “I think you know.”

Chuckling, I thread my fingers together behind my head. “That was a really sudden shift from victim to suspect. You can’t honestly believe I’m Muerte, can you?”

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