Page 40 of Every Deadly Suspicion

“Since I’m a deputy and you’re not the sheriff or a micromanager, I have no fear of that.”

Hanna smiled, feeling some of the tension leave her body. “Thanks. Call or text if you get any good information.”

“Will do.” He checked his watch. “Now I’ve got to go. Jailhouse interview.”

“You’re sure he can’t be Diego?”

“I am. I can’t see that at all. He was on foot. No way he could have dumped the body. But he was lying to me. There must be a reason for the lie. He had a legitimate warrant in the system, so I have some leverage. With luck, I’ll get him to tell me the truth.”

“Nothing lucky about it. You’ll get him to tell the truth because that’s the awesome investigator you are.”

“Aw, there you go with the flattery. Maybe we should go out on a date, Chief Keyes.” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

For a second, he held her gaze, and Hanna saw how tired and troubled he looked. Three dead women weighed heavily on him.

“I’m praying you get headway on this case,” she whispered.

He released a faint smile. “Thanks.”

Hanna watched him walk toward his car, get in, and drive away.

She had to get to work as well but tarried. Procrastination was normally foreign to Hanna, but today she dragged her feet. There was still the matter of Scott’s murder and talking with Chase. Theyhad zero leads thus far. The puzzle of the alleged Buckley book needed to be solved as well.

The reason she was glad Nathan hadn’t pressed her about what she was going to do about Joe was that she still didn’t know herself. How could she say no to Mandy one minute, while the next minute the thought of Joe Keyes in her house repulsed her?

CHAPTER 20

NATHAN’S THOUGHTS TURNEDto Colby Ellis as he drove toward Sonora and the city jail. The kid was a liar and a thief, but like he told Hanna, Nathan couldn’t see him as a cold-blooded killer, and he trusted his instincts. He’d let Colby sit in jail over the weekend. Hopefully by now he’d be willing to tell the whole truth.

Manny was already at his desk when Nathan got in.

“I’ve got all the outstanding warrants on Ellis here. He’ll be in custody for at least six months on those. You ready to talk to him?”

“Oh, yeah, more than ready.” Nathan set his briefcase on his desk and locked his gun inside the desk drawer. Friday night all Ellis had done was insist that he was not lying. He didn’t invoke his Miranda rights though, and that was a good thing.

Manny already had Ellis sitting in an interview room. Nathan turned on the observation camera and tape and unlocked the door.

Ellis looked bad. Nathan guessed he was coming down off something, God only knew what. His red hair was matted to one side on his head, his face full of red blotches, and his nose runny.

“Sure looks like you had a bad weekend,” Nathan said amiably as he sat across from the kid. The body odor emanating from him was rancid, and Nathan tried to breathe through his mouth.

Ellis only grunted.

“Are you ready to tell the truth today?”

“Will it get me out of here?” he asked with a froggy voice.

“You have outstanding warrants, Colby. Nothing I can do about that. The thing is, do you want me to tack murder on to the charges?”

Ellis shook his head, his eyes bleary. “I didn’t kill that woman and you know it.”

“I don’t. Because you’re lying to me. You’re lying at most about committing the murder or at least assisting with the murder. Come clean, and maybe I’ll help get you into treatment.”

Ellis rested his forehead on the table and groaned.

“You need some water or coffee?” Manny asked.

He got an assenting grunt in response.

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