Page 85 of Conquering Oz

“That’s great!” She peered across the room, searching for a way to get to her subject of choice.

“Elle?”

She glanced over at Chris.

“I’ve been a police officer for a long time. I’m good at reading people and situations. So instead of asking me bullshit questions that I know you don’t give a damn about, why don’t you tell me why you’re really here. And before you start with, ‘I came to see Madalyn,’ think twice. ’Cause not a day goes by where the two of you don’t talk at least three times. You knew she had an appointment and wouldn’t be home. Am I right?”

Fuck, he’s good.

“What’s going on, Elle?”

How could she spin this without raising any red flags? It wouldn’t be easy with Chris especially since he just blew up her whole plan. Elodie chose honesty.

“Can I pick your brain about Sal Caruso?”

“Oh Christ.” Chris sighed, shaking his head. “Can’t believe you two are still doing that shit.”

“It’s a new case.” Elodie smirked.

Chris narrowed his gaze. “For fuck’s sake, will you stop calling it that?”

Elodie battened down her chuckle. This was good. She’d keep it light.

“What do you want to know?”

Could it be this easy?She’d been convinced it would take more than asking to get anything from him.

“Really? I thought you were against sharing information with us.”

He spread out his arms, and his brows spiked. “Has that made a fucking difference? Still got my wife interrogating me on a nightly basis. I surrender. Now, what do you want to know?”

She clasped her hands around the bottle. “Was he really some type of crime boss or hitman or what?”

“Not on paper.”

“Well, what does that mean?” Elodie asked.

“Like you said from your ownresearch, he was never convicted. Never did time.”

“But he was tied to a bunch of stuff, right?”

“Which means nothing unless you can prove it.” Chris took a sip of his beer. “For all we know, he’s a good guy.”

“He’s not!” Elodie blurted and immediately clamped her lips.

Chris eyed her and slowly lowered the bottle from his lips. “How do you know?”

Her heart rate spiked, acknowledging her mistake.

“I don’t, I’m just saying.” She licked her lips and cleared her throat.

“What are you saying, Elle?”

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “If you have all these people accusing you of stuff, some of it’s going to stick. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, right?”

“Sometimes.” He sat up and braced his elbows on his knees, cupping his beer. “You seem really invested in this. It feels personal.”

She stilled, trying to mask her emotions.It is personal. But she refused to share that with anyone.

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