Page 46 of Sinful Seduction
He rolls his eyes. “Only the truly spoiled would give half a house away.”
“Can we focus, please?” We stride around the last corner of the ICU hall before Molly’s door. In front of it, Officer Clay straightens his spine and stares us down. Before closing the last thirty feet, I bring Minka to a stop. “Fletch?”
He spins on his heels, lifting his brows. Then he latches onto an unusually quiet Aubree and pulls her back. “Yeah?”
“She’s our key witness. She’s theonlywitness. She has the answers we need, but?—”
“She’s grieving,” Aubree murmurs. “And injured.Anda minor.”
“She has what we need,” I grit out. “At some point, we have to take the kiddie gloves off and apply a little pressure. There’s a killer on our streets, and they’re laughing all the way to the bank.”
“Maybe she’s afraid to talk,” Minka inserts. “If she tells us who did it, they might come back to finish what they started.”
“They’ll assume she snitched, whether she does or not. It’s in her best interest to tell us what she knows, even if she’s crying and even if her father says she’s too tired or not ready.”
“Can’t you just…” Minka wrinkles her nose and peeks across at Aubree. “Touch her? Ask her?”
“Dude!”
“I know,” she groans. “We can’t rely on it, and I know we can’t tell a judge,Aubree said so. But how do you have this gift and not want to use it?”
“It doesn’t work the way you think it works,” Aubrey grumbles. “She’s not Google, where I can tap on her arm and ask her anything. She’s not a book I can open to any page and read a play-by-play of what happened that night. She’s a human being whomayshow me something. She may be open to that sort of thing. But I feel feelings, Mayet. I see her wants. Her desires. Her path.” She tightens her teeth, leaning closer. “I suspect all I’ll see is pain and grief and longing. NotJohn Smith did it. He lives at one-two-three John Smith Street.” She turns and continues toward Clay. “Stop trying to use me, or I’ll predict your untimely, painful, sugar-loaded death like I did Soph’s.”
Snorting, Minka tugs her hand from mine and hobble-jogs to catch up to her friend. “That’s really messing with her.”
“She needs to learn boundaries. She pushed, pushed, pushed, and now she knows what happens.”
“John Smith living on John Smith Street would be handy, though.” Fletch falls into step beside me. “Checkmate has a Soph, and Soph has the Google brain. We have Aubree, and she feels feelings.”
“We also haveus,” I drawl. “Ya know, the regular detectives with detective skills who have solved many a crime without a Soph and without an Aubree. Turns out, these things can be investigated without the bells and whistles.”
“You’re gonna look so dumb when our perp’s name turns out to be John Smith, though.” His lips quirk up on the side. But then he straightens his expression as we approach Clay.
“Detectives.” The young officer looks at the ladies. “Doctors.”
“Officer Clay.” Fletch tilts his chin. “Anything new to report?”
“Ms. Freemon is awake and talking. She still requires pain medication, and that medication makes her sleepy sometimes, but she’s been experiencing longer spells of time awake. She has visitors: her mom is in there. Her dad took her siblings away so they could have lunch. Her friend is also back. She’s been here for about half an hour.”
“Name?” I ask. “If you have it.”
“Victoria Baylor. She goes by Tori. They share a bunch of classes together at school, and have been friends since elementary.”
“Tori,” I repeat, picturing the redhead from Molly’s social media posts. “Same age. Both artists. Both are heading to Copeland U next year. She have an adult in there with her?”
“Besides Mrs. Freemon?” He shakes his head. “No, Detective. She came alone.”
“We’re not supposed to question her without rep,” Fletch grumbles under his breath. “Best friends know shit though, don’t they?” He looks to Aubree and Minka. “Best friends gossip and tell their secrets.”
“You’re walking a slippery tightrope,” Aubree counters. “If you question her and she freaks, you get in trouble. If you extract information from her that proves useful, it could be tossed out by the other side and labeled coercion.”
“Guess we’ll wing it.” I nod, indicating for Clay to step aside. “Thanks, Officer. Feel free to take a break until we’re done in here. Eat if you haven’t yet.”
“I’ll stay.” He expands his chest with a deep inhale. “I’m not hungry, and I don’t require the bathroom. But if you need me to do anything, I’m available.”
“Your CO doesn’t mind that you’re taking time off and hanging out over here?”
His cheeks flame bright, boyish red. “My CO hasn’t asked, Detective. I requested time off. He stamped the paperwork and sent me on my way.”
