Page 29 of Twin Threats In Austin
“Can you prove your whereabouts from eleven p.m. to one o’clock in the morning?” she asked.
“No,” he admitted on a frustrated sigh. “Why?”
Camden would want to know why someone was asking this line of questioning if he was in the hot seat. He didn’t normally have compassion for folks who broke the law. The more this case dragged on, the less his instincts said Kage could be responsible.Instincts and a nickel were worth about five cents. Even those that had been honed by years of experience still had to be proved. The best course of action was to follow the evidence.
“For now, it’s our turn to ask questions,” he said to Kage.
“Does that mean I’ll get a turn?”
“I won’t promise to answer, but you’ll get a chance,” Camden said. The answer seemed to satisfy Kage.
“Can I say something?” Kage asked a beat later. His wide eyes and dilated pupils marked fear, which was a shift from anger.
“Go ahead,” Rochelle said.
“After your last visit, I did a little digging around,” Kage admitted. “I’m not guilty of kidnapping those women.”
“We’d like to believe you, but you’re going to have to cooperate,” Rochelle stated.
“I won’t go to prison for something I didn’t do,” he continued, as if she hadn’t just spoken. The guy had every reason to be worried. Kidnapping and murder charges followed by a conviction would lead to a maximum-security prison. Kage had done time in a federal penitentiary for a federal crime. Maximum security housed hardcore criminals—criminals that would eat Kage’s lunch if he didn’t watch his back at every turn.
Camden couldn’t shake the instinct that Kage was telling the truth about his innocence. But the video from the nightclub said otherwise. And now, a kidnapping from a Laundromat near his home.
“Where do you do your wash?” Rochelle asked, barreling ahead with her questions.
“What?”
“You heard me,” she said.
“Right, but what does that have to do with anything?” he asked. And then it seemed to dawn on him there must be another victim. He released a string of swear words underneathhis breath. “We have a laundry room here on property, but the machines are always busted. I got to a place nearby.”
“What’s the name of the Laundromat?” Rochelle asked. She would have made a great poker player. Her expression gave away nothing. No matter how upset or fearful Kage became, her face was unreadable.
“The place is called Spin Cycle,” he said after a moment of silent recall.
“Do you mind if we head there now?” Rochelle asked in an unscripted move.
“I’m not wearing shoes,” Kage said.
“We’ll wait here while you go get a pair,” Rochelle responded.
With another frustrated sigh, Kage said, “Okay. I’ll be right back.”
They could keep watch as he walked back to his apartment, so Camden didn’t worry about losing Kage between here and the front door.
Kage shrugged out of Camden’s T-shirt before tossing it onto the front seat. “I’ll get my own shirt too.”
Camden nodded, then Kage made the trek back to his place. Every few steps, he hopped on one foot, no doubt stepping on a rock or a stick along the way.
“You think he’s innocent,” Rochelle stated.
“The evidence will give us the answer to that question,” he said.
“That’s not what I said,” she pointed out.
“I know.”
“Why?” she asked.
