Page 91 of Sweet Sin

Mulvaney sneers. “That was nearly a decade ago. I can stay objective.”

“Can you? You told my client this was routine questioning, and then you went straight for his jugular. Not on my watch, Gina.”

Mulvaney stands, lets out a breath, and leaves the room.

“I guess I’m up,” Ericson says. “Mr. Bellamy, this is just routine questioning. A lot of people don’t even have attorneys present at this stage.”

“I’m not a lot of people,” I say.

“Understood. I’m sorry Detective Mulvaney got a little personal. She’s actually a decorated officer.”

“I know that, Marvin,” Lola says. “but this isn’t the case for her.”

Ericson turns to me. “Take me through what happened. I’ve got your statement here, but I need to hear it from you. When did you first realize someone had entered your property?”

“My guest and I were in the hot tub in the back, and she thought she heard something.”

“And did you hear it?”

“No, I didn’t. But then the dogs starting barking, so I realized something was up.”

“Okay. What did you do then?”

“I told my guest, Savannah Gallo—”

“Savannah Gallo, your parole officer.”

I clear my throat. “That’s correct.”

He regards me for a moment, but then he moves on. “So you told Savannah…”

“I told her to lock herself in the changing room. It’s the only place inside the pool area with a lock on it. The only place she’d be safe.”

“So you were concerned for her safety?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because of my background, Detective.”

“What about your background?”

“You know my background. I recently got out of prison. I made some enemies on the inside, and I thought one or more of them had sent someone to…”

“To what?”

“I’m sure I don’t have to spell it out for you.”

“All right. We’ll let that go for now, but you may have to come back and elaborate.” He makes some notes on his iPad. “What happened next?”

“I put on my clothes and went to investigate. Two men had entered through the gate into my backyard. My dog—”

“Your dog?”

“Technically Savannah’s dog. I have the dog’s pup. He wasn’t barking.”

“But the mother dog was.”

---