That much was the honest truth.
Hank didn’t respond. His left eyebrow rose a fraction of an inch.
I shut up. The line about anything you say being held against you isn’t idle talk.
He broke eye contact and studied the file, flipping through the pages. “Do you know what the paperwork Brayton gave you to take to the hotel was in regards to?”
“Child support. The father wanted Molly to sign off on a deal. Told me she was going to move out west with the baby and start all over.” I didn’t add my theory about who the father was. “I saw the agreement. Nothing too complicated.”
“She sent you packing.”
“She didn’t like the first draft. Couldn’t blame her for wanting more money. I’d have done the same thing.”
Hank glanced once to the mirror, then back down to the file. “So you went back to Brayton and returned to the hotel.”
“The cab drivers can verify my trips and my times.”
Now it was the detective’s turn to nod. “We’ve already looked over their sheets. They verify your story.”
I spread my hands. “So why am I sitting here?”
Hank snorted. “Because you were the last to see her alive other than the killer. And don’t think you weren’t a prime target for that title.”
“Past tense,” I replied. “Because I’m innocent.”
“Because your alibi checks out. And you don’t have any reason to kill a woman and run out with a newborn.”
I flinched inwardly. The cold truth pricked me in all the wrong places.
“So I’m free to go?”
His expression didn’t change. “We’ve got a dead woman lying on the floor of a hotel room. And a missing baby. Already got an AMBER Alert out on the little one.” He glanced down again at my typed statement. “Although ‘red fuzz’ isn’t much to go on. Too bad you couldn’t give us any birthmarks or anything to identify him.”
I resisted the urge to yell. “I only saw him for a few minutes bundled up in a blanket and Molly wasn’t exactly keen on showing him off. She was focused on studying the agreement. Liam’s a month old, maybe less. Find him and find him fast.”
The note of panic that’d crept into my voice hadn’t gone unnoticed. “What’s up with the kid? You know something? He got some medical problems we should know about?”
There was no way I could tell him Liam was Hanover’s baby. I had no proof other than my nose.
“Nope. I just don’t like babies going missing. Not when the mother’s been gunned down and he’s probably headed for some damned adoption scam.” The anger in my voice was genuine. There was an outside chance Molly had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, targeted because she had a newborn and seemed unprotected.
Stranger things had happened, sadly enough.
Hank studied me for a minute before giving a cautious nod. “We’re talking to Brayton right now. We’re checking out Callendar’s history, see if anyone had a grudge against her.” He gave me a thoughtful look. “What was your perception of the relationship between Callendar and Brayton?”
This wasn’t Attersley the detective. This was Hank sharing a beer with me at the local bar after a rough week and tossing ideas back and forth on popular cases playing out in the media.
I rolled my shoulders back, feeling a bit of the tension easing out. This was familiar territory. “Couldn’t give you a precise assessment since I just met them today. But if he was working out an arrangement and having papers drawn up it seems sort of back-assward to have her killed and steal the baby. It’s not like he wouldn’t automatically become a suspect, which he has.”
Hank waved me on, encouraging me to keep talking. I knew he wasn’t looking to trap me with my own words but to take advantage of my skills.
Hell, I wouldn’t even send the police a bill.
I tapped my fingernails on the stainless steel table. “It’d be a bad move on Brayton’s part because he would know the murder would be discovered and tracked back to his front door. Sending any courier would be risky, but me? Why would he put me in the middle of this, knowing what I do for a living?”
Hank sat back and crossed his arms. “Why, indeed.” He paused again, waiting to see if I would give him more.
I thought about whether I was prepared to give him Hanover as a possible suspect.
I decided against it. This could have nothing to do with Hanover and tossing his name out would bring down a shit storm of trouble on everyone—especially Bran and myself.
Hanover knew Brayton was sending me over and if he wanted Callendar dead he’d have more resources available to him, people who would be cleaner and faster. There was no doubt in my mind Michael Hanover was a very powerful man who got what he wanted. Why set his friend up as a possible suspect for the murder and bring me into the picture? He had to know I’d play pretty with the cops and wouldn’t cover his trail where a murdered mother was involved. I loved his son but he was playing with some big balls if he figured I’d keep his murder of Molly Callendar as a dirty little family secret.
There was also the uncomfortable fact that if I pointed the finger at Hanover I’d have three pointed back at myself. A good prosecutor could make the case I’d killed Callendar because I was upset over Hanover’s attempts to blackmail me. It wasn’t much but I’d seen prosecutors file charges on a lot less in order to get a suspect in jail and under pressure.
I couldn’t afford to spend time in a holding cell while the cops dug out the truth. Not to mention I couldn’t afford the truth coming out about me, Hanover’s attempted blackmail and the family.
Callendar’s murder would be only the start in a long gory line of death. I didn’t and couldn’t imagine how many would fall prey to heart attacks, car accidents and accidental poisonings before the Felis felt safe again.
“Someone could have followed me to the hotel. Takes out Callendar before taking the baby for ransom.”
Hank sat back. “Possible but that’s pretty hard-core, killing a mother and snatching a baby. Gotta have brass balls to look a woman in the face and gun her down.” Hank shook his head. “Don’t make sense. But then murder usually don’t.” He reached out and tapped my nose. “I see that look in your eyes. Don’t you get wound up in this, Rebecca. You’re already technically involved and I don’t want to have to arrest your ass.”
“Me?” I gave him an angelic smile.
“Oh fuck,” he moaned. “And it starts.” He wagged a fat finger at me. “Don’t get involved any more than you are, Desjardin. You’re already on shaky ground. I’m going to have to answer why I’m not tossing your ass into a holding cell right now.”
I held out my hands. “Go for it. She was killed sometime between my first visit and my return. I’ve got two cabbies who’ll vouch I was in their cabs and a pissy receptionist who’ll tell you I was in Brayton’s office. I’ll call Michael Hanover and he’ll get a lawyer who’ll run you and your crew to ground on a thousand little technicalities within the hour.”
It was a bluff, one I hoped would work. I didn’t want to have to call Michael Hanover for anything, much less one of his lawyers. But I’d be a fool to pass up the opportunity to keep Hank’s arrest-eager buddies at bay.
Hank scowled but I saw the underlying smile. “Get the fuck out of here before I toss you for being annoying.”
As I turned to go he touched my arm, bringing me back. “Be careful, Reb. This isn’t just about a dead woman. Whoever killed her took the baby and if you start rattling the wrong cages things could go south fast.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “He could panic and kill the kid. He’s already killed the mother—he’s got nothing to lose. You put him in a corner and Molly’s family might end up having a double funeral.”