Chapter Twenty-Two
“Comfortable?” Shelby asked Cain when she finally picked a seat that gave the folks behind the mirror a good view of her face.
Cain just stared, wondering what was bothering Shelby so much that she sounded pissed. “What are you hoping for here, Agent Daniels?” She drummed her fingers in an uneven beat that made Shelby glare at her hand.
“It’s Agent Philips, Ms. Casey. I know how much you pride yourself on getting our names right,” Shelby said, her voice lower than before and her face paler.
Cain whispered right into her ear, after jumping up quickly and grabbing her head, “Tell them to turn off the built-in sound system until my attorney arrives or, trust me, it’s going to be entertaining for me and interesting for them.” Joe Simmons magically appeared at the door, gripping the frame.
“Shelby?” he asked when Shelby looked straight at him but didn’t try to move away from Cain.
“It’s okay. Tell them to turn off the equipment until Ms. Casey’s attorney gets here.” She pointed at him and in a serious voice repeated, “I mean it, Joe, turn it off.”
Cain straightened up and laughed. She knew better than to believe Simmons would stop the tape. “Are we alone now, Agent?” Shelby stared at her but stayed quiet. “Is it safe for us to share all our dirty little secrets?”
Shelby barely shook her head. She saw it, but doubted anyone else looking in would. Of course it wasn’t safe. And one word from Cain about the night she’d first met Shelby and convinced Vincent to spare her life, and Shelby could lose all she’d worked for. Her fear was written all over her face. Shelby Daniels was the name she had given Cain on that flight when she agreed to lie in exchange for her life.
“It doesn’t matter, though, does it, that I have nothing to say. That I’ve done nothing to warrant you dragging me away in front of my partner and my children like a common thug simply because you can.”
Cain moved closer again and lowered her voice. “Power is intoxicating, Agent, but like anything else, too much of a good thing isn’t healthy. You wield it indiscriminately, and I’ll show you how it’s done. I’d love nothing better than to teach you all how to take away little by little everything that’s important to the lot of you. I’ll talk, and you know the Irish, we can weave a tale, we can. Do we understand each other, Agent Daniels?” Cain’s lips were so close to Shelby’s ear she could smell her perfume.
“Perfectly.”
“Good. Then to answer your question, I’m comfortable.” It was the last thing she said until Joe walked in with Muriel.
“Why is my client here?” Muriel said. She sat next to Cain and crossed her legs. When Shelby and Joe stayed quiet she snapped her fingers. “Now would be a great time to answer.”
“Your client assaulted a gentleman on the street. We brought her in for questioning in that matter and about a few other topics.”
Cain smiled and shrugged when Muriel glanced at her. “Let them tell us what I’ve done now, Muriel. It’ll probably save time.”
“Let’s start with your altercation with Mr. Luis this afternoon,” Joe said.
Cain leaned back in her chair. “Did he press charges or define it like that?”
“He didn’t have much to say on the subject, but after more conversations he may change his mind,” Joe said, his hand resting on another file. “There is another matter.” He patted the file.
“Would it create more tension if you played dramatic music?” Cain asked, making Muriel snort.
Shelby bristled. “This isn’t funny, Ms. Casey.”
“You’re right, this is serious business. Go on, Agent Simmons, let’s hear it.”
“Agent Barney Kyle was murdered last night.”
“I’m aware of that,” Cain said, never losing eye contact. She laughed when he leaned forward. “Don’t look so eager. I do know how to read. That was the headline story in this morning’s paper.”
“You visited Agent Kyle yesterday in jail,” Shelby said.
“You would know. You did, after all, follow me there from my office and had someone analyze every word we exchanged. Not to mention study every blink I made, and every facial expression. I visited Barney, but I don’t believe that’s a crime.”
Shelby nodded. “Considering your past relationship with Agent Kyle, why bother seeing him?”
“Just a couple of things before we go on,” Muriel interrupted. “Cain’s ‘past relationship’ consisted of Kyle shooting her with the intent to kill. And why do you insist on calling him Agent Kyle? The guy was in jail facing some serious charges.”
Shelby and Joe dropped their eyes to the table and didn’t dispute her right away. The door opened again and Annabel took a deep breath before pointing to Shelby. Without hesitation Shelby gave up her seat and left the room.
“We meet again, Agent Hicks.” Cain offered Annabel her hand.
“Thank you for agreeing to come in,” Annabel said, accepting the handshake.
“You’re welcome, even though it wasn’t exactly voluntary.”
“Before I arrived, Ms. Casey asked a question about Agent Kyle, and I’m here to answer it,” she said, ignoring what Cain had stated.
“We’re all ears,” Muriel said.
“Agent Kyle was in the sheriff’s custody when this happened, but in light of the report released today, I seriously doubt the District Attorney’s office would’ve filed charges.”
“Why is that?” Muriel asked.
“The FBI concluded that the incident with your client was an accident.” Cain put her hand on Muriel’s leg to keep her quiet until Annabel finished. “Furthermore, there was no evidence that Agent Kyle was working for, or affiliated with, the Bracato family. As far as the federal government was concerned, he was free to go as soon as he finished with local law enforcement. I understood Agent Kyle planned to retire after this to pursue other interests.”
“He almost kills my cousin, and you’re telling me it was an accident? Did your investigators bother to interview everyone in that warehouse that night?”
“Trust me, the investigation was thorough.” She opened the file Joe had brought in. “We have the murder weapon used last night.”
“Let me save you some more time in this little charade,” Cain said. “Is it a Remington shotgun, silver barrel engraved with Irish roses, circa 1942?”
“No, it isn’t,” Joe said.
“Then it isn’t mine. That’s the only firearm I own. If you don’t believe me, check.”
“The gun used belonged to Giovanni Bracato,” Annabel said.
“Then I suggest you find him and ask him why he decided to use Agent Kyle for target practice.” She said Kyle’s name with as much sarcasm as possible. “Wait, I forgot. There’s no link between Kyle and Big Gino. At least not anymore. It sounds like Bracato made sure of that.”
“I’m trying to locate Mr. Bracato and his sons, but haven’t had much luck,” Annabel said.
“And what? You want me to help you?” Cain stood and laughed. “Call the investigators you put on Barney’s case, Agent. After what you told me today, they should be more than capable of finding things that are lost, because so far they’ve done a beautiful job of finding things that weren’t there at all.” She tapped Muriel’s shoulder and started for the door.
“We’re not done, Ms. Casey.”
“Sure we are, Agent Hicks. You don’t need help with anything. If it doesn’t exist or doesn’t fit in the hole you created, you make it up as you go along. So much for honor and duty, huh? You and your minions are nothing but a pack of lying dirt bags.” She opened the door and faced them once more. “And you call me the criminal. If I was I could learn something from you, because compared to you, I’d be a rank amateur.”
*
Anthony waited in the next interview room, sitting down in the same position Cain had. He showed no emotion when Annabel walked in and sat down. “I never thought I’d be on this end of things,” he said, trying to be flip.