Page 51 of The Perfect Accomplice

He rested his forehead on the dirt briefly, before looking up again.

"All right,' he began, "I was—."

“Hold on,” she interrupted. “Let’s make this official and have Detective Hernandez read you your rights before you say anything else.

Ryan gave Vega the Miranda warning, then Jessie said, “Now go ahead.”

“I took some of Ms. Morris’s jewelry when I went into the house to use the bathroom,” he said, wincing at the admission. “I thought that was why you were busting me.”

“Where is it?” Jessie asked.

“I put the pieces in the glove box of the truck,” he muttered.

“Is this the first time you’ve done that?” she wanted to know.

“No,” he admitted. “More like the fourth.”

“Is your boss, Van Hart, involved?” Ryan wondered. “Is this some kind of jewelry theft ring?”

"No," he said. "Karl's a good guy. I'm going through a divorce, and money is tight. I've been pawning the stuff I took to help pay some bills. It was a desperate, stupid thing to do, I know. But I swear, I didn't kill anyone. I'll take a lie detector test to prove it if that helps."

Jessie glanced over at Ryan, who looked as crushed as she felt. Lie detector tests didn’t hold much sway with her, but the fact that Vega was volunteering to take one did. Either he was guilty and thought he could beat it, or he wasn’t involved and was willing to do whatever it took to prove it.

They would go through the motions, take him back to the station to interrogate him and check his alibi, but she doubted this was their man.

“Let’s take him in,” she said, knowing she sounded despondent.

As Ryan pulled Vega to his feet, she stared up at the sky. It was starting to get dark. She couldn’t help but ask herself if the sudden chill she felt was from the cold or what she feared might be coming later tonight.

CHAPTER THIRTY

She let Ryan drive back downtown.

They were still in the hills, but she felt confident that he wouldn’t push the speed limit as they traversed the twisting roads. They were approaching the base of the hills when a call came in. It was Cutter. She put him on speaker.

“What have you got, Sergeant?” she asked, trying to sound more chipper than she felt.

“You asked for any new updates,” he said. “I’ve got Dr. Roone on the other line, and he says he has one for you. Can I conference him in?”

"Go for it," she said excitedly, pulling the Ziploc-bagged hair from the glove compartment as if that might somehow impact the results they got.

“Okay, doctor,” Cutter said a moment later, “you’re on with Detective Hernandez and Ms. Hunt.”

“All right,” Roone replied, his voice gravelly and tired-sounding. "I'm sorry we haven't been able to meet in person, but I'm glad we can touch base now."

“Don’t worry about it, doctor,” Ryan told him. “What have you got for us?”

“I’ll get straight to the point,” he said. “Apparently, that hair embedded in Chloe Henshall's neck tissue was from a dog."

Jessie felt herself deflate at the words. As she tossed the plastic bag back in the glove compartment, Ryan said what she was thinking.

“Thanks for the info, but I’m not sure how much that helps us. We already know she had a dog. This tidbit doesn’t really change the game.”

“I understand,” Roone said. "I just thought you should know. Sorry, I couldn't give you more.”

“Thanks anyway,” Jessie told him. “Please don’t hesitate to call if you have other updates. Even if they seem unimportant, they could be valuable. Same for you, Sergeant Cutter.”

“Of course,” Cutter said. She could hear the disappointment in his voice too.

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