Page 51 of Chilled

“Not that you weren’t...that I didn’t...” She pressed her eyelids together to shut out the hurt look in Nick’s eyes.

He thumbed away the tear then squeezed her hands and let them go. “Come on, Jensen. We have a killer to catch. Are you in or not?”

Brenna squared her shoulders. She had a murder to solve, and she couldn’t allow her own lapse in reason to get in the way. “Hell, yeah. I’m in.”

Nick lifted the carafe, poured coffee into a Styrofoam cup and handed it to her. “Then get going. I want to interview Conlin sometime this morning.”

Cradling the steaming brew in her hands, she sniffed the fragrant aroma, focusing on the coffee instead of the man following her. As she marched back to the war room, she set her poker face firmly in place and prepared to find a killer.

“Mr. Conlin,I’m Special Agent Jensen with the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation. We have a few questions we’d like to ask.”

Jason Conlin stood in the doorway to his apartment, wearing faded jeans, zipped but not buttoned, and a dingy white T-shirt that looked slept in. His dark brown hair looked like it hadn’t been combed in days. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Conlin frowned. “Why do you want to talk to me?”

The young man had just enough of a whine to his tone that it grated on Nick’s nerves. Here was a guy who’d harassed a young woman to distraction, going so far as to hit her. As far as Nick was concerned, any man who hit a woman was pretty low on the food chain and didn’t deserve any respect.

“FBI Agent Tarver and I are investigating the murder of Janine Drummond and the disappearance of three other women.”

Conlin leaned against the door jam. “What’s that got to do with me?” His eyes widened, and he straightened. “You’re not accusing me, are you?”

Nick had to give Brenna credit for maintaining a calm, professional tone. “No, we aren’t, but we have a few questions for you regarding the case.”

“I didn’t kill no one, and I don’t know nothin’ about them.” Conlin stepped back and tried to close the door.

Before he got the door half closed, Nick placed his foot inside the door. “Mr. Conlin, it would be in your best interest to cooperate with us. If, as you say, you aren’t involved in the murder, your answers might assist us in determining who might be.”

Jason’s eyes narrowed to slits and stared from Brenna to Nick and back to Brenna again. “Don’t I know you?”

Brenna nodded. “I used to be a police officer in Riverton.”

“Yeah, you’re the she-cop that gave me that DUI.” Jason crossed his arms over his chest. “I lost my job at the university over that.”

“Driving Under the Influence is illegal, Mr. Conlin. I was only doing my job.”

Jason’s lip curled into a snarl. “You cost me my job.”

Brenna stood taller, her expression one hundred percent professional. “You’re lucky you didn’t cost someone his life.”

Nick almost smiled as Jason studied Brenna for a moment and then turned to him. “What do you want to know?”

“Let’s start with where you’ve been since last Wednesday night,” Brenna said.

Giving Brenna the side of his face, Jason spoke to Nick, effectively telling Brenna he didn’t want to talk with her.

The only sign of annoyance she betrayed was a slight tightening of her lips. If Nick hadn’t been so familiar with those full, luscious lips, he wouldn’t have seen it.

“I worked Wednesday and Thursday until six, came home and watched television. Friday, I ordered pizza and watched a video by myself.”

“Did you have anyone with you during any of that time? A friend, a girlfriend?” Nick asked.

Jason ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up even more than it already did. “No.” His tone was abrupt.

“Did you leave your apartment Wednesday evening for anything?” Brenna asked.

“I went down to the Valley Dairy convenience store for a six pack around ten or so. I don’t remember exactly.” Jason shot a glare at Brenna. “And no, I didn’t drink and drive.”

“Jason, did you know Dr. Drummond?” Nick asked.

“Yeah. She was the shrink the court ordered me to see.”

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