Page 95 of Boss

Part Three

Chapter 19

Kassidy wiped her tears. There was nothing left of the story to tell. She looked up into the eyes of the detectives. Both stared at her as if she was lying through her teeth.

“It’s what happened. All of it.”

“So according to you, Tarek Marshall kidnapped you, held you hostage to wait for a man who he hired to kill you, and then saved your life and became your hero by killing two other men?”

“No. That’s not what I said. He didn’t hire Cash for that reason. He only kidnapped me to get Daniel and I to tell him the truth. He was going to let me go, both of us.”

“Right, because the best way to the truth is to take a hostage,” the detective smirked. “And Daniel, or what is left of him is dead.”

“You aren’t listening. Cash was to bring Daniel to the ranch. He wasn’t supposed to kill any of us. Don’t you see? This is Tarek’s father and brother. They wanted us both dead.”

“Alek Marshall The oil tycoon wanted to murder his own son? Why, Because of this securities fraud stuff that he was already planning to pin on him?” Detective Carter asked.

“I don’t know why, that family is crazy. Even Tarek doesn’t know all the secrets they keep. What I’m telling you is the truth. Tarek’s innocent.”

Detective Grason returned to the interrogation room. And in his hand he had her purse. He dumped the contents all over the table. Lipstick and mascara rolled off and her wallet, cell phone, even her eyeglass case fell out.

“Where is it? This thumb drive you said you had? We picked up the purse from inside of Daniel’s car. All of the contents were in there.”

“I dunno, maybe Cash took it?” she shrugged.

“But you just said Cash told you he wanted it from you. Right, so where is it?”

“I don’t know!” she shouted at the detectives. She put her face in her hands. “I told you everything.”

“Ms. Turner,” Detective Carter touched her arm. She lifted her face from her hands. “I want to show you something,” he said.

She looked over to the monitor in the room. It flashed on with a picture of Tarek and Daniel in the parking lot of the Busy Bee Barbecue. They were arguing. Kassidy watched and recalled every detail of that moment. Tarek hit Daniel and knocked him down. She jumped on his back to stop the fight and was thrown off. She could see herself fall unconscious to the floor.

“So your story is that this was self-defense?” Detective Grason asked. “Look at that. Look.”

“It was...”

“What, Ms. Turner? It was what?” The detective pressed.

“It’s what you see. We were fighting. But... see, we left Daniel there. He was alive.”

The camera footage caught Tarek trying to run Daniel over. And then Daniel got up from the ground and ran back to his car, got behind the wheel and sped off in pursuit. Things she didn’t know because she was unconscious.

“That’s it, boys, you’ve had your fun.” A tall-distinguished man in a pinstriped blue suit walked into the room. She didn’t know him. She had never seen him before. Detective Grason stood.

“Who are you?” Detective Carter asked.

“My name is Thaddeus Muntz and I’m Ms. Turner's attorney,” The man handed a card over to Detective Carter who read it and then passed it to Grason. “You’ve met with my client without reading her, her rights.”

“She isn’t charged with anything,” Detective Carter said. “But we did read her, her rights. And we got it on tape.”

The older gentleman with silver hair looked to Kassidy. “Then I can presume she’s free to go? It appears you got a statement as well.”

“We may need to question her in the future, but yes she’s free to go,” Detective Grason answered.

“Ms. Turner,” The man nodded to her. She picked up her purse and stuffed the contents inside. She plucked them off the floor as well.

“Oh, by the way, detectives,” Muntz called out. “Tarek Marshall has been released with your chief’s personal apology. He’s been taken to a hospital. I’m concerned that wasn’t the first stop your officers made.”

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