Page 31 of Outlaw Ridge: Reed
“Understood,” Jesse said, and he flashed her a smile that Hallie was certain had charmed many women. It clearly worked on Helen because she smiled, too, as she led Jesse into her house.
Reed set the shotgun aside and went closer to Hallie. “Why don’t we move this conversation to the station?”
His long, slow glance around them reminded her that being outside, especially without a Kevlar vest, wasn’t the smart thing for any of them right now. Hallie nodded.
“You want me to take a look at Corman’s car?” Shaw asked.
Hallie shifted her attention back to Corman. “Do we need to get a warrant for that, or will you cooperate with a search?”
Scowling, Corman yanked his keys from his pocket and handed them to Shaw. “Search it. I’ve got nothing to hide.”
Considering how fast Corman had agreed to that, there probably wasn’t anything incriminating in the vehicle, but Shaw might find something.
“All right,” Hallie said to Corman, motioning for him to follow Reed and her. “Let’s go to the station for an interview and so you can be charged with trespassing. For now, let’s see the note.”
Corman yanked it from his front jeans pocket and thrust it at her as he got into the back seat of the cruiser. Hallie got in as well, read it and passed it to Reed once he was behind the wheel. The note was exactly as Corman had said it was, but that didn’t mean it was the truth.
“Satisfied?” Corman snarled.
“Not especially,” she snarled back. “I understand you’ve already seen these photos, but I want you to take another look at them.”
Before she’d gotten out the last word, Reed had already taken out his phone and was pulling up the pictures.
“Let’s talk about these,” Hallie insisted, holding them up for Corman to see. His eyes flickered with recognition, but he kept up the steely expression. “Talk,” she ordered.
Corman folded his arms over his chest and stared out the window, the stance of a school kid pout. “That dick reporter. He’d been sucked in by your mother.”
Probably, but Hallie didn’t address it. “Tell me about the photos.”
“Like I told the dick reporter, I don’t remember them.”
Hallie pinned him with a flat look. “Withholding evidence is a crime, and right now, as we speak techs are analyzing these pictures for any and all details. So, it would benefit you to tell us what you know.”
Corman stayed quiet for a couple more moments before he huffed. “I think they were taken about fifteen years ago,” he finally said. “It was a barbeque my sister wanted me to attend with her. I don’t recall who hosted the party, the picture being taken or Kip being there, all right?”
Reed turned in the seat and stared at Corman. “That’s a lotnotto remember, especially when you barely glanced at the pictures and didn’t give them much thought.”
“I don’t need to look or think harder about it. I was just there because my sister dragged me along. I didn’t know anyone else there, and I sure as hell don’t recall Kip. If I had, I would have said something at the trial.”
Hallie exchanged a glance with Reed, who sighed. “Why don’t you take another look at the pictures?” Reed prompted. “Maybe you’ll see something that will jog your memory.”
After another long hesitation, Corman did look again, his gaze settling on the image of his sister. Something went through his eyes. Something that Hallie couldn’t interpret.
Guilt maybe?
“Are those pictures the reason my sister was murdered?” Corman came out and asked.
A great question, but Hallie didn’t have the answer. “Are you sure you don’t recognize anyone else in the photos?” she pressed as Reed turned on the engine and started the drive back to the station.
Something else seemed to shift in Corman’s expression, and she saw a hint of that grief again. But Hallie reminded herself that Corman could be feeling that particular emotion because he might have been the one who’d murdered Elenore.
“I seem to recall my sister mentioning someone named Teddy at the party,” Corman muttered. “She was dating him or else wanted to date him. I don’t think things worked out between them though because when we left the party, she was pissed.”
“Do you remember about what?” Hallie asked.
Corman shook his head, and a muscle flickered and clenched in his jaw. “But unless those techs you mentioned are totally useless, they could find out who else is in those pictures. You could figure out if someone at that party killed her. Unless you don’t want the truth to come out because it’ll prove you’re guilty.”
She rolled her eyes at his one-note slams and turned back around in the seat. They might be able to get more from Corman once he was in the interview room, but Hallie figured there was no chance whatsoever that he’d tell them anything that might incriminate himself.
