Page 43 of The Perfect Deception
Any hope of finding it in that moment disappeared when the microwave dinged, snapping her out of her musings.Before she could try to get back into that headspace, Officer Devery popped his head into the break room.He looked excited, even a little winded, like he’d been running.
“I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”He was short of breath as he said it.
“Why?What’s wrong?”A small ball of anxiety appeared magically in her gut.
“Someone just walked into the station lobby and I thought you should know.”
“Who?”She did her best not to snap at the kid.He was just pumped and clearly unaware that she wasn’t in the mood to guess.
“Tommy Golden!
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
It wasn’t just Golden.
Jessie saw that he’d brought his lawyer too.
By the time she and Devery learned that, they were already in interrogation room 2.Ryan stood outside the door with his phone.When he saw them, he shoved it back in his pocket.
“I was just about to text you.I assume you heard.”
“Devery here told me.Said Golden just walked into the station lobby?”
Ryan nodded.“That’s right.He turned himself in with his lawyer by his side.”
“Who is it?”
“Bridget Halloran.”Ryan sighed as he said it.“She’s not going to be fun to deal with.”
Jessie had never met her.“Why not?”
“She’s very smart andverycombative.She also loves publicity, so this thing could go off the rails pretty quick.”
“Well, let’s find out.”
They were about to enter the room when Devery spoke up.
“Any chance you want a uniformed officer in there, just for intimidation purposes?”
Ryan gave him a sour smile.
“Bridget Halloran doesn’t get intimidated very easily.And no offense, kid, but I don’t think you’re the one to change that.”
“Let him in, Ryan,” Jessie said.“He wants to eventually join HSS and this could be a good learning experience for him.”
Ryan frowned but relented.“Okay, but not a word.Got it?”
Devery, a goofy smile on his face, nodded vigorously.He opened the door and Jessie entered, followed by Ryan.Golden and his lawyer were seated at the bolted-down metal table in the middle of the room.Golden had completely changed clothes since this morning.
Instead of the blue Pinnacle Club trainer’s shirt and workout shorts, he was wearing blue jeans and a gray sweatshirt with a hoodie.Most surprisingly his hair, which had been dirty blond this morning, was now jet black.He was a man who clearly knew how to alter his appearance on the fly, a skill that Jessie found quite suspicious under the circumstances.
His attorney’s look was equally dramatic.Bridget Halloran was wearing a tailored, emerald green business skirt, which popped against her ivory skin.The outfit also contrasted dramatically with her fiery red hair, which cascaded down to her mid-back.When she looked at Jessie, her green eyes flashed.So did her painfully white teeth, which gleamed as she offered a wide, shark-like grin.
“Nice to see you again, Detective Hernandez.”Halloran’s eyes never left Jessie.“Ms.Hunt, I don’t think I’ve ever had the pleasure.”
“Likewise,” Jessie said, though ‘pleasure’ wasn’t the word that came to mind for her.
She and Ryan sat down, after which he launched in.“Your client already had his rights read to him, so with you by his side, I’m assuming we can dive right into it.He’s obviously here to talk.”
