Page 19 of Bait and Switch
“Bless the caffeine. I take back all the mean things I was thinking about you making me hurry,” Gabe muttered. He clipped his seat belt and then accepted the twenty-ounce thermal mug like the sacred offering it was.
“You’re the one who said they wanted you ASAP. Did they say anything specific when they called?” Elton checked the rearview mirror and began to back onto the roadway.
“It was that asshole Spurring who called and nope, nothing specific. He opened with the fact that he was surprised I hadn’t skipped town. Which, I suppose, doesn’t bode well.”
“I’ll wait for you again. It never hurts to have extra eyes and ears.”
Since Gabe needed a ride back home, he chose not to argue. And besides, he suspected Elton had an ulterior motive.
When they arrivedat the station, the same older woman—Althea, Gabe recalled—sat behind the desk again. She shot a quick glance at Elton, and Gabe thought he spotted the ghost of a smile. Elton’s motive wasn’t even ulterior.
“Gabriel Karne? I’ll let the deputies know you’re here.”
Again, it was Deputy Eagan who came out from the back of the station and guided him to the same interview room they’d used the day before. It still smelled like old socks. Gabe noted that the deputy looked like she hadn’t slept well. And possibly worse than a bad night of sleep, her lips were pressed into a thin line. Something was up.
“Chief Deputy Spurring will be with you as soon as he can, and possibly Chief Rizzi,” she said. “Make yourself comfortable.”
“Ah, I get the top brass two days in a row. Must be special.”
Eagan didn’t respond, but conflicting expressions on the deputy’s face told him that she had something she wanted to say but either felt she shouldn’t or had been specifically told not to.
“Don’t worry about me,” Gabe said with an eyebrow waggle and grin. “I’ll be fine. And if not, Elton will call in the cavalry.”
The deputy didn’t return his smile; she just shook her head and stepped out of the room, pulling the door shut behind her. The shaking of a head wasn’t new to him, but usually he could get people to toss him a smile. Maybe he should have been more worried than he was.
Chief Deputy Spurring made Gabe wait. Gabe wasn’t shocked, and he was sure the delay was on purpose. It was obvious that the officer liked to think he was a big fish around Heartstone, second only to his boss.
Gabe had been sipping at his coffee and cooling his heels for about half an hour when Spurring decided to make his appearance. Unlike the sheriff, the chief deputy was on the heavy side, his potbelly listing over the belt that worked overtime to hold up his slacks. He was also fighting a receding hairline and losing. Genetics sucked, but that didn’t stop Gabe from being secretly pleased that, regardless of the silver sparks, he had most of his hair.
You’re welcome for that, Chance.
“Unfortunately, Sheriff Rizzi has other business. He won’t be joining us this morning.”
That at least seemed like good news. If they had something on him, surely the sheriff would make the effort to be there.
Like he had the day before, Spurring sat down at the opposite side of the table from Gabriel. The flimsy plastic chair creaked worryingly under his weight. Gabriel remained still in his seat, his hands in his lap, refusing to squirm or shift his position. He had nothing to be nervous about. He hadn’t killed Peter.
“This interview will be recorded.” Spurring tapped the voice recorder set into the table. “This is Chief Deputy Emmett Spurring interviewing Gabriel Karne. Mr. Karne, please acknowledge you are aware that you are being recorded.”
“Yes, I am aware.” He wanted to say something more, but on the way over, Elton had made him promise not to antagonize the deputy, as if the man were a bear at a zoo. Also, Gabriel hadn’t had enough coffee to be a real pain in the ass.
He’s not worth the effort, Chance.
Noted.
“Let’s get right down to business,” Spurring said, leaning forward and tapping a pen against the spiral notebook he’d set on the surface of the table. With a flourish, he opened the book and began to thumb through the pages until he reached a page only half filled with cramped notes.
“Tell us again about the victim, about Peter Vale. From when you met him to the last time you say you saw him.”
It wouldn’t do to show his impatience with the questions, so Gabe told the deputy exactly what he’d told him and Deputy Eagan less than twenty-four hours before. The rehashing of yesterday’s statement continued, with Spurring asking questions in different ways to catch Gabe in a lie.
“You say you only saw the body after you returned from your errand?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t hear or see anything before you left?”
“No.”
