Page 79 of Winter
F.B.I. Agent Trent Burke leaned back in his seat and studied the young man in front of him. Olly Rosenbaum had refused a lawyer and just asked that his sister be with him during questioning. There was something so guileless about the kid, and he had answered every question, Trent felt, with honesty and frankness. No, he had no idea how Nancy’s body had gotten in his car, nor indeed how he had ended up where he did. No, he had no motive to kill her. No, he wouldn’t describe his relationship with Inca Sardee as obsessive.
Trent glanced in the two-way mirror, knowing the cop from the island, Knox, was watching. He’d banned him from the interview even before he found out he was close to the main suspect’s sister.
Jesus.Trent shook his head.What a goddamn mess.
There was a knock at the door. Trey Ford walked in, a tray of coffee in his hands, a folder tucked under his arm. Olly and Luna thanked him for the drink. Trent took the folder and opened it, reading through the contents. Ford watched him carefully, and eventually, Trent nodded and turned back to Olly. The younger man looked exhausted; his sister, tense but protective.
“So, Olly.” Trent kept his manner relaxed. “You want to tell me where you’ve been going nights?”
Olly sighed. “The city. I’ve been moonlighting, I guess you’d call it, working construction.” He leaned forward and dropped his head in his hands for a moment. Luna, paler than ever under the strip light, rubbed his back. He took a deep breath.
“Thing is, I got myself into bad debt buying two new places. So I got in touch with an old friend and asked him if he could hook me up with some work. And I guess I just wanted one thing in my life that was just mine. So I didn’t tell anyone. Not Inca,” he smiled at Luna. “Not even you, sis.”
Trent nodded. “I get it. We’re going to have to check with your friend, you realize, and whether you’ve broken any conditions of your employment, well, I’ll leave that up to your boss.” He glanced over to Ford, who shrugged. “Well, we’ve got a long way to go here, so, take a break for five minutes, and we’ll be back. Ford?”
Outside, Knox was waiting. “Thoughts?”
Trent shook his head. “Something’s not sitting right. We’re gonna need more time, and I think we need to take him back to the city. He’s too close to everything here,” he added, throwing Knox a meaningful look. Ford nodded.
“I think that’s a good idea—look, I’m not trying to interfere, but seems to me, Knox, you already got a lot on your plate without this. Let Trent deal with Olly. Keep out of it and handle what’s been going on with the murder scene. I know the victim was a friend. Take some time.”
The door behind them opened, and Luna stepped out. She looked as if she’d been crying, but she gave them a weak smile. Knox put a hand on her shoulder.
“I think my brother should have a lawyer now,” she said quietly. Ford nodded and reached for the phone.
“They’re going to take him to the city for questioning, honey.”
She nodded, sighing. “Okay … well, I should go with him.”
Trent made a face. “Honestly, I think you’re better off here, Miss Rosenbaum. We could be a long time.”
Luna looked at Knox, who nodded. “Sweetheart, it’s for the best. Inca and Tyler are going to need you too.”
Luna’s face crumpled, and she hurriedly dabbed her eyes. “I don’t want him to be alone.”
“He won’t be.” Ford was back. He squeezed her hand. “I’ll look out for him best I can. I promise.”
Knox drove Luna to the Winters’ house. “I want you to stay with them and be with people when I’m working.” He glanced over, his face apologetic. “Sorry, I don’t mean to dictate – “
“Iget it,” she said with a small smile. “Thank you. God, what a mess.”
He pulled the car up to the curb outside Tommaso’s place, and they sat there for a moment. Knox reached over and took her hand.
“I’m sorry for all this crap, Luna. For what it’s worth … I don’t think Olly’s a killer. I had my suspicions, my doubts early on, but …”
“It’s your job to be suspicious of his kind of behavior.” Her voice was soft and trembling. “It’s my job as his sister to believe in him. And I didn’t.” And she started to cry.
Knox cameto pick Inca and Tyler up the next morning. He nodded at the suitcase in the hallway. “What’s that?”
“Tyler’s going to Connecticut. Nancy’s brothers are in a residential home; he doesn’t want them finding out from anyone else.” Inca lowered her voice. “They have Alzheimer’s. I don’t know how much they’ll understand about this, but he has to try. I’m going to take him to the airport after you’ve dropped us off.” Inca was pale; there were dark circles under eyes. Tyler came out to greet Knox, his own face drawn, his body sunken with grief.
“I’ll take you to the airport,” Knox offered. “No point in you getting a cab when I have a perfectly good car.”
“Okay, thanks.”
At the morgue, Tyler stayed in Knox’s car, not even looking at the building. Knox led Inca to the viewing suite.
“The post mortem was done this morning,” Knox told her, and she nodded, drawing in a deep breath as they stepped into the room. The medical examiner smiled sympathetically at her. Knox put his hand on her back as the doctor lifted the sheet. Inca could not help the little cry of distress. Nancy’s face was peaceful now, her eyes closed, but the shock was not lessened at seeing her so brutalized.
