Page 33 of Evil Eyed
I nodded but didn’t say anything. He slapped a folder down on the table in front of him and started shuffling through papers. I couldn’t help but notice a greasy spot on his shirt to the right of his tie. It’d only been a couple of hours since he’d come to the house, but he looked more rumpled. His tie was lopsided, his shirt stained, and his hair looked unkempt, as if he’d passed through a wind tunnel.
I checked the younger cop—I couldn’t remember his name—and he was grinning at Vivi. Maybe that was why he looked more put together than the older detective. He’d slicked his hair back and straightened his tie so he could make eyes at my friend.
“When was the last time you saw your ex-husband?”
“I don’t recall.”
Detective Beasley looked down at the papers in front of him and then back up at me with a creepy, knowing smile on his face. “Really? That’s odd. You were seen at your former home where Mr. Blake resides just a few weeks ago.”
The way he worded it was strange. I hadn’t been “seen.” As soon as my feet touched the ground, I’d been sucked into the fountain and transported to Fhroig’s lair. If I’d been seen on some kind of neighborhood surveillance camera, they’d also have seen a gargoyle trying to fly me up out of the trap. It would have been all over the news.
:He knows,:Doran said grimly.:He’s definitely on Evil Eye’s payroll.:
Instead of being worried or scared, I was oddly relieved. Even better, it pissed me off. I didn’t need this cop yanking my chain, trying to get me to slip up and reveal something that we both knew no human would believe.
I gave the detective a small smile. “I didn’t see my ex-husband at the townhome.”
“Oh? Why were you there?”
“I wanted to celebrate my freedom.”
“But you didn’t see Mr. Blake?”
“No.”
“Why not? Was he not there?”
“I didn’t go up to the door.”
“What did you do?”
“I ended up going to a bar with my friends to celebrate instead.”
The cop gave me a slimy smile. “So you chickened out.”
I resisted the urge to mouth off something snarky, or defend myself from snide comments like that. I didn’t commit a crime that night.
He flipped a page over in the folder, studied the paper a moment, and then pushed it across to me without saying anything.
It was upside down so I couldn’t make out much other than it was a picture. Until I turned it over and saw me, Vivi, and Hammer walking into the cave where we’d all almost died.
When I raised my gaze back up to his, the detective asked, “Do you recognize the location?”
“Yes.”
Boss Man slid the paper over in front of himself to look at it and then quietly passed it to Vivi. I heard her sharp inhale but I didn’t look at her.
“Can you state for the record where this picture was taken?”
“A cave in Roanoke Park.”
“And who’s in the picture with you?”
“My friends, Viviana Rourke and Hammer. I don’t know his legal name.”
“What were you doing there?”
Thinking quickly, I pulled my satchel up on top of the table and pulled out my notebook. “I’m an artist. I like to paint interesting scenery. Here’s one I did of the cave that day.”
