Page 40 of Say Now
"Maybe I should go and come back tomorrow," Claire said."There’s only so much gloating I can take from Captain Kent."
"See if you can find out anything from the files that Internal Affairs sealed.Whoever had Lizzy drop the case was worried about someone finding something.Maybe there’s a clue there.If they started down a path, then that might have triggered someone or a group of people to threaten her."
"That may make up for me losing out on this one.I know I’m not technically losing out, but it sure feels like it.Although if I help to expose any corruption within the department, that’s not going to make me popular around here."
"It might do some damage initially, but no good cop wants a corrupt cop.Just be careful.Tommy needs to go to jail, but we still need to protect him.See what you can get, but make sure no one knows you’re looking into it."
"Got it," Claire replied.
"And there’s something else you can look into.I’ll send you the address of a construction site where the soil might have come from.See if you can get any CCTV from the area.If you get Tommy on camera, we don't need the confession, and you become the hero."
"I like the sound of that," Claire admitted."Text me what you have."
"I will," Alison said."I’ll talk to you as soon as we’re done interviewing him, and I’ll let you know how it goes."
"Yeah, okay."
Alison watched Claire go, and then she went in search of coffee.She hadn't slept much on her first night in town, and she hadn't slept at all last night after spending the night at Dr.Laurent’s house.The barman had confirmed an exact time that Dr.Laurent was in the bar, making it impossible for him to get to Missoula to kill Dr.Gates.If he was ruled out of one murder, he was ruled out of all three.The arrest of Tommy ruled him out completely.
Alison found the small canteen and poured herself some coffee.She usually took it black, but added some cream this time to cool it and drink it faster.She didn't feel sleepy, even though it was getting late, but she wanted to be on the top of her game for the interview with their killer.She took two large swallows before adding more coffee.
She saw Dale walking through the main bullpen and went out to meet him.
"Soon, I think," he answered without waiting for the question.
"What happened with Marcus Webb?"Alison asked."Is he still in custody?"
"Yeah, he is for now, but I'm not sure how much longer we can keep him.I have a judge I’m on good terms with, and he agreed to an extension to his arrest, given the case, but we don't have anything except for the possibility that he was planning something, or he might plan something.He may have targeted the same victims, but he won't go after any of the others now with the hype surrounding the case.Is it worth pushing for conspiracy to harm?"
"Probably not," Alison said."If it ever goes to trial, I don't see a judge convicting him based on that.I don't like letting him loose, but maybe you keep tabs on him."
"Yeah, all right," Kent said."Hey, I hope your special agent is not too upset with how this went down."
"She’ll be fine," Alison said."She’s a lot tougher than he looks.The city is in good hands with her around."
"Yeah, I don't know about that," Kent scoffed."It was a good thing I was around to clean up her mess."
"What was your plan?"Alison asked."If we hadn't called with Castellano’s name, what would you have done next?"
Kent’s jaw tightened.He didn't like the questioning of his authority."It would have all come to light eventually."
"I’m sure it would have," Alison said."I’m just thankful Special Agent Martinez’s great work saved someone else from being killed before any of this came to light.It’s a good thing we’re all working on the same team.You brought Tommy in, and Martinez told you exactly who to bring in.Great work all around."
Kent didn't like hearing that.Alison knew she was pushing him, but she couldn’t help herself.Itwasa team effort, whether he liked it or not.He might have gone days without knowing anything about Castellano without Claire’s help.
"Sir," Officer Carlton said, approaching."They’re ready to talk with you."
Captain Kent smiled, his anger bubbling just below the surface.He turned to Alison, his expression similar to that of a parent allowing a child to have a treat.
"Are you ready to do this?"he asked.
"I’m ready," she said
CHAPTER TWENTY
Kent strode off toward the interview room, not looking back to check that Alison was following him.She was following, but wasn’t right behind him as she made her way to the interview room.She only knew Tommy Castellano from what she had read in the reports.Now, it was time to sit face to face with him.
Captain Kent and an officer were waiting at the door of the interview room for Alison.The officer was there to guard the door, making sure no one went in or out without permission.
