Page 49 of All He Sees
They passed by a police helicopter headed in the direction of Charles's island. Nicky hoped they'd find something there.
In the meantime, Charles was in custody. And he'd talk soon enough.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
At the Vale precinct, Nicky stood outside of the interrogation room with her phone pressed to her ear, waiting for the voice on the other end to pick up. In the meantime, she watched through the double-sided glass as Ken sat in the interrogation room with a passed-out Charles in front of him. He hadn't woken up yet, but Nicky needed an update.
After a couple of rings, a voice came through: "This is Officer Daniels."
"Officer Daniels, it's Agent Lyons," Nicky said. "Have you found anything on the island?"
"Nothing other than illegal animals, ma'am," said the officer. "No sign of any girls."
"Okay, keep looking," Nicky said. "Give me a call if anything turns up."
"Sure thing, Agent Lyons," said Officer Daniels.
Nicky hung up the phone. She wanted to tell Officer Daniels to keep looking hard, but she knew there was nothing else he could do. She drummed her fingers against the glass. She hoped it would all be over soon. But then again, maybe not. Maybe it would never be over.
The only thing she could do now was get in there and demand answers from Charles. His naptime was over.
Nicky stormed into the interrogation room. Ken looked up at her nonchalantly.
"Nothing yet," he said.
Ken had a glass of water in front of him. Nicky picked it up and threw it at Charles, splashing him. Instantly, his eyes popped open, and he gasped for air.
"Wha--" he said. He turned to Nicky. "Who the fuck are you?"
"My bad," said Nicky. "I couldn't wait to find out what bullshit lie you were going to tell us."
"How the hell--?" Ken said. "How did you know he was pretending to be passed out?"
"I didn't," Nicky said. "I just thought it was worth a shot."
Charles wiped the water off his face. "Is that your interrogation technique? You just throw water on your suspect?"
"Well, yeah," Nicky said. "You're not my suspect. You're just a person of interest in a kidnapping case. To be honest, I don't know what to say to people like you." She sighed. "Where are the girls, Charles?"
"What?" Charles said, stunned.
"Where are the girls?" Nicky repeated.
Charles's eyes looked from Ken to Nicky. "The girls?" he asked again. "What girls? I don't know anything about any girls. My God, I need another drink. How much do I have to pay you to bring me an ice-cold mojito?"
Nicky's teeth ground. "Mr. Medina, this is not a joke. You're in serious trouble."
He let out a long sigh, like they were boring him. "How much? A few hundred thousand? My God, don't tell me a million? That would be the second most expensive mojito I've ever had." He winked, making Nicky's stomach curl. This man couldn't be serious for a moment in his life.
"You're in a lot of trouble," she said.
"Yeah, yeah," said Charles. "Just bring me a fucking mojito." He rubbed his temples. "I'm in a lot of fucking trouble, aren't I? But I don't know about any girls, that's the truth. Hell, I don't remember the last few days."
Nicky grabbed the glass of water on the table. "Well, you're going to be remembering them."
"Listen, buddy," Ken said. "We know you abducted those girls. No use trying to deny it."
Charles sat back in his chair and shook his head. "Well, I'm flattered by your faith in me. But I really have no idea what you're talking about."
