Page 42 of The Husband's Secret
Ben laughed, a dry sound. “Point me in the right direction.”
Evidently Scott had not been the intruder…but even if this suspect confessed, could she really trust his words were true?
Huntsville Police Department
Wheeler Avenue
Huntsville, 1:00 p.m.
Brenda wasn’t surewhat she had expected, but the man secured in the interview room wasn’t it. She stood in the observation booth, staring through the glass at him, wondering why he would possibly want to talk to her.
According to his driver’s license, the intruder was Dirk Lanier, thirty-five, of Birmingham. His prints weren’t in any database and the driver’s license was apparently a fake—there was no way to confirm anything about him. Ben called him a ghost.
Lanier sat at a table in the center of the beige room. He looked to be of medium height and build. Muscular. His head was shaven clean, but his jaw sported a five-o’clock shadow. Hestared steadily at the glass as if he could see those watching him, but that wasn’t how it worked.
Brenda and Ben had been escorted to the observation booth by Detective Shelton. Another detective, Reginald Truss, had joined them.
“Because he insists on speaking to you privately,” Shelton said, “he agreed to be secured. We didn’t want you going in there otherwise. His hands are cuffed behind his back, and we have shackles on his ankles that are secured to the floor. That’s why we had to use this room. It’s the only one outfitted for that sort of thing.”
Brenda nodded. “Okay.”
“Do not get close to him,” Truss cautioned, picking up from there. “Walk through the door and sit down on this side of the table. If he gives you any lip, just get up and walk right back out. He’s already admitted to being the one who came into your home. He just refuses to tell us why or who sent him. He will only talk to you about that.”
“Okay,” Brenda repeated. She wanted to get in there and see what the man had to say. If there was any chance he could tell them something more…she was game.
Shelton opened the door to lead her from the booth. Ben gave her a nod. “I’ll be watching,” he promised.
She managed a smile. No matter how ready she was to do this, she was still nervous. Damned nervous. She told herself that if this intruder had wanted to really hurt her he could have when he was in her house. Maybe he’d been ordered to do no harm since the people who hired him wanted something from her.
Trouble was, she had no idea what they wanted or where it was.
Just outside the door that exited the booth was the door that led into the interview room. Shelton opened it and said to theman seated inside, “You’ve got five minutes. Pull any crap and you’ll wish you hadn’t.”
The man, Dirk Lanier, said nothing. He never even looked at Shelton. He just stared at Brenda. She figured it was a mind game. He wanted her scared.
Well, he’d succeeded…a little. But she wasn’t about to show him just how much.
She did as Shelton had instructed. She walked to the vacant chair on her side of the table, pulled it out and sat down. She stared directly at the man across the table and waited. No need to attempt small talk. She wasn’t even sure how that was done with a man like this.
“Your husband left you in a world of hurt, lady.”
“Well, he never was a very good husband.” She held her hands together in her lap, twisting them now as her nerves started to jangle.
“Not much of a daddy either,” the man added with a sneer.
Brenda said nothing. What was the point?
“If you—” he lowered his voice to barely a whisper “—want that little girl of yours to be safe, there’s something you should know.”
Heart pounding harder, Brenda leaned slightly forward to ensure she didn’t miss what he said next. “I’m listening.”
He did the same, but his move put their noses so close that his would have touched hers had she not drawn back slightly. No small amount of fear crowded into her throat. She struggled to ignore it. To pay attention to how he smelled…to the color of his eyes. Hazel with a distinct hint of silver. Was he the intruder who had pushed her into the wall? She couldn’t say. She forced herself to take another deep breath. Sweaty flesh was the only scent she detected.
“You better listen good,” he murmured, “because I’m only going to say this once.”
She nodded stiffly.
“And—” he narrowed his eyes at her “—if you tell the cops what I say, you’ll be sorry.”
