Page 58 of Keeping Collette

With a sigh, he turned and headed for the door. He scooped up the keys to lock her safely inside while he went and got his laptop. Maybe when he opened his email there would be some good news about the man who’d lured Courtney away. They were closing in on him, and the sooner he was off the streets, the better.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Deal asked her as they drove toward the police station.

“Not really, but I know this is something I have to do.” Her stomach churned, and the little bit of food she’d been able to consume that morning, swirled in her stomach.

It had been three days since her discharge from the hospital, and she was getting stronger with every passing day. Though, that didn’t mean she was entirely ready to face the man who’d been talking to Courtney.

The police had arrested him during a sting where an undercover police woman was portraying a teenager, and when he’d enticed her to meet him—at the same place where Courtney had last been seen—they’d closed in on him.

At the moment, he was remaining closed lipped, but because of the fairly good relationship the guys at Alliez had with the police–and maybe a little push from Julian at the FBI–they were going to be talking to him next. Ox and Irish were already at the station waiting for them. She and Deal would be on the opposite side of the glass watching the proceedings.

“You know that if anything gets too hard, we can leave. You just have to say the word. No one is going to know that you’re there.”

“I know.” Everyone had explained the procedure to her. Ox had even come to her apartment to go over the questions he was going to ask, and wanted her input.

Through it all, Deal had remained by her side. He’d been there when she’d woken from her nap that first day home. He’d left at night, but only after he’d stayed for dinner and they’d watched a movie. They’d also shared many hot kisses, and she was wanting more, but Deal was holding back, and she knew it was because of her injuries. His consideration of her was tenfold. She’d been given the all clear by her doctor the previous day.

Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about sleeping with Deal, but maybe she needed to take things into her own hands, her body was feeling much better than it had been straight after the accident. Afterwards though–she had to get through this first. Although thinking about her and Deal doing more than kissing helped settle her anxiety about what was coming up.

Twenty minutes later, she was sitting on a metal chair looking through the two-way glass at Craig Onslow. His hands were cuffed and rested on the metal table in front of him. Ox sat opposite him, and Irish stood in the corner, arms crossed with a bored expression on his face. She doubted Irish was anything but bored. Her few interactions with him had shown her he may look indifferent, but he was aware of everything going on around him.

“Here’s your water.” Deal placed a plastic cup in front of her and took the seat next to her. He rested his hand on her thigh, the weight comforting.

Ox cleared his throat, and she tensed, knowing that things were about to start. “Can you state for the record your name and date of birth, please.”

“Craig Onslow. February 12th, 1985.” He didn’t lift his head to look at Ox.

“I’m going to place some pictures in front of you, and I want you to confirm whether you recognize them.” Ox slowly dropped five photos on the metal table, and from the briefing they had, Courtney’s photo would be placed in the middle, right in front of him. It was a picture Collette had provided, so she recalled exactly what Courtney was wearing, and the laughing smile her sister wore. It was one of the last pictures Collette had taken of her.

Craig kept his gaze down, not even bothering to glance at the photos. Through their investigations they were able to connect the man to four girls, other than Courtney who he’d been chatting to. Did he feel remorse for what he’d done?

Did he even know that two of the girls he’d gaslit had been killed, and three were missing?

Unlikely. He probably didn’t even go and meet up with them. If he did that, did he think it was strange that not one of them had messaged him asking why he hadn’t appeared?

Those were the questions Collette wanted answers for, but looking at the man through the glass, she feared that he would remain silent.

“He’s not going to say anything,” she murmured, voicing her fear out loud.

“Give them time. You know the plan. And the questions,” Deal reassured her.

She did, but she didn’t think she had the patience to wait for however long it was going to take.

Questions were asked, and all remained unanswered. Except when it required a simple yes or no, Craig seemed happy to answer those ones.

Irish stepped forward and tapped Courtney’s picture first and then the other one, still on the table in front of Craig. “These girls are dead now because they went to where you lured them. We’ve shown you the evidence of the exchanges you’ve had between them. You even confirmed that ‘Gary’ is the name you use online. And yet, here you are saying you can’t remember them.”

Where Ox’s voice has been calm and even, Irish’s was hard and demanding. He stared at the guy, and given she knew how intense his blue eyes could get, Collette was surprised Craig wasn’t crumbling.

This guy was harder than a rock. Nothing was going to crack his stoic nature. “That’s what I’m saying.”

Ox leaned back. “You really want to do this the hard way, don’t you?”

There was an edge to Ox’s voice she hadn’t heard before.

“I think it might be best if we leave,” Deal announced, the metal legs of his chair screeching across the concrete floor.