Page 138 of The Birthday List (Maysen Jar 1)

Matt circled back to the beginning, repeating a question he’d already asked, when Simmons held out a hand, stepping in.

Simmons began asking Nina questions that had nothing to do with the case. He did it for an hour. Then another. And by the time I’d been watching her in that room for nearly three hours, her shell was finally beginning to crack. They talked about her job at the coffee shop. What she’d done for Christmas last week. How she was enjoying the fresh snow.

As Simmons and Nina chatted about a movie they’d both seen recently, Matt excused himself from the interrogation room and joined me in observation.

We watched as Simmons got up and brought her a paper cup of water from the cooler in the corner. “I appreciate you coming in to visit with us today. I’m sorry it’s taking so long.”

“Can I go?”

“Soon.” Simmons sat back down. “But first I need to ask you some questions about your boyfriend.”

Nina’s face paled. “Okay.”

I raked a hand through my hair. “Where’s he going with this, Matt?”

“Fuck if I know, but he’s gotten farther with her than I did so I’m sure he’s got a plan.”

I sure as hell hoped so. The longer I watched, the tighter the ball in my gut twisted. Matt was right. There was something here. Just like him, I had a feeling about this woman, and we couldn’t afford to have Simmons fuck it up.

“Nina, I know Detective Hernandez explained that you were here because we had some questions about a murder five years ago.”

She nodded to Simmons.

“Do you remember that day at all?”

Her eyes darted to the mirror. “No.”

Lie. Her body language was all over the place. She sure as fuck remembered that day. I’d bet my life on it.

“Hmm.” Simmons hummed. “It was in May. The murder happened at a liquor store. It’s closed now, but it used to be next to the grocery store on Twenty-Third Street. Do you know which one I’m talking about?”

“Yeah. I guess.”

“Well, it was a long time ago. I can see how you’d forget something after five years. You would have been what, seventeen?”

She nodded.

“And your boyfriend, he would have been twenty-three. Is that right?”

“Um, twenty-two. He’s five years older than me.”

“You’re right.” Simmons chuckled. “I never have been good at math. Good thing one of us has some brains in here.”

Nina gave him a small smile but kept her eyes pinned on the table.

“Listen, I’ll be straight with you. We have reason to believe that your boyfriend committed the murders at the liquor store.”

Her head flew up, her eyes like saucers as she gasped.

“What the fuck?” I muttered, shifting to the edge of my seat. What was Simmons doing?

“You seem like a nice girl, Nina. But your boyfriend is mixed up in some bad stuff. We’re bringing him in later today and charging him with two counts of first-degree murder. I don’t want you to get mixed up in all of that, so I need you to think. Think hard. Where were you at the time of the murder?”

She shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. “No. No, he didn’t kill anyone.”

“This is really important, Nina.” Simmons pressed harder. “The district attorney wants to ask for the death penalty. You could be brought in as an accomplice if we can’t verify your alibi. So think. Where were you?”

A tear rolled down her cheek as she shook her head. “He didn’t kill anyone.”