"It's too pat. Her finding those gloves. Them being so perfectly preserved that we could still get evidence off them. Jinx being right below her with that connecting dumbwaiter tunnel. We just have Dawn's word that she didn't know it was there. But...what if she did? What if she knew... What if Dawn has been involved in this mess from the very beginning?"
///
She shook her head. "No, that doesn't fit-"
"Doesn't fit what? The profile that you and Tucker made up? The guy is blinded by her. He looks at Dawn and sees the woman she was seven years ago. The victim. He doesn't see who she is now."
"But you see her?" she asked carefully.
His lips thinned. "I think I may be starting to. It was Captain Hatch who sent me to question her, just following procedure, but now that I've started lining up the dots..."
"What is it that you think you see?"
"A woman who is shaped by her past. A woman who has wanted to destroy the man she held responsible for her pain."
Her arms crossed over her chest. "You're saying she's after Tucker."
"I'm saying that she could be setting the man up for a very big fall. Revenge is a powerful motivator. It's not logical, it's not always sane, but it can consume you. I've seen it happen. I know what it's like when it destroys a life." He exhaled on a ragged sigh. "Think about it...maybe Tucker really was involved with Heather Hartley-"
"He denies that involvement."
"Because he might not want to look guilty as fuck! Look, if a woman I'd been screwing turned up dead, killed in the same manner my psycho brother used to off his victims, I might not be excited to have a full disclosure about our relationship, either. Maybe Tucker was involved with her, and then he ended things. But Dawn found out-she used Heather to draw him back to this city. She could be making every single move to incriminate Tucker."
"You truly believe she's the killer."
His face was serious. His tone hard and determined. Anthony swallowed. "I just think...sometimes we're blinded. We see only what we want to see. Dawn can make Tucker see exactly what she wants when she looks at him."
"A few hours ago, you were the one who seemed certain that Tucker was guilty. What's changed since then?" Why the complete one-eighty?
"She trusts him too much. She didn't have a moment of hesitation when we brought him in for questioning. I mean...why do that? Why...unless she knows something we don't. Unless she knows he can't be the killer."
Macey stared back at him.
He swore. "Look, I just needed to talk with someone, okay? Torez isn't exactly impartial, and when I approached Dawn earlier-she kicked my ass out of her place. I left just moments after you did."
"Well, when you accuse someone of being a murderer that tends to piss them off."
He stepped closer to her. She didn't tense, but as a rule, Macey didn't like it when people came into her space. "What if she is a murderer?" Anthony asked. "Can you look me in the eyes and tell me it's not possible?"
"I believe we all have the potential for violence, but in Dawn's case...there is no way that she could have killed Red. She wouldn't have been able to get to the scene in time. She was watched by FBI Agent Bowen Murphy when Tucker went to investigate. She wasn't left alone at the suite. He was with her every moment."
He blinked.
"She has an airtight alibi for Red's murder."
He shook his head and suddenly seemed less certain. "I...I didn't realize she'd had a guard for that time. I thought...thought Tucker must have left her alone. I knew you were with Julia..."
"I was, but Bowen had arrived in town. He stayed with Dawn, and he wasn't a guard. She was under protective custody. There's a difference. So if the perp who killed Red is the same individual we're hunting here in the city, there is no way that person is Dawn Alexander."
Relief swept over his face. "Good-fucking great." He backed away, running a hand through his already disheveled hair. "I needed to hear that." Then he was reaching down toward his hip-not for his holster but for his phone. She saw that it was vibrating. He looked at the screen. "It's the captain. I have to check in."
He walked away before she could say anything else. Macey headed back inside the building, stopping to check with the clerk. "Is Dr. Bradford back yet?"
He frowned, peering up at her through his glasses. "She hasn't checked out today." He motioned toward his log. "She...should still be in the lab."