Critical Instinct(21)

He stared at his phone for five minutes, willing Paige to reply. Nothing. He was still staring at it when Alex came over and picked up the picture.

“Teresa Cavasos.” Alex whistled through his teeth. “That’s a shame. Her family has been looking for her. They took out multiple ads in the paper, went on television, everything.”

“Really? I totally missed it. I’ve been caught up in so many other cases, I hadn’t even seen anything about her.”

“Yeah. They’ve got money. She was their only daughter, I think. I was hoping they’d get a ransom note or something. But at least now they know.”

Brett nodded. “I guess that’s better than never knowing.”

“Always.”

Alex left, leaving Brett staring at the picture of Teresa Cavasos. Damn it, he wanted to believe the best about Paige. The absolute best case scenario he could think of was that maybe Paige saw one of the ads Alex just mentioned and didn’t remember. Then had drawn Teresa from her subconscious.

The medium case scenario was that she had seen the ad, and drawing Teresa was a way of getting attention. Like what the other members of the police department had accused her of with the drawing of her own attack.

The worst case scenario was that she knew Teresa and didn’t tell him. That she had lied outright.

Actually, the really worst case scenario was that Paige had something to do with Teresa’s murder.

But no, Brett categorically refused to believe that. Actually, he had a difficult time believing any of the scenarios except the first. Paige wouldn’t purposely deceive him.

Right?

Her subconscious might have deceived them both. But she wouldn’t have lied to him outright.

Although Brett had been doing this job long enough to know that everyone was capable of deceit. And everyone was capable of letting their emotions cloud their better judgment where attraction was concerned.

And damn it, why had she not texted him back?

Brett called and left a message —similar to what he had said in his text— when the call went straight to voice mail. Then he sent another text.

If this all turned out to be nothing, she was going to think he was crazy. But Brett needed this cleared up for him. Right. Now. He willed her to call.

“Hey QB.”

Brett looked up to see Randal Younker standing by his desk. This was not the time that Brett wanted to turn down another dinner party invitation.

“Hey Randal. What’s going on? I’m pretty busy.”

“Janet Schliesman from down in Missing Persons sent me up to get you.”

“Okay. For what?” Brett asked.

“She heard you and Olivier are taking over the the Cavasos case now that it’s officially a homicide.”

Randal motioned for Alex to join them.

“They’ve got a present for you downstairs in Interrogation Room A having to do with the Cavasos case. A suspect.”

“Already? It just became a homicide case,” Alex said. “Based on what? Ransom? Family member?”

“No. Much better,” Randal shook his head in disbelief. “Woman came in with a drawing of Teresa in a strip mall parking lot in Healy Heights.”

Brett felt his stomach drop out. They had Paige in their interrogation room. It couldn’t possibly be anyone else but her. He stood up.

“Healy Heights?” Alex looked over at Brett. “The strip mall is just a couple blocks from where she was found in that hotel.”

Brett looked over at Randal. He didn’t want to give away that he knew the person they were holding was Paige. “A picture of Cavasos? Weird, but what makes the person a suspect?”

“The woman said she drew the picture, which is fine, Teresa’s picture has been all over the paper and news. Anybody could’ve drawn her.”

“Okay…” Alex said. “So?”

“So,” Randal continued, drawing it out in his usual dramatic fashion. “In this drawing, Teresa is wearing the outfit she went missing in. The one she showed up dead in. Which is not the same one her parents put in the paper or on TV. Only someone connected with Teresa’s death would’ve known what she was wearing.”

“And she just walked in and volunteered her drawing?” Brett asked. “That doesn’t seem very smart if you’re involved with a murder.”

Randal shrugged. “Actually, I think she came in under the pretense of helping with the missing person’s case. She thought the scene in the background might be helpful.”

“Still not particularly smart if you’re guilty and trying not to get caught,” Alex said.

“She said it was some sort of artist exercise where she just picked someone at random to draw. Replicates a scene from memory and then draws it.”

“And she just happened to choose Teresa Cavasos.” Brett said it and could see how the detectives downstairs would’ve found it pretty suspicious.

“Said she didn’t know Cavasos was missing at the time, and when she saw it in the paper today she came down to the station to see if she could help.”

Why the hell hadn’t Paige come to him?

Of course, Brett had no idea what he would’ve done if she had.

Alex stood up. “Sounds like someone needs to go question our artist friend downstairs.”





Chapter Sixteen





Paige wasn’t sure what to do. Was she under arrest? Could they just leave her locked in here?

She knew she wasn’t supposed to use the phone, but maybe she should before Detective Schliesman returned.

But who would she call?

Brett? He was probably at his desk. But what position would that put him in? Plus, she didn’t want him to have to tell the entire police department that she drew in her sleep. Not to mention he would have to tell how he knew that for a fact.

Should she call her sister Adrienne? Her husband was FBI and maybe could help. But they lived a couple hours away.

If she was being arrested she should probably call a lawyer. But she didn’t even know one. Her manager did. Or Melissa, the governor’s wife, surely did.

But Paige didn’t want to drag Brett or her sister or even a lawyer into this. All she wanted to do was help them find Teresa Cavasos. And to be honest, if her picture couldn’t help them do that, then Paige really wasn’t of any more use to them. She didn’t know anything beyond what she’d drawn on that paper.

Her phone buzzed in her bag, and Paige grabbed it. A message, actually a voice message and two texts, from Brett to call him. She’d missed his call a few minutes ago.

Should she call him back? If they were just going to leave her locked in here, maybe she shouldn’t worry about breaking the rules. What were they going to do, arrest her?

Seems like they may have already done that.

But Detective Schliesman walked in —the reds around her still spiking— so Paige dropped the phone back in her bag. Maybe they’d be releasing her in just a minute.

“Ms. Jeffries, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law.”

Paige listened as the detective read her the rest of her rights. Evidently they wouldn’t be releasing her in just a minute.

“Do you understand these rights as I’ve presented them to you?” Schliesman finished.

“I don’t understand, am I under arrest?”

“Do you understand your rights, Ms. Jeffries?” the detective repeated.

“Yes, I understand my rights. What I don’t understand is if I’m under arrest?” Paige was trying to remain calm, but it was becoming difficult.

“No, you are not under arrest,” the other woman replied. “Reading rights is normal procedure before doing any questioning.”

“Do I need a lawyer?”

Detective Schliesman looked at her steadily. “Have you done anything to need a lawyer?”

“All I’m trying to do is help find a missing woman.”

“Then let’s go over the details of the picture again.”





Brett and Alex watched from the other side of the mirrored glass as Schliesman questioned Paige. The two women had been at it for over an hour. Question after question about the drawing and Paige’s relationship with Teresa Cavasos. Schliesman never let Paige know Teresa was dead.

Brett knew why. The detective was hoping Paige would trip up and say something that would give away that she knew Teresa was dead. That would catch her in a lie, and because the news of Teresa’s death hadn’t been released, would link Paige to the murder. Brett had interrogated suspects before and had to admit that Schliesman was doing a good job.

But it might possibly be the most painful thing Brett had ever had to watch.

Everything about the interrogation room was designed to make the person being questioned feel uncomfortable. The chairs, table, color of the walls, lighting, everything. They were hard, cold, sterile. A suspect’s subconscious noticed, even if their conscious mind didn’t.

Given Paige’s artistic mind and senses? He’d bet she was well aware of the damage the room was meant to ensue on the psyche. He watched Paige shift again on the uncomfortable chair, her expression pinched as she attempted to answer Schliesman’s questions.

He couldn’t watch this any longer.

“I’m going in there.”

Alex held his hand out. “This woman have anything to do with the art show you attended Friday night?”