Deceptive Truth: Cowboy Justice Association (Serials and Stalkers Book 4) by Olivia Jaymes (psychology books to read .TXT) 📗

after midday when Jason pulled Knox aside. "Looks like they're done. They found quite a bit, enough to take Brett Hedgcock in for questioning. The detective has invited us in. I told him that you should be the one to do it. You know the most about this case, and you've earned it. Looks like you might have found the person responsible."

"It's early yet. I don't want to count my chickens and all that shit."

Chuckling, Jason nodded. "I agree but it's looking good. Are you up for an interrogation? We need to find out where he dumped the body."

It made Knox queasy to even think about asking those sorts of questions in front of Jenna. She shouldn't be listening to the down and dirty details.

"I am, but..."

Jason quickly glanced at Jenna who was talking to Eli. "I get it. You're right. I can have Eli take her back to the safe house."

Knox explained to Jenna that they were going to question Hedgcock and that Eli was going to take her back to the house. He didn't expect her to object and she didn't. If anything, she seemed exhausted and pale. Eli had assured him that he'd take care of her, but Knox still didn't like not being with her. She needed him. But the investigation needed him too.

Knowing Jenna, she'd be pissed if he didn't put the case first. She was all about getting to the truth.

The Rocky River police station was like so many that Knox had seen through the years. Small, stuffed with desks in every corner, and smelling of burnt coffee. They were led to a back room with two-way glass. Hedgcock was already sitting on one side of the table, looking absolutely terrified. The man was literally shaking in his chair and for a moment Knox felt sorry for him. He was getting a huge hit of reality and clearly unprepared for it.

Knox, Jason, and West had discussed the interrogation on the way to the police station. They had each given their own suggestions which Knox took as being a little more than a mere suggestion. Jason was his boss, after all, and West had been a successful cop before becoming the mayor. Knox's priority was to get Hedgcock to tell him where Lori was, which meant that he was going for a confession of sorts. He wasn't thinking he'd get that, though, so he was going to take a different approach. One that might appeal to someone that liked to live in their own world.

Jason handed Knox two bottles of water. "Go get 'em. Let us know if you want us to give you a break. We need to keep the pressure on Hedgcock, so if you get tired just tag one of us and we'll come in."

Knox entered the room, shutting the door behind him, and sat across from Hedgcock. The other man was fidgeting in his chair, looking like he might bolt from the room at any second.

"Are you sure you don't want an attorney present?" Knox asked. Hedgcock had already said that he didn't, but Knox wanted to give him another chance. They had already read his Miranda rights and he said that he understood them. "We can wait if you want to call one."

"I don't have anything to hide," Hedgcock said, his voice thready and weak. "I just want to answer your questions and go home."

Knox slid one of the bottles of water across the table. "You must be thirsty. Have a drink and we'll chat. How does that sound?"

"Okay, I guess."

Hedgcock twisted off the cap and took a large gulp.

"So, Brett...can I call you Brett? You can call me Knox if you want to."

The other man's head bobbed. "Sure, you can call me Brett."

"Okay, Brett. Let's talk about the items that were found in your home that belonged to Lori Waters. Her purse and clothes. How did you come to be in possession of them?"

"Lori gave them to me."

"She gave you her purse? Didn't she need it?"

Brett shook his head. "She said that I needed to keep it safe."

"From what?"

"She didn't say. Just that it was important." Brett rubbed at the back of his neck. "Look, I told you before that Lori will be back soon. When she gets here, she'll explain everything."

"Do you talk to Lori a lot?"

"It's been a few weeks, I think...” Brett frowned and shook his head. "It's normally not that long but she said that she'd be back. I know she'll be back."

Knox decided to try another path.

"Tell me about your relationship with Lori," he invited. "What you two like to do when you're together. That sort of thing."

Brett smiled, his eyes taking on a dreamy look. "We're both homebodies. We don't really like to go out or anything. We stay home. Cook. Watch television. We both like to read. We lead a quiet life, you could say, but we have fun too. We're talking about getting a dog."

"Nothing better than man's best friend. I wouldn't mind having a dog but I'm not home enough to take care of a pet. It wouldn't be fair to the animal."

"We're home all the time. I'd like a big dog, but Lori thinks that maybe we should get a smaller dog. Like a Corgi. I'd like a Golden Retriever."

This was it. Brett had opened the door. Knox was going to walk through it.

"It sucks that you don't agree. That has to be tough. Is there anything else that you and Lori don't agree about? Food, movies, books? Vacation destinations?"

"Not too much," Brett said