Don't Look Away (Veronica Sloan)

by Leslie A. Kelly

  “All right, all right, I can see you’re happy with yourself,” he muttered, throwing himself into a chair. “But next time you decide to go all bad cop, do me a favor and make sure this guy,”—he jerked a thumb toward Sykes—“hasn’t already done it for you.”

  “Okay, you’re right,” she said, suitably chastened. Because Daniels had a point. If she and Sykes weren’t always so busy competing, and trying to one-up each other, they could have doubled their efforts and halved their risks.

  Appearing glad she’d at least acknowledged his annoyance, Daniels barked, “Well? What’d you find out? ‘Cause we all know you did something with this list.”

  Glad he’d finished scolding, she told him what she’d learned from Philip Tate, and went on to admit her plan to call every coroner or hospital associated with the six deaths if she had to.

  “Let me do it for Chrissake,” snapped Daniels, snagging the sheet of paper off the table. “You two aren’t any good at this sneaky shit. You probably left all kinds of electronic evidence on their network.”

  She doubted that, but was so grateful that her partner was taking over this one part of the investigation, she couldn’t argue the point,

  “Daniels? Sloan? Your witness is here,” said a uniformed patrolman who’d stuck his head into the room. “I put him in interview room three. He looked a little nervous.”

  “I’ll bet,” she said, knowing Bailey had to have been waiting for them to find out about his relationship with Leanne. The fact that he hadn’t volunteered the information didn’t say much for his intelligence, especially if he knew Leanne was involved with the O.E.P.

  He didn’t.

  The three of them started toward the door, then all paused. They hadn’t worked out who would be doing the questioning, or which of them would be in the room. Technically, Sykes was a guest here. But he was also a key part of this investigation. She honestly wasn’t sure whether he should be in there or not.

  “I’ll wait in the observation room,” he said, making the decision.

  “Okay, that might be best. Bailey doesn’t know you,” said Ronnie. “He might be less likely to talk in front of somebody he hasn’t met.”

  Daniels frowned, as if he wasn’t sure he agreed with the strategy. “He also might be less likely to talk about the sexual aspects of the relationship in front of you, Ronnie.”

  She bristled. “That’s ridiculous.”

  “I know it is,” her partner said, holding his hands up defensively. “But the thing is, Bailey was skittish and embarrassed around you from the start. When you finally threw him a bone, he acted like a kid with a crush. I don’t think I ever told you that a few minutes before I found you in the basement the other night, Bailey specifically asked me to ‘thank you’ and said you’d understand why.”

  She had no freaking idea why, but nodded for Daniels to go ahead.

  “If he’s aware of the existence of the O.E.P. device, and realizes you actually saw him doing the victim, he’s gonna be a mess.”

  “I’m not entirely sure he is aware of it,” she admitted.

  Sykes eyed her in surprise. “But the killer had to know. Not only was it pretty damned obvious because of the way he disguised himself, with the clothes, the hood and that crazy miner’s light, but the Philadelphia murder cinches it.”

  “I know. Honestly, I hope I’m wrong, and that Special Agent Bailey was aware of Leanne’s participation in the program, because it would make him a much more viable suspect. The truth is, though, I haven’t seen any indication that he was. He doesn’t seem like a good enough actor to have faked his confusion at the first briefing, when the O.E.P. issue came up.”

  “I guess that explains his I’m-gonna-puke expression when we first showed up, too,” Daniels said, speaking slowly as he thought back to the other morning, which seemed like it had taken place ages ago. “I figured it was just the gruesomeness of the scene, but apparently he was reacting to something a lot more personal.”

  “Maybe he kept the relationship secret because he knew that if anybody found out, he might be looked at for the murder,” she said.

  She assumed that’s why he had kept quiet, though how he could have stood there with those body parts and not gone slightly mad, she didn’t know. He must have one heck of a strong self-preservation instinct.

  Daniels lifted a hand to his face and rubbed at his eyes, which didn’t even look the tiniest bit bloodshot this morning. He might not have stopped at a bar to tie one on after leaving her place last night, which made for a nice change. “You know what else, he was there when somebody mentioned Leanne’s backups being taken in for you to examine, Ron. He’d had sex with her twice in the last week…”

  “At least twice,” she interjected.

  “Right. Meaning, if he were aware of the scope of the program, he had to know what you’d see.”

  Sykes nodded, obviously understanding where they were going. “He’s in law enforcement, he would understand that things would go a lot better for him if he came clean about their sexual relationship before you found out about it.”

  “Exactly,” she said. “He could have put his own spin on it, made himself appear he was being totally up-front and honest, and come off looking a lot less suspicious.”

  They all fell silent for a long moment, considering. Then Daniels muttered, “Shit. You might be right. That punk-ass kid might not even have a clue we saw him doing the nasty with our murder victim a few days before her death.”

  “Meaning he’s probably not the murderer,” Sykes said.

  She knew neither of them were ready to rule Bailey out completely, and neither was she, but the basic facts definitely took the wind out of their sails. Still, just because they had doubts about his guilt regarding Leanne’s murder, SA Bailey still had a lot to answer for. He’d lied to them, led them in the wrong direction. He could have admitted his relationship with her, perhaps helped them with the investigation, but he’d wasted their time instead.

  That pissed her off, to be honest. She probably ought to get a cold drink and take a few seconds to calm down before she confronted the guy.

  Daniels cleared his throat. “Don’t kill me, partner, but even if the kid doesn’t know about the program, it still might not be a great idea for you to be in the interview room.”

  She gaped.

  Sykes held a hand up, cutting off her argument. “Sorry, Veronica, I’m with Daniels on this one. If Bailey knows about the implant and knows you saw him, he’s going to be embarrassed. If he doesn’t know about the implant, doesn’t know you saw him, he’s going to stick to his story in order to save face with you. Either way, your presence could be a detriment.”

  She choked back a growl of frustration. Because they were right, and she knew they were right. Shaking her head, she waved them toward the door. “Go on. I’ll watch from the observation room.” Then, because she knew them well enough to know this temporary truce as they united against her wouldn’t last for long, she admonished them both. “Play nice. If he senses any kind of dissention between you two, he’ll do what he can to exploit it.”

  Her partner and the FBI agent stared at each other for a long moment. Then Sykes nodded and Daniels shrugged. That was about as close to a declaration of friendship as they’d ever be likely to express. But beggars couldn’t be choosers. She’d take what she could get.

  Chapter 14

  Skirting the interview room where their witness sat, cooling his heels, Ronnie headed for the room next door. It was small, bare, with just a table and chair and one broad window that overlooked the room next door. The glass would allow Ronnie to see what was happening, and an intercom would enable hear to hear. Bailey was in law enforcement, so he would know someone was observing from the other side. Hell, anybody who’d ever seen a cop show on TV would know that. Hopefully, he wouldn’t realize it was her and decide to be uncooperative.

  Things started out well. Daniels took the lead, Sykes content to stand quietly in the corner, his arms crosse
d over his chest, leaning against the wall. He appeared almost disinterested, but she saw the keenly focused expression on his face and knew the pose was a deliberate one. They wanted Bailey to let his guard down.

  Daniels led the young Special Agent through a series of basic questions—stuff they’d already covered in interviews with others out at the Patriot Square site. Then, just as the agent settled back into his chair, looking a little relaxed, as if he’d expected far worse, her partner hit him with the big one.

  “So, Special Agent Bailey, we’ve been led to believe you might have had a closer relationship with the victim than you’ve said.”

  The man shot straight up in his chair. “What? That’s crazy. Who told you that?”

  Daniels, who’d been sitting across from the man, scooted his chair forward, making it squeak on the dingy tile. Bailey flinched, his tension visibly increasing with every second.

  Daniels merely smiled. “Is it true?”

  “That’s nuts,” he snapped. Again, not answering the question. “I’m a married man and I love my wife. I would never cheat on her.”

  Uh, right. Just like he’d never mislead investigators trying to solve a murder.

  Ronnie had been in on enough interviews to know how easily some people lied. Bailey was trying not to. As if hedging, throwing out indignant replies and skirting around the issue were going to get Daniels to back off, without Bailey ever having to actually say the words, “No, it’s not true.”

  He obviously didn’t know her partner. Or Sykes, who walked over and sat on the edge of the table, looking down at the agent. “Detective Daniels never said anything about you cheating on your wife. He asked if you were closer to the victim than you’d led us to believe. Why would you immediately assume he was talking about a sexual affair?”

  Bailey sputtered, looking back and forth between them. “But, he said…I thought he meant…”

  Sykes sighed. “Okay, well, since you put it out there, did your wife know you were having sex with Leanne Carr?”

  Bailey’s eyes bugged out and his face went bright red. “I resent that accusation!”

  “Resent it all you want. You still did it,” Sykes replied, completely unflappable. “Come on, Bailey, we know all about it.”

  “How? That’s impossible.” He crossed his arms over his chest, huddling in his chair. Mumbling like a little kid accused of breaking the cookie jar, he added, “Nobody can prove something that didn’t happen.”

  Sykes and Daniels exchanged a glance, then both looked toward the two-way mirror, toward her. She knew what they were thinking. Bailey sure wasn’t acting like he knew there could be any kind of photographic evidence.

  He didn’t know about the O.E.P. He had no idea Leanne had a camera in her brain.

  Daniels tapped his fingers on the table. “So, you’re saying that wasn’t you who, last Tuesday evening, snuck up behind her, put your hands over her eyes, and tugged her back with you into a storage room, where she proceeded to…”

  “Oh, my God! How do you know that?” Bailey looked completely shocked. Though because he’d been caught out having sex with a woman who was later murdered, or because he’d cheated on his wife, she couldn’t say.

  “We just know. Now, how long was it going on?”

  Bailey hesitated, his eyes shifting back and forth, between Daniels and Sykes, and then at the mirror. It was like he was looking right at her.

  “Is she in there?”

  Daniels tilted his head in confusion. “She?”

  “Sloan. Detective Sloan. Is she watching this?”

  Sykes provided a smooth reply. “You do remember that Detective Sloan was attacked in the basement of the White House the other night, and was badly injured, don’t you?”

  Bailey sighed in relief, and Ronnie almost laughed. Two could play at that not-actually-lying game.

  “Is she okay?” the young man asked.

  “She will be,” said Daniels, sounding both sad and angry. “I’m gonna get the person who did that to her and make him wish he was never born.”

  The color fell out of Bailey’s face. “You’re not saying you think I had anything to do with that. I was in your office, talking to you when it happened.”

  “You could have hit her, then come up to see where I was and establish an alibi.”

  “But I didn’t. I would never have done that, I couldn’t hurt a woman!”

  “No, you just cheat on them,” said Sykes.

  Bailey glared up at him. “You don’t understand.”

  “Infidelity? Oh, I understand that, it’s not terribly complicated.”

  His eyes growing luminous, Bailey buried his face in his hands. A small sob emerged from him and Ronnie had to wonder whether he was crying for his wife, for Leanne, or for himself for getting busted.

  “You’re not going to have to tell Tanya, my wife, are you?”

  Okay. Himself. Little slimeball.

  “She’d never understand.”

  “Wives usually don’t,” Daniels said, sounding disgusted.

  “It’s just, we went to high school together, I’d never had a chance to, I dunno, sow my wild oats or anything. I don’t want to upset her or have her think it meant anything.”

  Ronnie was suddenly glad for the mirror that made it impossible for him to see her rolling her eyes in disgust.

  “Leanne didn’t know I was married at first,” he admitted. “I never wore my ring at work.”

  “When did it start?” Sykes asked, still sitting above Bailey on the table, like a quiet father figure to whom the man could safely confess. Meanwhile, Daniels resembled the angry older brother who might beat the shit out of him at any moment.

  They did this good-cop/bad-cop thing pretty well. Better than she and Daniels usually did, considering they both typically fought over who was bad-cop and neither could pull off a convincing good one.

  “We started messing around about a month and a half ago. Just flirting at first, then one day it went a little farther and next thing you know we’re making it on the floor of the Oval Office.”

  Bailey sounded almost pleased with himself for that. Punk.

  “Ever ‘make it’ on the floor of the sub-basement?” Daniels asked, ice in his voice.

  Bailey finally remembered who he’d been proud about having sex with, and blanched. He swallowed visibly, his throat fluttering. “I didn’t know it was her at first. Not until after they found her chip and got her identity. I went into the bathroom and puked until I thought I’d pass out.”

  “You seemed to have pulled yourself together by the time my partner and I got there,” Daniels said.

  “I guess. But believe me, I went home that night, locked myself in the bathroom and cried like a baby. I told Tanya I was sick.” He shook his head, actually appearing distressed now. “Look, I didn’t love Leanne, but I liked her and we had fun together. What happened to her was brutal, man. Nobody deserves to die like that, and I hope you catch the bastard who did it and fry him.”

  Was this guy really so clueless that he had no idea he was a suspect? He was focused on not letting his wife found out about an affair; so far it didn’t appear to have occurred to him that they might like him for the murder.

  So they didn’t like him for the murder, but he couldn’t know that.

  “Agent Bailey, can you account for your whereabouts throughout the afternoon of the 4th?” asked Sykes.

  Bailey’s hands fisted and he drew them into his stomach. “You don’t think…you can’t…”

  Daniels leaned across the table, glaring at the man. “Just answer the question, Bailey.”

  “I was on duty the entire time,” Bailey insisted. “I signed in at the security trailer at 9 a.m., and was assigned to different duties throughout the day. I wasn’t out of sight of somebody I work with for more than a ten minutes that whole afternoon!”

  Sykes pulled a notebook out of his pocket and dropped it onto the table. “Give us the name of every person you interacted with and everywhere
you were from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00p.m.”

  Bailey nodded quickly, grabbed the pen and pad and began writing. As he did so, he continued to mumble excuses for the affair, and to explain why he hadn’t told them about it. “If I’d thought I could help with the investigation, I would totally have told you. But the truth is, I hadn’t even seen Leanne for two days before she died. I knew absolutely nothing.”

  “You still didn’t think it mattered?” Daniels slammed a hand flat down on the table, making the suspect flinch. “Come on, Bailey, you’re supposed to be in law enforcement. You know there’s no such thing as an unimportant detail in a murder investigation!”

  Tears rose to the young man’s eyes. “I know. I’m sorry. I was…ashamed.”

  Good. He should be.

  “Plus, it would have made me look really bad. Kilgore’s a stick-in-the-mud. If he’d found out, he probably would have fired me, even after Leanne died.”

  Kilgore had known, at least if they were right about him being the person caught so briefly on the O.E.P. chip watching Bailey and Leanne. If he were really such a stick-in-the-mud, why hadn’t he done anything about it? She’d have thought he would have confronted the young lovers and warned them to stop their behavior.

  Maybe he did. But maybe it wasn’t Bailey he confronted.

  Hmm. She had to wonder if Kilgore had sought-out Leanne, and made a mental note to look for him in the rest of the downloaded files.

  Bailey babbled on. “If I lost my job, Tanya would want to know why. I mean, what would I say to her? I couldn’t tell her I was messing around.”

  “Start thinking, dude. If you’re a murder suspect, she’s gonna find out,” Daniels snarled.

  “But you can’t suspect me! I didn’t do it, check these names, these people will tell you I couldn’t possibly have done that. It would have been physically impossible for me to be in two places at once.”

  Sykes took the pad, glanced it over, folded it closed and put it back in his pocket. Rising from the table, he walked over toward the mirror, looking through it as if he could see her, though she knew he could not. He winked. Then turned around.