City of Fire by Robert Ellis Page B

the t’s, so to speak. I never had the pleasure of meeting his wife, Lieutenant, but I understand that she was quite lovely. Everyone in this room knows exactly what will happen when the press picks up on this most unfortunate situation, particularly in light of its similarity to other crimes of the same nature making headlines these days. The young man would like the story to include the fact that he’s not hiding from anything or anyone. Far from it, he’s doing everything he can to cooperate with you good people and help find the poor soul who actually perpetrated this egregious crime.”
    Paladino was slippery. For some inexplicable reason Lena thought about her car. It needed an oil change.
    “The investigation is just getting started,” Barrera said evenly. “Mr. Brant has the opportunity to lower our suspicions. Taking a polygraph would be a great help.”
    “I’m sure you realize, Lieutenant, that based on the evidence you have at this time, you have no right to hold Mr. Brant against his will. That his presence and participation is a voluntary act on his part. And that after the test, he willwalk through that door with me no matter what the outcome.”
    Barrera’s eyes flicked to the door and back. When he nodded, Lena thought the gesture appeared tentative.
    “When can you be ready?” Paladino asked.
    “It’s Saturday,” Barrera said. “We’ll have to bring someone in.”
    “Two hours,” Novak said.
    Paladino checked his gold watch and looked back at Barrera. “Noon,” he said. “We’ll be ready at noon then.”
    Paladino flashed that smile again, then rose from the chair and slithered out. Lena watched him cross the alcove, heading toward the interview rooms. When he shut the door to Room 2, Barrera shook his head and slapped the captain’s desk.
    “I need a fucking bath,” he said. “What’s an accountant doing with a slime-bag lawyer like Paladino?”
    “It turns out that Paladino knows the family,” Rhodes said.
    “Brant’s father,” Sanchez added. “They grew up together.”
    Barrera turned to Novak. “Why do you think Brant’s changed his mind and wants the polygraph?”
    “Maybe he thinks he can beat it.”
    “You better make sure he’s not on anything.”
    DDA Wemer got out of his chair and started pacing by the window. He was a small, wiry man who had spent ten years as a prosecutor. They were working together on the Lopez case as well. As far as Lena knew, he hadn’t yet made a name for himself. When Wemer turned to Novak, he looked drained and particularly worried.
    “You’re absolutely sure you’ve got the right man?” he asked.
    Novak shrugged. “There’s a history of abuse pointing to motive. We found no signs of forced entry. There’s evidence to support that the victim wasn’t raped and knew the doer. That the doer spent at least three hours in the house after the murder, and that the murder weapon wasn’t brought in fromthe outside. Brant offered an alibi, but we picked it apart and what’s left doesn’t make sense and can’t be verified.”
    “It’s worse than that,” Rhodes said. “The doer attempted to wipe his semen off the dead body. If he’d come from the outside and was concerned about his DNA, he would’ve worn a condom. Instead he made the decision to clean her up after the fact.”
    Barrera sat back in his chair, thinking it over. “The blood work comes in on Monday?”
    “Late afternoon,” Novak said. “If we’re lucky.”
    “What about fingerprints?”
    “It’s early,” Novak said. “We’ve only had time to compare the prints in two rooms, but there’s no evidence of a third party.”
    “So what you’re saying is that we can’t hold him until Monday. You heard Paladino. They’re out of here this afternoon no matter what. How bad’s it gonna be when he walks?”
    While they had waited for Paladino to show up, Lena met with Lamar Newton and added the crime scene photos to the murder book. Now she opened the binder and