he want anyone to think he was defensive.
He watched Caine’s face, thinking to himself that the man reminded him of a bulldog—not very tall, but muscular, with a short neck and a nose that had been broken more than once. Caine was supposedly busy sorting papers in a file, but Pappas knew it was nothing more than a ruse to try to make him nervous. It wasn’t working.
As for Ashton Caine, he was amped to be working on the Pappas case but had no intention of letting it show. Getting a conviction would make his career. Caine decided he’d given Pappas enough time to get ticked and finally looked up.
“Thank you for coming in.”
Caine wasn’t the only one with moves. Ike leaned back and crossed his legs, as if settling in for a nice cozy visit.
“I’m happy to do anything that would help you in finding Lorena’s killer. My son, Adam, is devastated.”
“But you’re not?” Caine said.
Ike shrugged. “We’ve been divorced for several years…amicably, of course. Adam and I dined with her at least twice a month, as I’m sure you know, often in her apartment. Lorena likes…liked to cook.”
Caine scanned a sheet of paper before him. “You own the apartment building where she was killed?”
“Yes.”
“And you set her up in the apartment as part of your divorce agreement?”
“Actually, no. She got the Miami estate in our divorce decree, but she wanted to be close to Adam so I set her up in one of the larger apartments in town.”
Caine made a note.
Ike wished he’d brought his glasses. He was pretty good at reading upside down.
“Was your ex-wife seeing anyone?” Caine asked.
Ike shrugged. “I have no idea, but it wouldn’t have mattered to me if she was. I date when the urge hits me. I assume she did the same, but she would never tell me something that personal. You might ask Adam. He was more aware of the personal aspect of his mother’s life than I.”
Caine made another note.
Ike was getting ticked. “What’s this all about? I canceled an entire morning’s worth of appointments to comply with your request, and yet you haven’t asked me one damn thing that hasn’t already been asked by your agents and the LAPD.”
Caine responded with a question. “Can you explain why the surveillance system wasn’t working at the building where your ex-wife lived?”
“That’s a dumb question, Caine. We both know you found the security guard dead, so I assume the killer was responsible. Surely you came to the same conclusion. Believe me, if I knew who did this, he’d already be dead. By the way…do you have any suspects?”
Caine’s gaze never wavered. “Yes.”
Ike’s voice went up an octave. He hoped it indicated disbelief and not panic.
“Then why the hell haven’t you made an arrest?”
“We’re still gathering evidence,” Caine said. “When we make the arrest, we want to make certain it sticks.”
Ike inhaled slowly. That felt like a threat, but he wasn’t about to take the bait.
“So what’s the real reason you called me down here?”
“We would like a DNA sample.”
Ike frowned. “Come on, Caine. You’ve got my whole life on file, including the women I’ve fucked, so don’t play the innocent game with me. What do you really want?”
“A confession.”
Ike flinched. “You’re a son of a bitch.”
Caine buzzed his secretary. “Send in the lab tech.”
Ike silently suffered the indignity of the mouth swab, then waited until the tech was gone before he turned on Caine.
“Are you through harassing me?”
Caine rebutted. “This isn’t harassment. This is part of an ongoing investigation.”
“Into what? Me? You people don’t have anything on me, and you know it, so what’s this latest gig about? If you’re trying to set me up for Lorena’s murder, you’d better think again. I have a rock-solid alibi, remember?”
“From your son.”
Ike leaned forward. “Who would personally cut my throat if he thought for a second that I’d hurt his mother.”
“Tit for tat?” Caine
He watched Caine’s face, thinking to himself that the man reminded him of a bulldog—not very tall, but muscular, with a short neck and a nose that had been broken more than once. Caine was supposedly busy sorting papers in a file, but Pappas knew it was nothing more than a ruse to try to make him nervous. It wasn’t working.
As for Ashton Caine, he was amped to be working on the Pappas case but had no intention of letting it show. Getting a conviction would make his career. Caine decided he’d given Pappas enough time to get ticked and finally looked up.
“Thank you for coming in.”
Caine wasn’t the only one with moves. Ike leaned back and crossed his legs, as if settling in for a nice cozy visit.
“I’m happy to do anything that would help you in finding Lorena’s killer. My son, Adam, is devastated.”
“But you’re not?” Caine said.
Ike shrugged. “We’ve been divorced for several years…amicably, of course. Adam and I dined with her at least twice a month, as I’m sure you know, often in her apartment. Lorena likes…liked to cook.”
Caine scanned a sheet of paper before him. “You own the apartment building where she was killed?”
“Yes.”
“And you set her up in the apartment as part of your divorce agreement?”
“Actually, no. She got the Miami estate in our divorce decree, but she wanted to be close to Adam so I set her up in one of the larger apartments in town.”
Caine made a note.
Ike wished he’d brought his glasses. He was pretty good at reading upside down.
“Was your ex-wife seeing anyone?” Caine asked.
Ike shrugged. “I have no idea, but it wouldn’t have mattered to me if she was. I date when the urge hits me. I assume she did the same, but she would never tell me something that personal. You might ask Adam. He was more aware of the personal aspect of his mother’s life than I.”
Caine made another note.
Ike was getting ticked. “What’s this all about? I canceled an entire morning’s worth of appointments to comply with your request, and yet you haven’t asked me one damn thing that hasn’t already been asked by your agents and the LAPD.”
Caine responded with a question. “Can you explain why the surveillance system wasn’t working at the building where your ex-wife lived?”
“That’s a dumb question, Caine. We both know you found the security guard dead, so I assume the killer was responsible. Surely you came to the same conclusion. Believe me, if I knew who did this, he’d already be dead. By the way…do you have any suspects?”
Caine’s gaze never wavered. “Yes.”
Ike’s voice went up an octave. He hoped it indicated disbelief and not panic.
“Then why the hell haven’t you made an arrest?”
“We’re still gathering evidence,” Caine said. “When we make the arrest, we want to make certain it sticks.”
Ike inhaled slowly. That felt like a threat, but he wasn’t about to take the bait.
“So what’s the real reason you called me down here?”
“We would like a DNA sample.”
Ike frowned. “Come on, Caine. You’ve got my whole life on file, including the women I’ve fucked, so don’t play the innocent game with me. What do you really want?”
“A confession.”
Ike flinched. “You’re a son of a bitch.”
Caine buzzed his secretary. “Send in the lab tech.”
Ike silently suffered the indignity of the mouth swab, then waited until the tech was gone before he turned on Caine.
“Are you through harassing me?”
Caine rebutted. “This isn’t harassment. This is part of an ongoing investigation.”
“Into what? Me? You people don’t have anything on me, and you know it, so what’s this latest gig about? If you’re trying to set me up for Lorena’s murder, you’d better think again. I have a rock-solid alibi, remember?”
“From your son.”
Ike leaned forward. “Who would personally cut my throat if he thought for a second that I’d hurt his mother.”
“Tit for tat?” Caine
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