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He pulled the ice pack from his face and set it on the table with a sigh. “I told you that I could explain if you only told me what you found at the park. I didn’t hurt anyone. I risked my career so that someone wouldn’t get hurt.”
She held his gaze for a long moment, and he could practically see the wheels turning in her mind. “A body,” she finally said very quietly.
He sucked in a breath, remembering the tiny sunken plot of earth. “Dammit,” he breathed. He hadn’t wanted to be right. He hadn’t wanted Colton to have been telling the only truth of his miserable life.
“Is that enough information?” she asked.
The door opened, startling them both. “Don’t answer that question,” said a very familiar female voice.
Laura’s here. And was she ever. She blew into the room, four-inch heels clacking on the cheap tile, and took the seat next to Sam. She looked as put together as always, her power suit intimidating, her makeup flawless, and her eyes bright, as if she’d had a full night’s sleep. She probably hadn’t. She’d been an incurable insomniac in the four years they’d been together.
“I didn’t think you’d come,” Sam murmured, his feelings conflicted. On one hand, he was grateful she’d come. On the other, he’d honestly hoped he’d never have to see her again.
She shot him her don’t-be-an-idiot look. He’d been on the receiving end of that look more times than he could count. “I’m not going to let the cops railroad you.”
The detective cleared her throat. “I’m Detective McKittrick.”
Laura gave the detective a brusque nod. “I know. I’m Laura Letterman, Dr.Reeves’s attorney. This interview is over.”
“Laura, stop.” Joel strolled in and closed the door behind him. He met Sam’s gaze, brows lifted. “We met up in the lobby, but she walks too fast for me.”
It was a lie. Joel didn’t like Laura any more than Sam did and had probably let her charge ahead so that he could put off having to interact with her for a few minutes longer.
Laura skewered Joel with a cutting glare. “Sam doesn’t say anything to the cops until I know what’s going on.”
“That’s fair,” Joel said mildly. “But I think he wants to cooperate. Detective, can you give us a few minutes alone with Ms.Letterman’s client?”
Eyes narrowed, McKittrick looked from Joel to Laura to Sam, lingering on Sam’s face. “Of course. I’ll be on the other side of the glass and I’ll turn down the volume. Wave when you’re ready to talk.”
When she was gone, Laura turned to Joel with a slight snarl. “Why are you here?”
Joel smoothed a hand down his tie. He was also dressed in a snazzy suit, making Sam feel like a schlub in his sweatpants and T-shirt. “Sam asked me to come.”
“Well, I’m here now,” she said coolly. “You may go.”
“No,” Sam interjected, before their argument could gain steam. Sam’s breakup with Laura had been cold and final, with no conversation. Joel’s, on the other hand, had been explosive, with much shouting and gnashing of teeth. Which had always made Sam curious since he’d been with Laura for four years. Joel had only dated her casually for two months, but he’d been much more emotional about Laura’s infidelity, which Sam now knew wasn’t like him at all.
Laura bit back whatever she was about to say to Joel and turned to Sam. “Explain, please.”
So he did. He didn’t give specifics about Colton or what he’d suspected, but he did tell them that he’d had an ethical conflict and how he’d resolved it.
“So let me get this straight,” Laura said when he was finished. “You suspect a client did something, you made two anonymous calls to McKittrick, and you only need her to tell you what she found in the park before you can tell all?”
“Basically, yes. If I’d just told her what I knew, I could lose my license. And the client could sue me in civil court on top of that. I didn’t know if he was telling the truth or making up some grand story, so I couldn’t spill until I knew.”
“Do you know now?” Joel asked.
“McKittrick said it was a body,” Sam said. “Right before you came in, she finally told me.”
Laura tilted her head. “Would you have spilled all without a lawyer?”
Sam shook his head. “Not at this point. I was going to at least wait for Joel.” He stroked his thumb over his bruised cheekbone, some of the anger he’d suppressed roiling back to the surface. “They were far more aggressive than they needed to be. Scared my dog.” He grimaced. “Scared me, too.”
“I’d guess so,” she said sympathetically. “You’re like the quintessential Dudley Do-Right, and I’m not being mean. You’ve always done the right thing, Sam. Getting arrested has to have shaken you up.”
He nodded wearily. “You have no idea.”
“So you think you know who this guy’s next victim is?” Joel asked.
