“Sure. Come on in, Officer Dugan.” I gestured to one of my chairs. “Sit down.”
“I’m here to—”
I held up a hand. “I know why you’re here. I just got off the phone with the Denver PD. Go ahead and ask your questions. But I don’t know much.”
“I understand. When was the last time you saw Mr. Morse?”
“He took me to dinner Friday night a couple weeks ago. When we were coming out of Enzio’s, the Steel brothers were coming out of Murphy’s. We all chatted for a while, and then Colin went on his way.”
“Chatted” wasn’t really the right word for what had gone on, but I had basically told the truth. No punches had been thrown, thank God, though all four of them had threatened each other.
“Did he say where he was going?”
“No, he didn’t. I assumed he was going back to wherever he was staying in Grand Junction. He told me he was going to show up for court Monday morning, but then he didn’t.”
“Were any words exchanged between him and Talon Steel?”
I was an officer of the court. I could not lie to an officer of the law. And there was no need to. We had lots of witnesses. “Yes, words were exchanged.”
“What kinds of words?”
“Talon wasn’t happy to see Colin, obviously. And neither were his brothers. I don’t really remember everything that was said.”
“Did any of the brothers touch him in any way?”
I closed my eyes, trying to remember. Had Talon grabbed Colin? No. He and Jonah had both raised their hands to him, but they hadn’t touched him.
Thank God.
“No, they didn’t.”
“Good.” Steve looked visibly relieved. “What was the last thing Colin said before he left?”
“I don’t recall his exact words, of course, but he said he would see me in court on Monday.”
“And he didn’t show up for court.”
“That’s right.”
“Is there anything else you can tell me about this?”
I shook my head. “That’s all I know, Officer.”
“You can call me Steve.” He smiled.
I smiled back. “All right, Steve. I’m Jade.”
“Okay, Jade.” His lip twitched.
Was he nervous?
“Uh…would you like to join me for a drink after work?”
Chapter Eight
Talon
“Yesterday we told my sister about what happened to me.” I gripped the now familiar green leather arms of the recliner in Dr. Carmichael’s office.