“Is he the man?” the inspector asked.
“Yes, I think so. I only saw him for a second or two, so I can’t say with absolute certainty that he’s the one.”
“We were able to send his photo to Detective Walsh in America. He has assured us this is the man he fought with and whose gun he took. It was Jacoby who shot at you.”
“When are you going to question him?” Michael asked. “I’d like to go in with you.”
Sinclair was amenable to the idea but said, “You may ask questions, but you can’t touch him. I know you would probably like to strike him or give him a couple of jabs because he and Jacoby tried to kill your...” Sinclair glanced from Michael to Isabel and then back to Michael again. It was apparent he didn’t know what their relationship was and therefore didn’t know what to call her.
Isabel could have said something, but she remained silent. She was curious to find out what category Michael would put her in. Friend? Lover? Or distant relative? She shivered at that thought. Although her sister was married to Michael’s brother, Isabel was in no way related to Michael. Thank God. She’d be breaking nearly every commandment if she were. He could call her a hookup, she supposed. No, a hookup was for one night, and she’d slept with Michael more than once, so that wouldn’t work. Might as well call her what she was. Easy. She almost nodded but caught herself in time. That’s exactly what she was with Michael. Easy.
“Isabel is a friend of the family.”
Are you kidding me? A friend of the family?She could feel her face heating up. He couldn’t say she was a close friend or just a friend? No, he had to make it even more impersonal. A friend of the family.
Okay. If that’s the way he wanted it, then that’s the way it was going to be.
“Inspector, may I go in with you?” she asked.
“No.” Michael’s voice had a real bite to it. Sinclair was more diplomatic. He told her no in a calm, reasonable tone.
“Then may I watch and listen to the interview?’ she asked the inspector, completely ignoring Michael.
“Yes, of course. Just sit back and watch the monitor.” He tilted the screen to her and walked out of the room.
Michael stood and followed him. “Stay in this room, Isabel,” he said, and when she didn’t immediately agree, he turned back to her. “Promise me.”
“I’ll stay in this room. May I borrow your phone? I’d like to text someone.”
It wasn’t like Michael to show her any affection in public, and Sinclair was standing right there in the doorway, yet when Michael leaned toward her, she thought he was going to kiss her.
“Oh no, you don’t,” she whispered. “Since I’m just a friend of the family you can’t kiss me good-bye.”
Michael laughed. The second the words, “a friend of the family,” were out of his mouth, he had known they were going to come back to bite him.
Isabel was disappointed by his amused reaction. She was being a real smartass, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“Sure I can,” he said as he leaned down, clasped her chin, and kissed her. After rattling her, he said, “Actually, I was just handing you my phone and was going to suggest that you call Dylan and catch him up on what is going on, but then you asked me to kiss you...” He walked out of the room and pulled the door shut behind him, leaving her speechless.