“I saw two FBI agents advancing on me. Wouldn’t you run?”
“Not if there wasn’t a reason,” Paige said. “If I didn’t feel guilty, I wouldn’t assume there was a reason to. I’d assume that they wanted to ask questions. So, what do you have to feel guilty about, Lucas?”
The stagehand didn’t reply, instead looking around with a slightly panicked expression. There was definitely something there, something he was worried about. Even Christopher could see that. Was it the fact that he’d killed someone? Was it because he’d suffocated Clarissa Bale and Mylene Jacques?
“Where were you last night?” Christopher asked him.
“What? What does that have to do with anything?” Lucas countered.
“Were you at the theater where you work?” Paige asked.
“No, why would I be there?” He sounded confused, but that might just be an act.
Christopher leaned across the table. “Isn’t it where you go to hook up with women you meet on the strip?”
There was a bead of sweat now on Lucas’s forehead. He seemed to be starting to understand the trouble he was in.
“And it’s also where a woman was found dead this morning,” Paige said. Christopher got the feeling that she was trying to gauge Lucas’s reaction.
“I… I heard about that,” Lucas said. He seemed to scrabble for the words, his eyes darting around as if looking for a way out. “But you think I had something to do with that?”
“If not that, why did you run?” Christopher demanded. He wasn’t going to let that go. There had to be a reason.
“I… I…”
The door to the holding room burst open, revealing a woman in her early thirties. She was tall and dark haired, wearing jeans and a dark blue shirt, with a badge on her belt. She did not look even remotely happy.
“Does someone want to tell me what the hell is going on here?” she demanded. “And exactly why someone has just barged into this casino to chase my suspect and throw him in a shark tank?”
“Your suspect?” Christopher said. “Who are you?”
“Detective Sanchez, Las Vegas PD. And you are?”
Christopher got his ID out. “I’m Agent Marriott; this is Agent King.”
Christopher saw her hesitate for a moment or two.
“I need to speak to you outside, Agents. Now.”
Christopher looked over to Paige, then stood and went with the detective. The moment he and Paige were out in the hall, the detective spoke again.
“Why exactly is the FBI messing up my case?” Detective Sanchez demanded. “Why do you have my lead suspect in custody?”
“What case?” Paige looked as confused as Christopher felt right then.
“What case?” Detective Sanchez countered. “You come in here and cause all this trouble, then you ask what case? I’ve been watching this guy for days. He and his crew have been taking the house for a fortune.”
Christopher frowned at that. “Explain.”
“After you explain what you’re doing here,” the detective said.
“We’re here about the murder at the theater last night,” Christopher explained. “The same theater where Lucas Francisco worked, and where he had after-hours access.”
Christopher saw Detective Sanchez looking conflicted. It was obvious that the seriousness of the crime Christopher and Paige were investigating was stopping her from continuing to berate them about the two of them messing with her case, but it seemed just as obvious that the professional courtesy might not last long.
“I think the two of you should come with me,” the detective said.
Christopher could see Paige looking over at him, obviously waiting for him to take the lead. The relationship between the two of them had changed the moment she became an agent rather than a civilian consultant, but it was clear that she was still looking for him to take charge.