“You’ve already condemned my brother? I thought in this country it was innocent until proven guilty?”
“It still is. I just want to rule him out, okay?”
In his heart, he was certain his brother couldn’t have been associated with anything illegal, not willingly. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a picture of his brother on the day he’d graduated from college. The year he’d enlisted in the Marine Corps.
Sienna looked at David’s picture. “I can imagine how hard this must be for you. I have a sister and I couldn’t imagine how I would handle even the suggestion that she would be involved in something criminal.”
She put her hand on his arm and the warmth of her compassion touched him.
She exited through the door while A.J. waited behind the glass. He wasn’t happy about it, but he knew Sienna wouldn’t break protocol and allow him into an interrogation room with a suspect, so he hadn’t even asked.
But his initial frustration at being stuck behind the two-way glass faded as he watched Sienna work. Her patient, systematic interrogation had a technique all its own. Not only was she thorough, but unyielding as well.
Tyrone couldn’t break her stride or ruffle her cool, professional exterior. She ignored his sarcasm and abusive language and never once raised her voice.
But although she put up a nice solid front for the perp, A.J. wanted to discover what all that sass and vinegar hid. In the short time he’d known her, he’d seen a wide range of emotions from the independent detective. The glimpse of the passion, anger, and sympathy was only a sampling of what lay below the surface. Beneath the professionalism, the in-your-face attitude was a richness that he wanted to mine.
“You should be impressed.”
A.J. turned toward Captain Sandoval’s voice. “I am.”
“How about you, Lieutenant? Are you impressive, too?”
“Are you on a fishing expedition to make sure that I can cover Sienna’s back? I’m a SEAL. I know all about teamwork.”
“Right. Just make sure that you remember that.”
“Do you make a habit of attending her interrogations?”
“No. I wanted to check you out. You may be a SEAL, but I don’t know you.”
A.J. stood silent while Captain Sandoval watched Sienna for a moment. She was sitting calm and at ease as Tyrone drummed his fingers on the table.
“How’s she doing?”
He felt as if he was going to come out of his skin. “He’s still saying that he stole the weapons and ran. But she’s holding a trump card.”
“What would that be?”
“David Buckner’s picture.”
“She’ll get what she needs from him. The guy doesn’t have a chance.”
“No doubt.” Silence descended as they watched her twist Tyrone into a pretzel.
The moment he dreaded came when Sienna laid the picture of David in front of the perp. The man’s face drained of color, and he stammered, “N-never seen the guy before.”
A.J. closed his eyes against the pain, his brain trying to accept the reality that was staring him in the face.
Sienna sat forward and shoved the picture just a little bit closer. “Take a good look, Tyrone. You wouldn’t want to lie to me.” Her voice was as cold as steel.
Tyrone closed his eyes, his breathing shallow. “That’s the guy.”
The man looked as terrified as a trapped rat. Sienna leaned a little bit closer. “Is there anything that you left out of your story?”
“No. I don’t have anything else to say.”
“I didn’t ask you if you had anything else to say, I asked you if you left anything out because there’s nothing I hate more than to be jerked around by a punk. We’ve got you cold on the charges of illegal gun possession. We’re running the serial number on that gun, and I’m betting we find that it was stolen from a military base.”