He killed her? A confession? May felt utterly shocked by the calm, amused words. This was not what she had expected at all.
He gazed at them, smirking. His right arm moved, and suddenly, in the gloomy room, May saw there was a knife in his hand.
It was a long, thin blade, shining silver in the dim light.
"See," he said, glancing down at his arm. "I could kill you. The both of you. I'll make you bleed."
"Put the knife down," May ordered firmly.
"Do you want me to?" William asked. His arm came up, the knife glinting in the light.
May got out her gun. She didn't want to shoot this suspect; she didn't want to injure him. It would delay things if they had to take him to the hospital. But this was a dangerous situation. They were face to face with a totally sociopathic individual. All that they needed to find out now was the extent of what he'd done.
"Put the knife down. Now!"
William was now looking from Owen to May, his eyes sparkling with an evil gleam.
"Say that again," he said, as he stared at May. "Say something else, cop."
"I think it's time you put that down," Owen said, taking a step forward, making his intention clear.
"Be careful, Owen," May said. If William used that knife, she knew what injury a sharp blade like that could inflict, instantly.
The tension in the room suddenly felt as sharp as the blade itself.
"Don't be a fool," William said. "I'm not going to let you take me in."
He jumped up from his chair. And then he lunged, swinging the knife at Owen's chest. The blade flashed in the gloomy light.
"Don't come any closer," William warned, his voice snarling. "I will take you out with this, don't doubt me."
May gasped in shock. Her finger tightened on the trigger. She had a sight on his shoulder. She'd have to shoot, have to wing him, even if it meant going to the hospital.
But with a sudden twist, Owen leaped forward and grabbed William's wrist.
He wrenched hard, and William gave a cry of outrage. The next moment, the knife clattered down onto the floor. With a swift movement of his foot, Owen kicked it aside. It went spinning across the floor, hitting the opposite wall, now well out of the sociopath's reach.
Before William could try anything else, May shoved the gun into her holster and grabbed his other hand. She dragged it back, snapped the cuff around it while William struggled, cursing violently, kicking out at them so hard the chair went flying.
"What are you doing to my boy?" Arlette screamed, framed in the doorway, shifting unsteadily from foot to foot.
"We're taking him in for questioning. He not only confessed to murder, but threatened us with a knife, so at this point, he's under arrest," May said.
"Murder?" To May's surprise, Arlette let out a hoarse laugh. "My son might be a killer but he's not a coward. If you take him in, you'd better watch your back."
May felt chilled by the words, but didn't let it show in her face. Adrenaline was boiling inside her at this tense encounter.
This man had not only admitted to the crimes, but pulled a knife on them. They had a killer in custody, and could now start to bring together the process that would allow them to close the case.
"We'll need to call the FBI. They'll have to be on board with this questioning," she muttered to Owen as they got William to the door, ignoring Arlette's cries of protest and shouted threats.
But as they hustled William downstairs, May couldn't help feeling a flash of unease.
Had he confessed too readily to the crimes?
Was he stringing the cops along - or could he possibly even be shielding someone?
May knew this wouldn't be over until the questioning was complete and they'd established his guilt beyond any doubt.