“We already got his confession,” Ava said. “And in front of his mother, uncle, and house staff, no less.”
“And at least two officers here when he was first brought in here.”
“Oh, I bet you two are really proud of yourself,” Marcus said. “Making sure to arrest a man who was just trying to keep his family’s legacy untainted.”
“Murder isn’t exactly the clean way to keep your family’s name out of the dirt,” Ava said.
“He’d agree with me if he could,” Marcus said.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“He’d tell me to do it. There’s no way he wasn’t ashamed of it…of what he did. And what I did, I did for my mother, hoping to hide her from the shame of what he was doing. But you went ahead and brought those secrets right to our doorstep, didn’t you?”
“All secrets come to the light eventually,” Ava said. She gave herself chills in saying it, as her mind once again brought up Welfare Island. She looked to Frank and said, “So what happens now?”
“We try to figure out who the lawyer is. We’ve already got some folks working on it.”
“I’m going to head out for a bit.”
“That should be fine. Where are you headed?”
She winced and then gave a smile. “You might not want to know.”
“Clarence?”
She nodded, not sure how she felt about his ability to read her so well. Then again, Clarence was just about the only topic she didn’t openly discuss with him.
“Just be careful. Promise me that?” She could tell there was a lot more he wanted to say. But they’d been down that road before and he knew how it would end. She appreciated the fact that he cared so much but probably even more than that, the fact that he was no longer trying to talk her out of bringing Clarence’s killer to justice.
“Always,” she answered. She found herself wanting to kiss him, but it would be highly unprofessional—not just while at work, but especially while in front of a man they’d both just arrested.
So she could only settle for giving him a smile and grazing the back of his hand as she made her exit. When she got back out into the hallway, her mind seemed to be locked on the idea of Welfare Island. Honestly, she’d originally intended to go in a few days but now, with the success of apprehending a killer and freeing an innocent man, she felt like she should try to strike while the iron was hot.
As she made her way back across to the lobby for the second time in less than fifteen minutes, she saw Captain Minard speaking to a cop in the bullpen. When he spotted her, he held up his index finger, indicating he needed her to stop for a second. He wrapped up his conversation with the officer and headed her way. She couldn’t read his expression but she assumed that whatever was on his mind had to do with the Monty Lincoln case.
When he approached her, he stepped closely and offered a small smile. “Really great work on this case, Detective Gold. Detective Wimbly gives you all of the credit for figuring it out, despite a lack of leads and evidence.”
“I just wish I could have done it sooner.”
“Where are you headed right now?” he asked.
She knew she was taking a risk by telling a lie, but the truth certainly wouldn’t sit well with him. “I’m going to go back and get a follow-up with the maid,” she said. And then, showing him Lottie’s bandage job, she said: “And maybe get this checked out. Lottie and I weren’t sure if it was deep enough to need a doctor’s attention.”
“Yes, please do make sure you get that taken care of. But listen, Detective Gold. I’d like to have a meeting with you and Detective Wimbly tomorrow afternoon. My office, at one o’clock. Make sure you make room for it, okay?”
“Yes, sir.” She wanted to ask what the meeting was about but she knew better than to open that opportunity. Besides, he seemed to have bought her lie without any problem, so she knew it would be best to get out now before he decided to ask questions. “Anything else?”
“No, not for now. Again, great work today.”
“Thank you, sir.”
She headed for the doors again, still worried that Minard would call her one more time, at the last moment, asking her again what she was up to—what she was really up to. But Captain Minard didn’t call for her again and she was able to flag a cab down before Minard, Frank, or her own second thoughts could stop her.