It was making me hot a little to watch the two women duking it out.
“Somebody else could have ordered this and given you the receipt. Were there any eye-witnesses at the scene that can vouch that you were there?”
“Mr. Briggs has a transaction record here for the purchase that verifies it came from his credit card. The time and date stamps match as well.” Mia slid more records over to the detective with her manicured fingers.
“Okay. Thank you. I can see the purchase here for $30.50. Still goes back to my question about eyewitnesses. Again, this could have been purchased using your credit card by someone else.”
I looked over at Mia to help me out. She was really trying to go in on me, but I was telling the truth. Heat was rising in my cheeks making my face hot. I took another sip of water, hoping it would help extinguish the flush from them.
“Can you tell me what evidence you have, detective? If you don’t have any, you can’t hold my client,” Mia confirmed.
The detective eyed her from top to toe.
“Well, no we can’t, but obviously it’s in your client’s best interest to cooperate with us, then he doesn’t have to come back for further questioning. We can clear it up here and now.”
I sighed as the irritation settled into my bones. I looked at the door and I just wanted to walk out of it. The whole situation was a pack of lies and I was over it.
“My client does have eye witnesses and you can make the necessary calls to verify. He was with Tomas Castillo, as he told you, and the owner of the Holbeck Fish Fry is Duncan Chambers. Here are both the men’s numbers. We’ll wait while you call.”
The detective warily stared at us both as she put the phone on speaker mode and made the calls. “Tomas Castillo?” she quizzed.
“Yeah, who is this? I don’t have this number, why are you calling me on a private number?” Hawk was the name I knew of for him, and that’s what our brothers at Rebel Saints called him as well. He was our sergeant-in-arms and all-round good guy. He sounded wound up and as if he was about to give the detective a piece of his mind.
I cringed, but was laughing on the inside at the way he answered the phone.
“I’m Detective Mandy Shepherd from the Holbeck police department. I want to know if I can ask you a few questions, if I may.”
“Sure. I don’t have anything to hide, go ahead,” he prompted her.
“Can you confirm what you were doing on Saturday, the 14th of November at 6.45 p.m.?”
He paused for a beat.
Even though I’d done nothing wrong, I found myself rubbing my hands together.
Mia simply stared at the detective calmly without a hair out of place.
She was a hard one to read, which was a little unnerving for me, but good for her as a lawyer. I let it pass as I listened to what Hawk had to say.
“That’s easy. I was at Wheelz with our crew and then I went to go grab a bite to eat at the Holbeck Fish Fry with a guy called Nathan Briggs. We were there for a while, sitting down near the water.”
“Okay. Anybody else saw the both of you together?”
“Sure. All the people that were eating there that night.” His tone was sharp.
I could tell he wasn’t happy I was at the station being questioned. He sounded exactly how I felt right now.
“Thanks for your cooperation, Tomas. Much appreciated.” The detective hung up and gently put the phone down in front of her.
“Is this necessary?” Mia spoke up. “What information do you have to place Nathan at the scene of the crime? If you don’t have any evidence, we won’t carry on this conversation. You now have a location verified and a list of possible sources that can identify him.”
The detective quirked her eyebrow at Mia and tapped her fingers lightly on the table. She was definitely attempting to intimidate her.
Mia only uncrossed her legs and sat forward slightly in her seat.
She was quite a striking woman, which made it hard to sit beside her and not feel anything.
“Of course, I understand, but from my end, I need to do my job and consider all possible angles. Nathan was sighted at the location of the stolen car, according to the tip-off we received.”