Bennington turned in his seat and eyed Tommy. “Why don’t you take a seat? We have a few questions for you too.”
Tommy stood at the credenza, wiping blood off his hands with paper towels, his brow furrowed. “When counsel gets here, I will.” With that, Tommy opened a bottle of water and wet the paper towel in his hand.
“Why don’t you use the bathroom?” The cop lifted his lip in disgust as a pile of pink and red paper towels filled the trashcan.
“I’m not leaving her alone with you.”
“We’re the good guys,” the cop said, clearly confused.
Tommy scoffed but didn’t say anything else.
I took a dark chocolate from the candy dish in the middle of the table and gave them a tight-lipped smile as I unwrapped it.
“We got word that the man you shot died en route to the hospital,” Bennington said casually, assessing me for reaction, which he would never get. I didn’t give a fuck about the guy I killed on the sidewalk. I only cared that I was almost shot.
“He didn’t have any ID on him. Any idea who he was?”
I shrugged, keeping my eyes locked on the front door, praying Nicki wouldn’t hit traffic.
Bennington sighed. “We could always have this conversation at the station.”
“Am I under arrest?”
“No.”
“Then I think here will work just fine.”
“Is it all right if we check the security videos?” the cop asked, slowly rising from his seat.
Before I could respond, Nicki glided into the room. “I need a minute alone with my client.” She sat beside me and stared at the two lawmen until they awkwardly got up. As they reached the door, she said, “And don’t touch those videos until we give you permission or you have a warrant.”
Bennington’s eyes narrowed, but he gave her a terse nod.
Once the three of us were alone, Nicki took out a legal pad and asked, “So what happened?”
“A guy came around the corner with a gun. I pulled mine and told him to stop. He didn’t. Instead, he pointed his gun at me, so I shot twice.”
Nicki jotted down some notes and swiveled to Tommy, pointing her pen at him. “And you? You were chasing him?”
“He was lurking, and when I asked what he was doing, he ran.”
“That’s it?” She frowned at him.
“Yes.” He tossed yet another pink paper towel in the trashcan.
She let out an airy laugh. “Bring them back in.”
Tommy stuck his head out of the conference room and whistled obnoxiously.
When everyone was settled at the table, Nicki said, “I’m going to record this conversation.” She tapped her phone, then looked at Bennington. “I understand you have some questions?”
Over the next thirty minutes, he had me tell, retell, and then tell him out of order what happened. Eventually, Nicki asked if they would like to review the security footage to speed things along. Copies were made of the footage as well as my statement, and I was warned to stay in town.
Once they were gone, Nicki laughed. “They were really hoping to get you. The look of disappointment when they watched that video.” She shook her head and fell back into her dead fish persona. Checking her phone, she said, “I need to go. Call me if they give you any more trouble. I don’t think you need to get Fern on this, but if you don’t believe me, call her.” She shrugged and left Tommy and me in the lobby.
I looked at the large clock above Lara’s desk. “I’m calling it a day.”
“That’s probably a good idea. Marco wants to speak to you at the house.”
Perfect.