CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
While being processed, Francois Leeming had not requested a lawyer. He hadn’t requested anything. He’d remained utterly silent. Now, Cami waited expectantly outside the door of an interview room at the FBI Boston office to see how the confrontation with this suspect would play out.
This time, thanks to the absence of any legal team so far, she was pleased that she could stay in the room for the questioning. Even so, she didn’t think that this was going to be easy. Not at all. She guessed this was going to be their toughest suspect in this case so far.
Connor opened the door, nodding at Cami, who walked in behind him. Looking at Leeming now, seated at the table, Cami sensed this man had something to hide. She didn’t consider herself an expert in body language at all. But even as a lay person, she could see how closed up he was. His eyes were narrowed. His shoulders tight. His fingers closely laced.
He was not going to give anything up. Immediately, she saw this. But she was just a beginner in this game and perhaps Connor could blast through his defenses.
It was perturbing to Cami, though, that he’d refused to open his laptop or to unlock his phone. He’d just outright refused when he was being processed. They were going to ask him about that again now, but she had a feeling he was locked up as tight as his devices clearly were.
Connor sat down at the table and started the recorder. Francois Leeming looked at Cami. He sneered, and Cami found herself feeling angry.
“We’re questioning you in connection with a series of murders in the Boston area,” Connor told him in a neutral voice.
Leeming simply shrugged. “Why me? I have nothing to do with any murders,” he said.
He didn’t even seem shocked or surprised, Cami noted, now feeling even more suspicious. Wouldn’t anyone be shocked if they were confronted with this information?
Connor simply continued. “Your car was seen in the vicinity of two of the crimes, twenty-four hours before they were committed.”
“Well, where were the murders? You’ll have to tell me as I don’t know. I know nothing. I’ve been driving around town, sure. There’s a chance I could have been in the same area, sure. Even if I was, it’s not proof of anything. So, it could only have been a coincidence, right? That I was in that place at that time?” Leeming insisted.
Cami looked at his face. His eyes were narrowed in a way that was, to her at least, suspicious. He was hiding something.
“What is your purpose for being in Boston?” Connor asked.
“I’m here on business.”
“Can you prove that? Where are you staying?”
“The Hyatt. Near the harbor.”
“For how long are you checked in?”
“I arrived last week. I’m checking out in a couple of days.”
“Can you prove you are here on business?”
Leeming folded his arms. “I’m an IT developer. My business here is confidential. I don’t disclose what clients I see or what I discuss. I’m one of the best in the business and if they call me out to brainstorm some possibilities, I don’t say why. Not before or after the contract is signed.”
Cami thought that was a rather egotistical thing to say. She was surprised by it. She would have thought that a truly professional developer probably would not have bragged that way. Developers didn’t have to claim they were the best in the business. That was more the domain of the salespeople, in her experience.
There was a long pause. Cami felt him watching her again and looked up. Their gazes clashed. He looked at her steadily, smirking. Cami looked away. She did not like him. She didn’t like him at all.
“Why was your car seen near the crime scenes?” Connor asked again.
“I don’t know. Clearly, I was in the area.”
“Can you tell me who your clients are?”
“No. Not until they sign.” There was a pause. “This doesn’t make me a killer, does it?”
“What is your business here?”
“That’s confidential. I’m not telling you that. If I don’t sign a contract, then I don’t tell. That’s how it works. I’m not giving any details about my work.”
“Can you prove you’re here for work?”