I snorted, nearly inhaling the coffee that was pressed against my mouth.
“Jesus,” I muttered.
“Why’d you want to know about his Suburban?” she questioned.
I looked at the window that Carver was seated beyond and said, “I don’t know.”
Well, I did know.
It was a hunch.
But I was going to follow it even though it might be a possibility that my hunch was wrong.
“Huh,” she muttered, side-eyeing me with a look that said she didn’t believe me.
My lips twitched. “Just give me a few minutes. If I’m right, you’ll know any second.”
She sniffed, then sat back in her chair as she looked at the window right along with me.
“Hello, Carver,” Schultz said as he tossed the file folder down onto the table in front of the man. “Can you tell me why you were hiding beside Officer Stone’s vehicle with a lead pipe in your hand?”
Carver said nothing.
“No?” he asked. “This would all go better if you just cooperated.”
Carver snorted. “I want my lawyer.”
Schultz sighed. “Do you have one in mind, or do you want one appointed to you?”
Schultz was nothing if by the book.
“I have one,” he muttered, then rattled off the number.
“I don’t know what that says about you that you have your lawyer’s number memorized,” Schultz muttered as he jerked his chin up toward the two-way glass. “But I’ll get him here. In the meantime, I’m just going to talk. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
Carver remained stubbornly silent.
If he was smart, he’d continue to stay that way until his lawyer arrived.
“I was informed that you used to have a black Suburban SUV.” Schultz leaned one hip casually against the metal table. “Is that true?”
Carver damn near jolted straight out of his chair as he whipped around and looked at Schultz with a panicked expression on his face.
Schultz didn’t miss it, and I didn’t, either.
I sighed and stood up, walking out of the observation room and to the interrogation room’s entrance.
I didn’t bother to pause outside, instead pushed straight in and closed the door behind me.
The minute Carver saw me, he flinched.
“Tell me why you did it?” I suggested. “I already know that it was you. It’s all making sense now, only I don’t know what I ever did to you to warrant being run over by your SUV.”
I could practically hear Camryn’s gasp of outrage through the wall.
I just hoped she stayed put and didn’t try to burst through the door causing me to break off my line of questioning before I got what I wanted.
Luckily, my girl stayed where she was, though I could tell she was fuming.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Carver lied, looking away.
I looked at Schultz and gestured for him to leave, which he did moments later, leaving me alone in the room with Carver only.
“I know you did it,” I said softly. “I also remembered seeing you parked across the street from me the day of the accident.”
He flinched.
“You didn’t mean to run me over that day,” I said. “At least, not at first.”
He drew in a deep breath.
“It’s because of Nivea, isn’t it?” I asked.
He swiped at his face.
“What’d she do to make you run me over with an SUV?” I asked.
I knew why he was going to come after me with the pipe.
That was because I’d seen his new car today, and he’d seen my wheels turning.
I hadn’t realized they were turning at the time, but the moment I laid eyes on his vehicle, something had clicked for me.
And he’d seen that.
“I…I…” he started, then stopped.
“You what?” I pushed.
“I didn’t mean to?” he lied.
“I know you didn’t mean to.” I hesitated. “At least not at first. But something happened, and you got mad.”
“I got really mad,” he whispered. “Like that time I hit you in the nose.”
That time he punched me and I let him.
“Okay,” I said. “But what happened?”
He drew in a deep breath and sat up straight, but just as he was about to tell me, the door burst open and his lawyer walked in.
“Don’t say another word,” he ordered.
But Carver ignored his order.
“I hit you,” he said. “I aimed for you with my SUV. And I hit you. Ran you over. When it pinned you to the ground, I ran. W-watched from the woods as they kept you alive.”
My eyes met Schultz’s, who was standing right outside the interrogation room door.
“Sir,” Carver’s lawyer tried to interrupt.
“She…she…” He blew out a deep breath, then inhaled just as sharply before saying, “She told me that I’d never be you.”
We all waited for more of an explanation, but none was forthcoming.
“That’s it?” Schultz said indelicately from the doorway.
Carver’s eyes went to him, then to me.
“Do you know what it’s like to be second fiddle to him not once, but twice?” he asked. “It’s humiliating!”
“So you ran him over with a goddamn Suburban?” came Camryn’s indelicate screech from behind Schultz.