“Yes.”
“Most recently, you and Detective Garnet were assigned as lead investigators on the Giraldi case. According to my information, Detective Garnet believed that case was about to break.”
“We were pursuing several lines of investigation.”
Eve opened a file, skimmed it as if looking for specific data. “Were any of those lines of investigation pursued due to information received from your lieutenant’s CI, Rickie Keener, now deceased?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
She cocked up her eyebrows. “You had not solicited information from that source?”
“No.”
“Had Garnet?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
“It runs a very high probability, Detective, that as both Keener and Garnet were killed at the same location, their murders are connected, either by perpetrator or purpose, or both.”
“I don’t believe Keener was murdered. I think he overdosed, as his kind often do.”
“That determination isn’t yours to make, Detective. It falls to the ME, to me, to the evidence, which all weigh in on homicide.”
She closed a file, opened another, exposing Keener’s crime scene photos, then slid out one of Garnet’s and set them side-by-side.
“It would be a very strange coincidence if Detective Garnet was murdered in the same location and his death had no connection to Keener’s. Adding to that, you and Garnet entered Keener’s residence, after his death, and performed an illegal search.”
“We believed we had cause, and did not—at that time—know Keener was dead.”
“The cause being a possible connection to your investigation.”
“That’s right.”
“But you had not solicited Keener prior.”
“I didn’t. I said I had no knowledge whether Garnet did. He said he had a hunch, that we needed to give Keener a shake.”
“What was the hunch? What was the purpose of the shake?”
“I don’t know.”
She leaned back. “You and Garnet were working what you consider a major case, one you believed would shortly break. He has a hunch, and you both go to the flop of your lieutenant’s CI. But you don’t ask why, or what you’re looking for when you conduct the illegal search, you don’t ask how Keener might be connected to your investigation.”
Bix shrugged, the first move he’d made since she’d come in to the room. “Garnet wanted to give him a shake. I backed him up.”
“You don’t have much cop curiosity, do you, Bix?”
“I do the job.”
“You follow orders. Did you consider Garnet a partner or a senior detective?”
“He was both. Now he’s neither.”
“Did you get along with him?”
“I didn’t have any problem with him.”
“Friendly, were you?”