Break the Silence (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“Jacobs gave her a slap to wake her and then Seth gave her a warning before she left. He told her if she opened her mouth, he’d have her sister the following weekend.”

“Her sister?” Jenna raised her gaze. “The one in high school?”

“I guess.” Stevens smiled at her. “Seth was careful who he chose; he always said he picked someone who had something or someone to lose. They were the easiest to control.”

“Did they mention her phone?” Kane drummed his fingers on the desk.

“Nope, just her shoes.”

“Okay. I’ll have a statement typed up for you to sign and then I’ll call the DA.” Jenna stood. “You’ll need a lawyer. Do you want me to call someone?”

“Okay, call me a lawyer but I don’t want Sam Cross.” Stevens didn’t appear the least bit concerned about facing possible jail time. “Call my family lawyer. I’ll give you his number.”

Jenna gave him a nod, closed the interview, and turned off the tape. She followed Kane out into the hall and leaned against the wall. “How did Lyons react when you hauled him in?”

“He went ballistic.” Kane’s mouth twitched into a smile. “It took two of us to take him down and cuff him. Rowley wanted to Taser him and I admit the thought had crossed my mind, but I didn’t want his lawyer crying foul.”

“Maybe you should sit out of the next interview and cool down.” Jenna cleared her throat. “I know you’re angry but this isn’t the Kane I know. Can you reboot? I really need your professional side in these interviews.”

“Sure.” Kane let out a long sigh. “I’m glad we have Lyons in custody. I won’t jeopardize the case, Jenna. You have my word.”

“Okay.” Jenna lifted her chin. “Do you figure he’s capable of murder?”

“Yeah, anyone who can inflict that kind of violence is capable of murder.” Kane shrugged. “Maybe Jacobs wanted to stop after Chrissie died. Hell, maybe they all did, and it made him angry. He likes to be in charge; controlling people and dominating women is his thing. He figures his friends owe him loyalty. Yeah, he could’ve snapped and killed Jacobs. I figure Lyons is the only person he would trust to spot him.”

“True.” Jenna frowned. “And Lyons having the flash drives doesn’t mean a thing. In hindsight, Lyons could’ve taken them out of the safe before Court overdosed. He’d never admit it, would he? We’ll never find out if he was at any of the murder scenes, his friends will cover for him. The only thing worrying me about Jacobs’ death is motive. Lyons needed him on the team to make the NFL. That was something his daddy couldn’t buy him.”

“Maybe not—there are lots of great players on the bench. As long as he shone out as a star player, the others were disposable. It had to be something else.” Kane shrugged. “Right now, all we have on him is blackmail and serial rape.”

“I need to know who he fought with at the old bridge.” Jenna pushed her hair behind one ear. “Who could it have been?”

“We’ll get Emily to take a look at the images Rowley took on the day.” Kane shrugged. “She might be able to make an ID.”

Jenna turned to walk to the next interview room. “Wolfe will be here soon with the final results from the autopsies.” She looked over her shoulder at Kane. “I hope he’s found evidence against Seth Lyons or Steve Lowe. I can’t ignore my gut feeling that one of them is a very smart killer.”

Fifty-Two

If Jenna had to describe the difficulty of walking into a room to interview a man she despised and act in a professional way, she wouldn’t be able to. Facing a person who’d ruined so many lives made her skin crawl. Seth Lyons was a monster but she put her sheriff’s mask firmly in place to deal with him and hoped like hell she’d be able to keep Kane from leaping across the table and beating him to death. She nodded at Rowley, who was standing outside the room, and stared through the one-way mirror to the man inside interview room two. With his wrists cuffed to a ring on the table, Lyons’ head hung down and he was panting like a cornered animal.

&nbs

p; Holding her head high, Jenna walked inside with Kane at her heels. Without preamble, she turned on the recording device and camera. “Mr. Lyons, you’ve been read your rights and understand them?”

“Yeah, Sheriff.” Lyons’ eyes shifted to Kane. “Your deputy explained and I agreed to speak to you, okay? I don’t need a lawyer. I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the victim.” He moved his head slowly to her, and the look he gave her was contemptuous. “You’re wasting my time. Get on with it.”

Before she could start the interview, her cellphone chimed. “Excuse me.” Jenna paused the tape at the sight of the DA’s phone number. “Sheriff Alton.”

“An agent from the FBI called. The first four women they’ve contacted agreed to come forward and testify against Lyons and his friends. I’ll give you their names. This is only the start, Sheriff; by the end of the day I figure we’ll have many more.”

We have him. Jenna tried unsuccessfully to suppress the bolt of excitement rushing through her. She glanced at Kane and allowed her mouth to twitch into a small smile. “Thank you.” She made notes and then went through her folder and selected a number of photographs. She placed them face down on the table and restarted the interview.

After giving the time and people present, and again making sure Lyons was aware of his rights, she met the man’s sullen gaze. “I’d like some more information about the fight you were involved in on the trail up by the old bridge.”

“It was nothing.” Lyons looked at his hands.

“That’s not the impression Emily Wolfe had; she said you were in fear of your life.” Jenna leaned forward in her chair. “Do you know this man and did he threaten you with a weapon?”

“Just drop it, okay?” Lyons moved around in his chair. “Nothing happened. I went on the bridge to help Emily, is all.”