Page 26 of Fatal Intent

CHAPTER SEVEN

“THEN LET’S BEGIN,” Grant said, his hand tightening around Rayne’s. “We’re holding up team training to talk to you.” The detectives were dragging their heels on this. What he wouldn’t give to have access to the police files on these cases. He felt as though anything he said would condemn him or Rayne. Grant hated working in the dark.

“We appreciate your wholehearted cooperation,” Sanders said, his tone dry.

Maddox snorted. “Get on with it, boys. Just remember, if these questions go sideways, you’ll have to wait for their lawyer to join this meeting.”

Conner grimaced. “Yeah, we met Vince Hargrove this morning.”

Grant’s lips curved. Guess Vince had made an impression during the earlier interview. “What do you want to know?”

“The medical examiner estimated Mr. Rivers’ time of death to be between midnight and four this morning,” Sanders said. “Where were you during those hours?”

“In bed sleeping from midnight to 3:30 a.m. After that, I dressed, did some warm-up exercises, then hit the trail.”

Sanders’s gaze flicked to Rayne before returning to Grant. “Can anyone verify your alibi?”

“No. I was alone. However, I have a high-end security system that Fortress monitors 24 hours a day. I can ask a tech to pull the security footage and send you a copy.”

Conner stared. “You could have tampered with the footage.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. I’m sure your own computer experts can verify the footage isn’t doctored.”

“Fine.” Sanders leaned back in his chair. “We’d appreciate a copy of your security feed from ten last night until six this morning.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Maddox grabbed his cell phone to shoot off a text message.

“Thanks,” the detective said curtly. “Bowen, did you know Mr. Rivers was in town?”

“No, just like I didn’t know Selena was in town.”

“Do you know any reason they would be in Hartman?”

If he knew the answers to those questions, he’d have this case solved. “I don’t know about Selena, but Dante was a big country music fan, especially of the group calling itself Three Rivers. The members of the group are his cousins. Anyway, they’ll be in concert in Nashville tonight. Ardmore is only a few hours from here. This would have been a perfect opportunity to see his favorite group.”

“Did Ms. Baker and Mr. Rivers know you moved to Hartman?”

“I didn’t tell them, but it wasn’t a secret. Word would have leaked around the squad room. I guarantee Dante knew.”

“That’s right.” Conner sneered. “You used to be a cop until you bailed to become a mercenary.”

“I bailed because I had a target on my back.”

“You’re a traitor to the badge, Bowen. You turned on a fellow cop.”

“That’s not fair,” Rayne protested. “Grant and his teammates risked their lives to unmask a dirty cop who planned to kill a high-ranking government official. When they returned to Ardmore, they were ostracized for doing their jobs and protecting innocent lives.”

Grant squeezed her hand to shut down her defense. While he appreciated it, he didn’t want Rayne to make herself a more viable target for the Hartman detectives. “Think what you want, Conner. I stand by my actions and decisions. I preferred not to take a bullet in the back from my backup when my partner and I were answering a call.”

“Have you talked to anyone from your old unit in recent weeks?” Sanders asked.

He shook his head. Grant and his teammates had discussed whether to keep in touch with their coworkers from the Ardmore PD. They’d opted to drop all contact except with their commanding officer.

Conner snorted. “Probably for the best. I doubt your squadmates would want to keep in touch.”

“Get back on task,” Maddox snapped. “Grant and Rayne are running out of time.”

“We could take this back to the station,” Sanders said evenly.