Page 12 of Ghostly Bother (Ghostly #9)

Angus looked at the man sitting across from him at the interview table, then back at Franks. "I still say we let him sleep it off in a cell before we interview him."

"Fuck you. I'm not drunk." Lucas Jenkin slammed his hand down on the table.

"Easy, or we put those handcuffs back on." Franks took a seat. "You're drunk. The question is, are you too drunk for us to legally question?"

Angus was sure Lucas's wife had already called his attorney.

She'd reached for the phone the moment Angus had cuffed Lucas after he'd tossed an empty vodka bottle at him.

They'd simply showed up to question Lucas, hoping that they could trick him into admitting he'd been the one meeting Eden.

Since they couldn't use Eden's statement in evidence, they'd had to figure out a way to get Lucas to admit it.

He hadn't held out much hope in getting the man to talk.

Surprisingly, Lucas had opened the door to them, a glass of vodka in hand, and simply waved them inside.

"I figured you'd show up sooner or later," Lucas had mumbled when Franks held up his badge. Lucas turned and sighed as he sat back down on the couch. "Eden leave a note somewhere of where she would be?"

"You were the one meeting Eden?" Franks asked.

"You already know I was, or you wouldn't be here." Lucas reached for the bottle of vodka that sat on the coffee table and poured the last of it into his glass. "Thank God I didn't go or I might be dead too." He took a long drink.

"You didn't meet with her?" Angus asked.

"She sent me a text thirty minutes before we were to meet and told me not to come. I was already in the car and on my way. I figured something had spooked her. She got that way from time to time." Lucas took another drink.

"You met with her like this often?" Franks asked.

Lucas glared at him. "You'd like me to admit that, wouldn't you?

Well, I didn't go last night. I didn't kill her.

I turned around and came back home after I got the text.

I trusted her intuition and if she felt something was wrong, we didn't meet.

I was shocked when I saw the news and heard she was dead.

" Lucas rubbed a hand over his chin. "I knew somehow you'd find out about the meeting and think I killed her.

But I didn't." He downed the rest of the vodka and sighed.

"We'd like to have you come down to the station so we can ask you some questions," Angus said.

"I don't want to talk to you." Lucas frowned. "Don't want to talk about Eden."

"We can get a warrant," Franks told him.

"Fuck your warrant and fuck you." Lucas reached for the empty bottle, shook it, then threw it at Franks. "Go away."

It hadn't been an actual attack, but it had been enough to detain Lucas and drag him down to the station.

The problem was, Lucas was drunk, and anything he said now wouldn't be admissible in court.

Still, just the fact that Lucas had expected them to visit him said a lot.

He'd all but admitted he was the one meeting Eden that night, and phone records would show whether he'd received a text canceling or not.

Angus didn't have a feel on Lucas's guilt when it came to Eden's murder, but he was sure the businessman was guilty of plenty of other things.

Now, with Lucas sitting at the metal table in a very uncomfortable chair in the interview room, Angus wondered how many other companies were bribing the city in exchange for various contracts.

They'd read Lucas his rights already, and so far, he hadn't requested his lawyer, but his wife had probably called him as soon as they'd taken Lucas into custody.

It was still a fine line as far as questioning went due to Lucas's intoxicated state.

"What time were you supposed to meet Eden that night?" Angus asked.

"Nine," Lucas sighed. "But I got the text right before I got there. I turned around and headed back home. I had no idea why she cancelled and didn't want to be anywhere near her if something was wrong or someone was onto us." Lucas looked up. "Can I get coffee?"

"Sure." Franks left the room.

"You'd done this before? Met Eden late at night like this?" Angus asked.

"A few times." Lucas shrugged. "She'd been paranoid because of the investigation into her office.

I heard she was only dealing with people she truly trusted recently.

I guess I was one of those. Lot of good it did me.

I'm screwed now." Lucas pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I talk to you and clear my name of murder, but doing so, I fuck myself and probably my business telling you the truth. "

Angus didn't feel a bit of sympathy for Lucas Jenkin. He'd known that bribing the city council and mayor was illegal. He would have been caught eventually. "Who else knew that you two were meeting?"

"Nobody. I didn't tell anyone. I doubt she did.

Like I said, she was being very cautious since the investigation started.

We didn't talk over the phone. All our deals were made in person.

We'd meet in places that weren't obvious.

Last time we talked it was at the hardware store, so it looked as if we'd just ran into each other while shopping.

" Lucas looked up as Franks walked back in, setting a Styrofoam cup down on the table along with sugar and a creamer pod.

"Thanks." Lucas took the cup but pushed the cream and sugar aside.

"Do you know anyone else she was making deals with?" Angus asked.

Lucas sighed, but didn't answer.

"Listen, the information is going to get out. If you didn't kill her, maybe one of them did. Someone knew where Eden was going to be. Did you always meet at the same place?" Franks asked.

"Yeah, it was safe. At least she thought it was.

She made sure the cameras around the area didn't work and there wasn't much traffic in the area so we could tell if we'd been followed.

If either of us felt something was off, we'd reschedule.

I figured there were people around or she thought she'd been followed when I got her text canceling our meeting.

I wasn't worried. I knew she'd get with me to set something up another night.

" Lucas took a long drink of his coffee and frowned. "This is shit."

"We know. We drink it too." Franks sat down. "So who else might have wanted Eden dead?"

"Hell if I know. Someone she didn't give a contract to?

I'm pretty sure she'd been cheating on her husband.

Did you look into where he was?" Lucas shook his head.

"There's probably a list a mile long of people who didn't like her.

Who hated her enough to kill her? I really don't know.

" He took another drink, then frowned. "I don't know for sure who the others were, but if you look at who got city contracts, you'll know.

I doubt there was a project she didn't accept a bribe for.

I'd look harder at those who didn't get contracts than I would who did.

Those of us who commonly worked with Eden had a good thing going.

We wouldn't have messed it up. At least, I can't imagine anyone would. "

Angus made notes, wishing he'd talked to the captain before this interview so he knew how many other companies might be involved.

He really needed to sit down and find out what information the team found at the Mayor's Office and if the team that was investigating the mayor and city council for fraud was willing to share anything they'd found so far.

That was the issue with big cases. There were too many people involved and too much information that didn't always get shared right away.

There was a team meeting planned in the morning, but that didn't help right now.

Angus looked up as the door opened and an older man walked in. He wore a nice suit and carried a briefcase. "Gentlemen, my client has nothing more to say for now." He offered his hand. "Ryan Prescott."

"Ryan, it's okay. I want to help." Lucas waved his hand, obviously feeling the lasting effects of the alcohol he'd consumed.

"That's fine. You can help, but let us discuss things alone first to make sure you're doing everything you can to protect yourself and your company." Mr. Prescott set his briefcase on the table. "Are you charging my client with assault?"

Franks met Angus's eyes for a moment, a silent communication happening between them. "No, but only because he was too drunk to have good aim when he threw a bottle at me." Franks stood. "You're free to go, Mr. Jenkin, but we will be arranging an interview with you once you sober up."

Angus stood as well. "We'll also be getting a warrant for your phone records."

"Don't need a warrant. I'll agree to give everything to you." Lucas pulled out his phone.

Mr. Prescott took the phone. "Just to make everything legal, get the warrant. We don't need any surprises, Lucas. Let's do this by the book so you're protected."

Lucas closed his eyes. "Too late. I'm already in trouble. But I didn't kill Eden. I need everyone to know that. I'm not a murderer."

"We'll verify your information and go from there. We'll be in touch soon," Angus promised. He hated letting the man go, but with him being drunk and now with his attorney present, it was pointless to continue.

"You can contact me if you have questions for my client." Mr. Prescott tossed one of his cards on the table and smiled. "Have a good day." He led Lucas out to the hall and left Angus and Franks standing in the small interview room.

"Well, we got more than we had." Franks reached for the business card on the table.

"But not enough. Someone knew those two were meeting that night." Angus held the door open for Angus.

"Have we got the information from Eden's phone service yet?" Franks asked.