Page 66 of It's a Wonderful Knife

“Not sure.” Royce stood, stretching his arms above his head. “Either way, I’ll need to talk to Jameson and Madison to verify. Just because Richard isn’t my favorite person, that doesn’t mean he’s lying.”

“It’s awfully convenient how his stories throw everyone else under the bus.”

“Yeah, but it’s possible he’s telling the truth.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know how you remain so impartial.”

“I have to.” He shrugged. “In your line of work, you can’t let your emotions get in the way of your job either. You have to treat patients you don’t like all the time.”

“True.”

Royce smiled. “I guess we’re both professionals.”

“Let’s just hope I never have to treat River for anything life-threatening. My Hippocratic oath might be in jeopardy.”

“Now come on, Max. You’re no killer.”

“That depends. Would you let me get away with it?”

“Hell no.”

“What if I didn’t make him suffer too much?”

“Max,” Royce growled. “That’s not funny.”

I smirked. “Richard was right. You’re no fun at all.”

Chapter Nine

Royce

I’d planned on interviewing Jax next, but after what Richard said about Jameson, I decided Jameson would be the easier interview. Something told me Jax was going to want to tangle some.

Jameson came into the office looking skittish as a jackrabbit around a coyote. His dark eyes were filled with worry as he sat down across from me. “I didn’t think you’d get to me for a while.”

“Oh, I just have a few things I wanted to ask.” I kept my voice light and casual so that I didn’t alarm him. He already looked plenty spooked.

He clasped his hands in his lap. “Okay, shoot.”

“I’ve heard a rumor that you had words with Santiago the day before he died.” I watched as anxiety rippled crossed his sharp features.

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

Max observed us silently, occasionally scribbling something on his notepad.

“What did you fight about?”

Pink touched Jameson’s face. “Like I said, it was no big deal.”

“Humor me.”

Shifting restlessly, Jameson said, “He was no gentleman, I can tell you that.”

“Did that make you angry?”

Jameson rubbed the back of his neck. “I was raised to treat women with respect. Santiago wasn’t a very nice man. He was a cheater.”

Max raised his brows but said nothing.