Page 83 of Zero Divergence
Humphries’s brow furrowed. “Who?” He shook his head. “Scratch that. Let me call Bill and see when he can be available. One of us will be in touch.” Sawyer started to offer him one of his cards, but Humphries shook his head. “Oh, I have his number,” he said, nodding toward Royce. “Isn’t that right?”
Royce knew he wasn’t referring to his phone number either.I’ve got yours too, mother fucker.Mr. Psychology thought he had Royce all figured out, but they’d see which one of them won this game of cat and mouse. “I’ll be waiting,” Royce said.
Elderwood called Royce not more than five minutes later. The attorney chewed his ass for ten minutes about harassing his client before informing Royce that he and Humphries would be at the precinct at four o’clock.
“We’ll see you then, Mr. Elderwood.”
The attorney and his killer client showed up ten minutes early. Royce and Sawyer didn’t want to keep them waiting since the ploy wouldn’t gain them an advantage. Royce led them into a conference room and gestured for them to have a seat.
Humphries looked around the room, then smirked at Royce. “This is quite a different setup than last time, Sergeant.”
The location for the meeting was also part of their plan. Talking to him in one of the interview rooms would only set Humphries on edge and make him less willing to talk. The video camera was mounted on the wall in plain sight but was less obvious than a two-way mirror.
“I want to make my irritation known for the record,” Elderwood said. “I feel you’ve taken advantage of terrible circumstances to harass my client.” The older man’s face started turning red as his temper rose. “You had no business showing up at his home to question—”
Royce raised his hand to cut off his tirade. “Noted, sir. I also want to state for the record that Detective Key and I didn’t go to your client’s house to question him. We went there to warn him about a potential danger to him and his wife.”
Elderwood briefly glanced at Humphries before narrowing his eyes at Royce. “What danger?” So, Humphries had left that part out, huh? Interesting. Royce was willing to bet the lawyer hadn’t informed Humphries that his file was missing either. The guys weren’t off to a good start.
“As we stated to Mr. Humphries,” Sawyer said, “we think the person who killed Vivian Gross might be obsessed with him.”
“You have a suspect in mind, then?” Elderwood asked.
“Yes, we do,” Royce said, flipping open the file to remove the enlarged photo of Bonita Brothers. He turned it around and set it in the center of the table. Both Elderwood and Humphries leaned forward and studied it. “Are you familiar with this woman?”
“She looks familiar,” Humphries said. He looked up and met Royce’s gaze head-on. There was no surprise or hint of recognition in the man’s eyes, but Royce wasn’t expecting a revealing reaction. “She also resembles every other white, fair, blonde girl that attends South University.”
“Is this your suspect?” Elderwood asked.
Royce nodded. “Bonita Brothers.”
“I’ll take the bait,” Humphries said in a bored voice. Royce expected him to yawn at any minute to let him know how unconcerned he was. “What makes you think she killed Vivian, and why on earth would she be a threat to me?”
They’d discussed at great lengths what they would need to reveal to Humphries and Elderwood to add legitimacy to the meeting. Royce and Sawyer cautiously took turns revealing enough pieces of the puzzle to form a clear picture of a dangerously unstable woman whose obsession might be driving her to harm the women closest to Humphries. They were careful to stay clear of anything tying Bonita Brothers to the missing bedsheet. They didn’t share the image of Bonita taking Gross’s briefcase that presumably contained Humphries’s file and possibly the new evidence Gross had collected against him.
“I’ve taught thousands of students,” Humphries said once they finished. “I can’t even recall having a conversation with this one.” He sounded a little rattled, but Royce wasn’t buying his bullshit. Humphries was a master manipulator. “I would like to help you, but I don’t know anything about the woman.”
“Fair enough,” Sawyer replied. “We mostly wanted to make you aware of the danger to yourself and your wife.”
“Tiffany’s only in risk of drinking too much, falling asleep on a Mexican beach, and getting a sunburn,” Humphries said wryly.
“She didn’t come home with you?” Royce asked.
“Her sister turned up unexpectedly and crashed our second honeymoon. I was angry at first but figured my wife had been put through hell and deserved a longer vacation,” Humphries said, aiming a pointed look at Royce just in case it was unclear who he thought had put his wife through the wringer.
Bullshit. Tiffany Humphries had known her life was in danger and called her sister.
“Then you should stay alert until we’ve apprehended Ms. Brothers,” Sawyer said.
“Thank you, Detective Key. I’m so glad you care about me.”
Royce bristled at the dig, but Sawyer brushed his hand against his thigh beneath the table.
“If there’s nothing else to discuss, we’ll be going,” Elderwood said, scooting back his chair.
Sawyer and Royce made no move to stop them from leaving. Humphries threw one last smug look over his shoulder before walking out and pulling the door closed behind him. Royce reached beneath the table and hit the button to kill the video feed, then made a tight fist. Seeing that bastard walking free made him want to hit someone or throw something, but neither of those things would make the situation better.
Royce rose to his feet and moved to the door, checking to make sure the two men weren’t still standing on the other side before he closed it again and walked back to the table. Instead of returning to his chair, Royce sat on the edge of the table. Sawyer placed a comforting hand on his thigh.