J. Robb - Innocent In Death

She considered the lighted mirror angling from the ceiling a cliché, and laughable. Art here ran to pencil drawings of stupendously endowed couples copulating in various positions.

She lifted the shimmering red spread, found black sheets, and beneath them a gel mattress that undulated under pressure.

Ick.

The drawers in the table beside the bed held a cornucopia of sex toys and enhancements, including a couple of illegal substances classified as date rape devices. She bagged them into evidence.

“You make this part easy,” she said aloud, and moved to the closet.

She noted his professional wardrobe on one side-a couple of suits, sports jackets, shirts, trousers. His leisure wear on the other was considerably less conservative.

She wondered who would actually enjoy seeing a grown man in a black skin-suit.

“Hey, Dallas, you’ve gotta see-” McNab stopped, whistled. “Wow. Sexcapades.” He studied one of the black-framed sketches. “These two have to be double-jointed.” He scratched his throat, then bent from the waist to study it from a different angle.

“What do I have to see?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry, got sucked in. Sex is this guy’s religion. It’s kind of admirable in a sick way. He spends a lot of time on his comp: chat rooms, websites-all sex spots. Orders a lot of toys.”

“Yeah, he’s got a nice supply. Including a little Whore, a little Rabbit.”

McNab’s easy amusement vanished. “Not admirable, even in a sick way.”

“Any correspondence with the vic?”

“Not on that unit.”

“Research on poisons? Ricin or others?”

“Nothing. May be buried deeper, and I can take it in and look. His schoolwork is on there, too. Lesson plans, grade book, like that. Nothing that looks off on that end.” He cocked his head up. “Bet there’s a camera in there.”

“Camera.” She narrowed her eyes at the mirror. “Really.”

“Five gets you ten on it. Want me to have a look?”

“You do that.” She moved to search the bath. “Stay out of the toy drawer.”

“Aw. Lieutenant Spoilsport.”

THEY FOUND NO EVIDENCE LINKING WILLIAMS to the poison, or Craig Foster’s death, but they found plenty to tangle him up. Eve ordered in a team of sweepers, just to tie it off, then prepped for the interview.

“We’re going to start with the murder, standard routine questions,” Eve told Peabody. “He hasn’t lawyered up. Feels too cocky.”

“You ask me, this guy thinks with his cock most of the time.”

“You got that right. So we use it. Just a couple of girls. From that quick preview of the discs McNab dug up, this one likes multiples. So we poke at him about the vic, then we jam him with the illegals we found in his place, then we work him on the murder again.”

Juggle it, Eve thought as she went into the interview room. Keep him off balance.

“It’s about damn time. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting?” Williams demanded. “Do you have any idea what it does to my professional reputation to have a couple of police goons pull me out of class?”

“We’ll get to that professional reputation in a minute. I need to log this interview in, give you your rights and obligations. Formalize it.”

“My rights?” His body twitched, as if he’d experienced a small electric shock. “Am I under arrest?”

“Absolutely not. But this is a formal interview, and there’s procedure designed to protect you. Do you want something to drink besides that water? Coffee-it sucks-a soft drink?”

“I want this done so I can get out of here.”

“We’ll try to keep it moving.” She logged in for the recorder, read him the Revised Miranda. “Do you understand your rights and obligations in this matter, Mr. Williams?”

“Of course I do. That doesn’t make this any less annoying.”

“I’m sure it doesn’t. Now, let’s go over your movements on the day Craig Foster was murdered.”

“Christ! I’ve given you my statement already. I’ve cooperated.”

“Listen.” Eve sat, stretched out her legs. “This is a homicide, and one that took place in a school where minors have been involved and affected.”

She turned her hand over, palm up, in a gesture of what-can-I-do. “We have to dig for every detail. People often forget details, so we routinely repeat interviews.”

“We’re sorry for the inconvenience,” Peabody added with an understanding smile. “We’ve got to be thorough.”

“Fine, fine. Try to get it right this time?”

Oh, yeah, Eve thought. Very cocky and used to intimidating the girls. “We’ll do our best. From your previous statement, and the statements of others, you saw and/or spoke with the victim at least twice on the day of his death. Is this correct?”

“Yes, yes, yes. In the fitness center, early, then in the lounge just before classes began. I told you.”

“What did you and Mr. Foster talk about in the fitness center?”

“We didn’t. I told you that.”

Eve flipped through the files. “Mmm-hmm. But you and the victim did have occasion to have conversations previously.”

“Well, Jesus, of course. We worked together.”

“And were those conversations less than friendly?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Eve folded her hands on top of the file, smiled winningly. “Then let me be clear. When Mr. Foster pinned your ears back about fishing in the work and parental pool for sex, would you consider those conversations of a friendly nature?”

“I consider that question insulting.”

“It seems from the statements we have from women you harassed or seduced, many of them found your advances and behavior insulting.” She closed the file and smiled again. “Come on, Reed, we know the score, you and me. These women didn’t complain. They liked the attention, they liked the excitement. You didn’t slap them around and rape them. It was consensual, and Foster-from what I gather-poked his nose in where it didn’t belong.”

Williams drew a deep breath. “Letme be clear. I’ve never denied that I enjoy a certain amount of sexual success with women. It’s not illegal for me to enjoy that success with coworkers or with parents of students, for that matter. Unethical, perhaps.”

“Well, it actually is illegal to perform sexual acts in an educational facility when minors are present. So, if you had that success during school hours, on school grounds-where you kept a supply of condoms-you’ve committed a crime.”

“This is bullshit.”

“It is sort of nitpicky, I grant you, but I have to follow the law. I can talk to the PA about giving you the brush on that, but I need to get the details on record.”

“I never had sex with anyone in an area the students could access.”

“Okay, that’s a plus. But you did have sex in areas the victim could access. Correct?”

“Possibly, but we’re talking about a grown man. I’d like to know exactly what you meant about some women being insulted, giving statements about their relationship with me.”

“I can’t tell you the names, part of the agreement with them. Like I said, it’s obvious to me it was consensual. Who knows why they’re circling now.”

“I’d say it’s the upset about the murder,” Peabody put in. “These women aren’t used to talking to cops, so when they do, especially about something as shocking as murder, things just jump out of their mouths. We’ve got to follow up, Mr. Williams. It’s not exactly the kind of work we like doing. Live and let live, in my opinion, when it comes to this area. But we’ve got to get it taken care of.”

“I had sex, nobody got hurt. End of story.”

“But Craig Foster disapproved,” Eve prompted.