No One Left to Tell (28 page)

Paige studied the face of each man, then nodded once. ‘I’m Paige Holden.’

Stevie’s boss inclined his bald head. ‘We know.’

‘That’s Lieutenant Hyatt,’ Grayson said. ‘He heads the homicide division. To his left is Commander Williams. To his right, Lieutenant Gutierrez of Internal Affairs.’ He motioned to the man standing in the bathroom doorway. ‘Sergeant Doyle, also IA.’ He pointed to the man standing off to one side. ‘That’s my boss, Charlie Anderson.’

Who insisted on coming, but had said uncharacteristically little during the initial hour. The uncertainty as to Anderson’s intent left Grayson feeling even edgier.

Paige slid her backpack off her shoulder. ‘I’m sure you’ve all got places to be, things to do. Bad guys to catch. So if we could begin?’

Hyatt placed a wooden dinette chair facing the sofa. ‘Miss Holden, if you please.’

Grayson’s eyes narrowed. Despite the ‘please’, it was an obvious attempt to put Paige in a position of being the interrogated, answering to a tribunal of stern-faced law enforcement. Paige’s smile was pleasant. ‘With all due respect, I’ll stand. You’re welcome to sit here if you’d like. Although it doesn’t look as comfy as the chair you were sitting in.’

The men stared at her, then IA’s Gutierrez snorted. ‘I’ve got bunions. I’m sitting.’

The others followed, sitting on the more welcoming chairs. From the corner of his eye Grayson saw Stevie hide a smile. Hyatt wasn’t her favorite person, but Stevie was a good cop and respected the chain of command. Hyatt crossed his arms, not bothering to hide his scowl. Paige hadn’t made a friend, but she’d asserted her place in the pack.

Good for you
, Grayson thought, leaning against the counter, prepared to step in if needed. Paige seemed relaxed, but he knew better. The clenching and relaxing of her hands gave her away. He’d seen her do it before, trying to keep herself calm.

Paige told the whole story, finishing with the attack on Logan and his mother. The only parts she’d left out were the personal moments between the two of them, although she needn’t have bothered. Grayson had already been taken to task by Commander Williams for becoming too personally involved. It had been an exchange throughout which Anderson had been conspicuously silent.

She took a few seconds to look each man in the eye. ‘That’s all.’

‘That’s hardly all, Miss Holden,’ Hyatt said aggressively. ‘You’ve made a serious allegation of police involvement, both in the murder of Elena Muñoz and the framing of her husband. But you have a habit of accusing cops of things, don’t you?’

Grayson’s hackles rose.
Hell no
. He almost stepped in, but Paige beat him to it.

‘My accusation against two officers was proven,’ she said calmly, ‘in a court of law.’

‘This is a different court,’ Gutierrez said. ‘We need to find you credible.’

She lifted her chin. ‘What would make me more
credible
in your eyes? Sir?’

‘What do you believe motivated the attack on you and your friend last summer?’ Commander Williams asked kindly, but Grayson wasn’t fooled. Hyatt was always the bad cop. Williams was being good cop. Paige’s glare said she’d figured this out.

‘If you are asking if I did anything to provoke the attack, then no,’ she said coldly. ‘I absolutely did not. If you are asking if I am placing sole blame on the heads of the four attackers, two of which also happened to be police officers, then yes, I absolutely am.’

‘Why don’t you tell us what happened, Miss Holden?’ Williams asked, still kindly.

Her jaw was taut. ‘It’s all in the police reports.’

‘I’d like to hear it from you,’ Williams said. ‘If you wouldn’t mind.’

‘Yes, of course you would,’ she said. ‘There were four men. One was married to my friend. She’d accused him, a cop, of domestic abuse. He was angry with me for interfering in his efforts to “bring his wife back into line” and because I once made him look bad after he’d attacked her.’

‘So you made him angry,’ Williams said evenly. ‘Then?’

‘He complained to some friends. And they came to teach me a lesson.’

‘Had you ever met or had contact with the other assailants?’ Williams asked.

‘Not that I know of. One was never caught, so I don’t know for certain who he was.’

Grayson stiffened. She hadn’t told him that one of them got away.

‘The men forced their way into our women’s center. They were masked. And armed. Thea’s husband put a gun to her head. The others attacked. Two weren’t trained to spar. The third was. He was also a cop, as we later found out. I called 911 as they came in. My cell was in my pocket. Everything was recorded.’ She lifted a sardonic brow. ‘In the event you don’t find me
credible
enough.’

‘How did you stop them?’ Gutierrez asked.

‘I threw one of the men into the wall. He was stunned. The second I kicked in the ribs but the third grabbed me from behind. He was the cop who would later break into my home. He had me in a choke-hold and I was . . . struggling.’ She swallowed, her calm evaporating. ‘The intruder with the broken ribs got up and started punching.’

‘He wasn’t a police officer,’ Hyatt said, and Paige’s eyes narrowed bitterly.

‘No, but his punches still hurt. The
cop
behind me tightened his hold and gave his club to the non-
cop
who struck me with the club, in the head, ribs, and legs. They were all laughing. “Not so tough now, are you, bitch?”’ She cleared her throat. ‘They, um, talked about what they’d do to me when they’d knocked me down to size.’

Grayson realized he’d been holding his breath, trembling with rage. That she’d let him touch her at all was a fucking miracle.

‘I’d started to see stars when my friend Thea made her move. She tried an evasive technique I’d taught her. She succeeded in twisting out of her husband’s hold.’

‘But he still held the gun to her head,’ Williams said.

‘Yes.’ Paige swallowed, tears welling in her eyes. She didn’t blink, but she didn’t look away from the men watching her either. ‘She startled him and he fired. The bullet went through her neck and struck him under his arm. Pierced his artery. She was dead in seconds. He lasted a few minutes more. That she died trying something I taught her . . .’ Her voice broke. ‘That’s hard to live with.’

The room had gone utterly silent. Paige cleared her throat again ‘The cop choking me let me go so that he could help Thea’s husband. I had a knife in my bag and was trying to get it when I . . . dropped like a rock. The first man I’d stunned came to and he had a gun. He’d shot me, here.’ She rubbed her shoulder.

‘The men ran, except for Thea’s husband who was dead. The medics were almost too late. I nearly bled out, but the docs sewed me up. The three men were still at large. I couldn’t identify them, except to say that one of them would have broken ribs and they’d called the guy who choked me “Mike”. The hospital sent me home a few days later.’

‘When one of them came back,’ Commander Williams said.

‘Yes. The cop who’d choked me. He was afraid I could ID him, once the trauma wore off. My best friend, also a cop, saved me and cuffed him.’

‘The friend who arrested him is a decorated homicide detective in Minneapolis,’ Stevie said. ‘Thea’s husband and Mike Stent, the officer who choked her, were cousins. The man who hit her with the club was Stent’s brother. He was picked up the day after.’

Paige gave her a surprised look and Stevie smiled encouragingly. ‘I could see that telling your story wasn’t going to be easy for you,’ Stevie said, ‘so I went to another source. Detective Hunter says hi, by the way. It’s all documented, Commander.’

‘I know,’ Williams said. ‘I made some calls of my own last night, after Mr Smith requested this meeting. What about the man who shot you, Miss Holden?’

Paige’s eyes narrowed at the commander. ‘You made calls. You already know.’

‘I don’t,’ Gutierrez said, sounding a little annoyed, and she shrugged.

‘Best guess is that he was Thea’s husband’s brother. His mother was his alibi and there was no evidence putting him at the scene. He’s . . . disturbed. Still blames me. For months after, he followed me, watching me. Never said anything, never approached. The kid knew how far he could go before he was charged with stalking or harassment.’

‘How did you make him stop?’ Gutierrez asked.

‘I moved here,’ she said flatly.

‘Have you seen him here?’ Grayson asked, hearing in his voice the menace he felt.

‘No. My friends keep an eye on him. He’s going to university like a good boy.’ She met each of their eyes, clearly exhausted. ‘Look, I’m here because I heard the dying declaration of a murdered woman. She blamed a cop. If you don’t find me credible, then don’t. If you believe me, fine. Either way, I’ve done my duty and no more blood is on my hands.’ She grabbed her backpack. ‘Now if you’ll excuse me.’

‘I believe you about Muñoz,’ Hyatt said. ‘At least I believe
you
believe this.’

‘Gee,’ Paige said, her mouth smiling, but her eyes angry. ‘Thanks.’

‘We’d like the victim’s flash drive before you leave,’ Gutierrez said.

Paige took a plastic baggie from the pouch of her backpack. Grayson had asked Joseph to take her by her bank on the way. ‘This is Elena’s.’ She gave it to Gutierrez.

‘You touched the drive?’ Hyatt asked and she nodded, warily.

‘Yes. I needed to see what it was so I could know what to do with it.’

‘I assume you kept a copy?’ Williams asked.

She looked Williams squarely in the eye. ‘Yes, sir. I absolutely did.’

‘I would have done the same,’ Williams admitted. ‘Thank you, Miss Holden.’

Hyatt stood. ‘I hope it goes without saying that you are now out of this investigation. The state’s attorney’s office and the police department will take it from here.’

She nodded again, dutifully. ‘Yes. Of course. Sir.’

Which was her way of telling them to fuck themselves, Grayson thought. ‘If we’re done dredging up Miss Holden’s past, I’d like to get to work.’

‘As would I,’ Gutierrez said. ‘We’ll begin our internal investigation. You, Mr Smith, will begin re-interviewing the witnesses from the original trial.’

The men nodded to Paige as they filed out, until only Grayson, Stevie, and Charlie Anderson remained. Anderson had said not one single word during the entire exchange but Grayson had never forgotten he was in the room.

Anderson stayed where he’d stood for the entire meeting, leaning against the door to the bedroom. From there he spoke. ‘Detective Mazzetti, could you see Miss Holden is taken home? I need to speak with Mr Smith. Alone, please.’

Grayson said nothing. Something was up. Something was wrong. ‘What’s this about, Charlie?’ he asked when Paige and Stevie were gone.

‘I was going to ask you the same thing. Yesterday you were a logical prosecutor.’

Hot anger mixed with cold dread. ‘And today?’

‘You’re throwing your career away on that woman,’ Anderson said.

‘My relationship with Miss Holden, whatever it is or is not, is none of your business.’

‘It is when you disrupt my office. I came to tell you that you’re reassigned.’

Grayson could only stare. ‘What?’

‘You’ll transfer your caseload to Joan Danforth. You’ll take her cases.’

He shook his head, hoping he wasn’t hearing right. ‘But she’s in Fraud Division.’

‘Yes, she is. You’ve been working Homicide too long. You’ve let it become personal.’

‘What about this investigation?’

‘Joan will take the lead. I will assist her in any way I can, but she’s a very competent attorney. Well-respected on both sides of the aisle.’

Grayson’s mind was reeling. ‘This is insane. You can’t just move me.’

‘Oh, yes. I can. I absolutely can,’ Anderson said acidly, mocking Paige’s words. ‘You should be grateful. I’m saving your career.’

Grayson’s eyes widened as the words sank in. ‘My career does not need saving.’

‘When this investigation opens up, you might see yourself in a different place.’

‘What the fucking hell does that even mean?’

‘You tried the man. You’re the one who got the conviction.’

‘Because there was
evidence
,’ Grayson said through gritted teeth.

Anderson’s almost amused look had Grayson staring, stunned. ‘Oh my God,’ he whispered. ‘You knew. You
knew Muñoz didn’t do it
.’

‘Don’t be a fool,’ Anderson said quietly. ‘Five years ago you had promise, but you were no superstar. Now you get the good cases. The winnable ones that give you that conviction record you’re so proud of. The high-profile ones that get your face on the news. The Muñoz case got you noticed by all the right people, who will now wonder if you possibly could have been
that
naïve. If yes, then how savvy are you really?’ He lifted a brow. ‘How long do you think it will take them to figure out where all your zeal in that courtroom
really
came from?’

Grayson’s blood went ice-cold. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘Muñoz was a big, bad Hispanic who murdered a blond co-ed. Sound familiar? You were the perfect choice to prosecute.’

No
. Grayson opened his mouth to speak, but no words came.
This isn’t possible
.

‘Take a few days off, Mr –’ Anderson paused – ‘
Smith
. Think about it. I have every confidence that you’ll agree that abandoning this case is in your best interest. And that of your mother as well.’ With that, Anderson left the room

Knees weak, Grayson sank into a chair.
Oh God. Oh my God. He knows. How does he know? How did he find out? We were so damn careful
.

Dully he stared at the table-top until the panicked noise in his mind began to quiet and Anderson’s words sank in.
You were the perfect choice
. . .

Anderson had known the truth about Muñoz five years ago.
He picked me
. Grayson closed his eyes. Last night he’d said that his courtroom had been manipulated. Last night he hadn’t included himself as a victim of that manipulation.

As of this moment, that changed. As of this moment, everything changed.

He knew what he had to do. He pulled out his cell phone, dialed his mother.