“Where were you before?”
“In my room here at the hotel.”
“Alone?”
“Yes, but I was involved in a video chat with several people who can testify that I didn’t leave my room until I heard from Lara.”
“Please go back to your room and stay there until another officer arrives and can clear you.” He sent the cameraman away with the same directions, then stepped back into the hall to stand guard. The presence of only one patrol officer at a homicide was indicative that the D.C. police had suffered similar budget cuts as Oregon had.
Twenty minutes later, two plainclothes detectives arrived, and Lara suspected the presence of the second was only because the victim was a Gauntlet contestant. The high-profile nature of the crime meant solving this one would be a priority. Her gut tightened at the thought. Cops under pressure looked for easy solutions. In this case, that would mean to blame her.
The detectives conferred with the uniform officer in the hall, then one started knocking on doors, while the other took photos of Kirsten’s body. Lara watched him work, noting the gentle expression on his face as he examined the victim’s hands and upper chest. He was six-two with close-cropped silver hair and wore a black microfiber jacket over his broad torso. Lara noticed his wide-spaced hazel eyes and strong chin, experiencing a tug she hadn’t felt in a long time. Why did she always have such a thing for good-looking cops? Because relationships with them were so perilous?
He searched the area around the body but didn’t seem to find anything. Finally, he came over and dragged a chair in front of the couch. “I’m Detective Caden Harper. What’s your name?” His voice had a hint of southern accent.
“Lara Evans. I’m Kirsten’s roommate.” Lara didn’t bother to correct her use of the present tense. “I left to go for a run a little after eight. When I got back at a few minutes after nine, Kirsten was dead on the floor.” Lara knew what information he wanted. She’d been on the other side of this conversation hundreds of times.
“Did anyone see you leave or come back?”
“Not that I’m aware of.” Lara wished she’d chatted with hotel personnel on the way out.
He tapped his oversized iCom then held it out to her. “Place your thumb on the screen.”
Lara complied. She’d heard some departments were using new digital fingerprint technology, but she’d never seen it. “My prints aren’t in the system.”
“Just making sure.” He glanced at the information on the screen, then put the device away. “How did you feel about Kirsten?”
“I barely knew her. We competed against each other in the Challenge today. That’s it. I don’t have personal feelings about her.”
“You don’t sound sorry she’s dead.” He looked at her with puzzled eyes.
Lara winced. “Her death is tragic. I just mean that she was a stranger to me until last night. I have no motive to kill her.” Lara realized she had to win him over before he saw the video footage and found the Taser in her luggage. “I used to be a homicide detective. I was in the Eugene, Oregon, Police Department for sixteen years. I know what your job is like and how difficult it is to do with limited resources, but I’m not your suspect.”
“I’ve read about you online.” His big shoulders seemed to relax and he gave her a half smile. “Why did you quit the force?”
She had no intention of sharing that painful story. “I got laid off, like dozens of others.”
His eyes met hers. “It’s been a bad decade for law enforcement.” He started to say something else, then stopped and shifted back to interrogation mode. “Did Kirsten mention any problems she was having with anyone?”
“No. We really didn’t talk much.”
“Did she have any visitors to the room?”
“No. And if she was involved with anyone in the competition, I didn’t know about it. I arrived late yesterday and spent most of today in the arena.”
“What about this evening? Start with when you left the arena and tell me everything.”
“I came straight back here. After I showered, I had a video chat with some detectives I used to work with. They called to congratulate me on winning today. I had some-”
“You beat the young Amazon woman?” Harper grinned, then quickly recovered his poker face.
Kirsten’s death had sucked the fun out winning, but Lara sensed he wanted to hear about their match. “The first two phases were close, but in the end, she didn’t have the strength to pull herself out of the pit. Years of pull- ups paid off for me.”
The detective looked at her in a new light and Lara liked it.
“What time did the call end?”
Lara noticed he still said call too. People under thirty used text , message, com, or chat as verbs. Young children had never heard the word phone except in books. “Some time around six. You can check the NetCom.”
“What time did Kirsten come in?”
“I’m guessing, but I’d say 7:45.”
“Did you talk to her?”
Lara had to tell him about the altercation. The cameras had picked it up. “She was pissed off and smelled like she’d been drinking. Kirsten complained that the viewers favored me in the Challenge. I tried to minimize the situation and go to my bedroom.” Lara kept her eyes focused on Harper’s face and her hands in her lap. She knew he was looking for signs of deceit. “Kirsten blocked my path, then grabbed my hair and jerked me back. I defended myself with a single blow to her chest.”
Harper leaned back, his eyes registering surprise. “You fought with the victim an hour before she died?”
Lara’s pulse quickened at his tone. “She was the aggressor. I tried to avoid the confrontation. When I left the room a few minutes later, Kirsten was fine and packing to leave.”
“Do you own a stun gun?”
Oh crap. Here we go. Of course he’d noticed the burn marks too. “I do. But I haven’t used it.”
“Why bring it to the Gauntlet? They don’t allow weapons in the arena.”
“I always carry it. I’m an ex-cop and a working freelance paramedic. Wouldn’t you carry a weapon if you were me?”
Harper didn’t answer. He looked at her for a long moment, and Lara thought she detected a little sadness.
“I have to take you in for questioning. I don’t want to cuff you, but I will if you make any unexpected moves.”
“I intend to cooperate fully.” Lara breathed from her stomach to stay calm. She’d known it was coming. “This competition is very important to me and I want to stay in it.”
Harper stood. “I can’t guarantee anything. Stay here while I talk to my partner and search the room.” He walked away and used his iCom. She only heard bits of the conversation, but she gleaned that he wanted the other detective to access the camera footage from the room and send it to the department.
While Detective Harper rummaged through Lara’s luggage and clothing, a medical examiner arrived and spent twenty minutes with Kirsten’s body. Lara watched him take her temperature and visually search for trace evidence that might be clinging to her skin or clothes and could be lost when they moved her. A private transport team finally showed up and hauled Kirsten away on a gurney. Lara was curious about what the pathologist would determine had caused Kirsten’s death.
Her own body twitched with the need to move. She’d been sitting for nearly two hours, something she’d hadn’t done since leaving the department.
Lara pushed off the couch and the cop in the hall took a step in her direction. “I’m just stretching,” she called out. “But I need to burn off some energy. Can I do some pushups?”
Detective Harper came out of the bedroom, carrying her Taser in a plastic bag. “Push-ups?”
“I don’t like to sit still. It makes me anxious.”
“Stay near the couch. We’re going downtown soon.”
“Okay.”
Lara dropped to the floor and did fifty pushups, followed by a hundred crunches. She was aware of the officer
