Brian shot Jack a warning look when the taller detective made as if he was going to start in their direction. Jack’s presence might be enough to derail Marvin, and then they would have to start all over again.
“The girl with the pink hair is a nice girl,” Brian offered.
Marvin was suspicious. “How do you know?”
“Because she’s the same age as my children and they used to spend a lot of time together. She’s a very good girl, with a good heart.”
“Then how come she has to do the court thing, too?”
It was a fair question, Brian had to silently admit. It was something he didn’t want to get into, though. “She’s misunderstood,” he replied easily. “I’m betting you’re misunderstood, too. That’s why we need to know why you were talking about the dead girl. It’s important.”
“I ... don’t know.” Marvin stared at his ratty jeans. “I can’t remember.”
Brian licked his lips, unsure how far he should press things. “Did you kill her?”
“What?” Marvin’s eyes were wild — and a little indignant — when he jerked up his head. “Of course I didn’t kill her. Why would you even think that?”
Brian held up his hands in a placating manner. “It was just a question. I’m curious. You have to understand that.”
“I didn’t kill her.”
“Okay.”
“The man did.”
Brian frowned. “A man killed her?” He exchanged a quick look with Jack, who appeared pensive but remained still. “Did you see what happened to Sasha?”
Marvin nodded gravely. “I had to check out the spot where we were going to work. I ... they gave me the address a few days early. I went out there a couple times because I don’t like new places, especially when there’s a bunch of people around. The noises get to be too much.”
“I’m sorry about that.” Brian meant it. He was starting to put things together in his head, and the picture that was emerging was frightening. “When you were out there getting to know the area one night, you saw something, didn’t you?”
Marvin gnawed on his bottom lip and nodded. “I was behind the trees. I saw a girl on the road. She was running.”
Brian’s heart did a long, slow roll, but he kept his face impassive. “Was someone chasing the girl?”
Marvin nodded. “It was the man. The man from the court thing.”
That was a rather vague statement, Brian rationalized. He needed him to narrow it down. “The judge?”
Marvin shook his head, frustrated.
“One of the men you were working with on your community service team?”
Marvin bobbed his head. “Yes. You know which one.”
“Jason,” Brian supplied. “It was Jason.”
“No!” Marvin slapped his knee. Hard. “Not that guy.”
Brian couldn’t help but worry they had somehow lost Marvin. “If not Jason, who?”
“The other guy.” Marvin used big hand gestures. “The guy in charge. The big cheese.”
Jack stirred. “Are you talking about Greg Decker?”
Marvin jabbed a finger in Jack’s direction. “Yes! That’s him. The big cheese. He’s the one who hit her.”
Jack’s mind was a whirlwind of possibilities. “Could it be?”
“I don’t know,” Brian replied. “I mean ... it can’t hurt to question him.”
“Yeah, that would be good.” A muscle worked in Jack’s jaw as he clenched and unclenched his hands at his sides. “Especially since I left Greg in charge of Ivy today and asked him to pay special attention to her.”
“Yeah, we should definitely talk to that guy,” Brian agreed, climbing to his feet. “Come on. We’ll drop Marvin off with the mental health services people and then go after Greg.”
“If he’s hurt her ... .” Jack broke off, the possibility too horrible for him to give voice to.
“She’ll be fine,” Brian promised. “We’ll make sure of it.”
15
Fifteen
Brian refused to let Jack drive. Knowing his partner the way he did, he recognized it would turn into a dangerous race to get to the site. Since he was the senior member of their partnership, Jack had no choice but to acquiesce.
That didn’t mean he was happy about it.
“Can’t you go any faster?”
Brian kept his eyes on the road, his hands at ten and two, and sighed. “Jack, he’s not going to go after her in front of witnesses. She’s fine.”
“You don’t know that.” Jack was beside himself. “That guy isn’t exactly the sharpest pin in the bin. He might think he can take her into the woods, kill her, and then pretend she took off like Jason and Marvin.”
Honestly, Brian hadn’t considered that possibility. He stepped a little harder on the gas pedal but didn’t comment.
“If he touches her ... .” Jack’s expression was dark as he shook his head.
Since they were still a few minutes out, Brian knew he had to calm his partner ... by any means necessary. “You said you thought he had a crush on her,” he noted, hoping he wasn’t steering the conversation in the wrong direction. “If he has feelings for her, he wouldn’t dare hurt her.”
“Unless he thinks she knows something,” Jack snapped. “He might even take things a step further because he has a crush on her. Drive faster!”
Brian knew better than risking it on the winding road and instead tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “She’s going to be okay.”
“I put him in charge of her.”
That’s what was really bothering him, Brian realized. He was frustrated because he’d put a potentially dangerous man in a power position. “He was already in charge of her. You did what you thought was right to protect Ivy. That’s not a bad thing.”
“It feels bad.”
“Well, it’s not.” Brian refused to let Jack drag him into the muck. “There’s no reason for Greg to go after her right now. He thinks we believe Jason is the culprit. We also have Marvin as a secondary suspect. The way Marvin was talking, I don’t believe Greg realized he was there the night Sasha was killed.”
Jack took a deep breath, forcing himself to engage in the conversation ... even though what
