Izzy shook her head.
“Why not?” Detective Stewart asked. “Isn’t that the whole point?”
“If they aren’t comfortable coming forward, then I’m not going to be the one who calls them out. You would think, if I was able to locate these women, that Arlington PD wouldn’t have any trouble.” She probably shouldn’t have added that last dig, but she couldn’t help herself.
Detective Stewart drummed her fingers on the table. “I have to admit, Agent Cole, this is turning out to be quite the investigation.”
“I want the truth, which is what I assume you want too, Detective.” Izzy could feel Piper’s glare about to cut through her, but she wanted to stand up for herself.
The detective nodded. “Of course.”
Izzy leaned forward. “Then you need to look beyond me and the people in my life to find out the identity of the true killer.”
“Agent Cole, we have hard evidence against one person so far in this case, and that person is you. You, by your own admission, wanted to kill the sergeant and sent him threatening text messages to that effect. He was clearly obsessed with you. Maybe he came after you again, and you snapped.”
The scary part was that the scenario the detective laid out could have been true—except that it wasn’t. “I’m telling you again, I didn’t do this. You need to talk to others who could have critical information and stop solely focusing on me because I’m the most convenient target.”
Detective Stewart opened a folder. “Well, we have actually spoken to one of the women you found.”
“Who?” Izzy asked.
“Ann Marie Martinez.”
That was surprising, given their conversation.
“You look stunned, Agent Cole,” Detective Bryant said.
“I got the distinct impression from my conversation with her that she didn’t want anything to do with this.”
“You aren’t the only one investigating here, Agent Cole. We tracked Ann Marie down ourselves, and she didn’t have a lot of nice things to say about you. According to Ms. Martinez, you were harassing her about her relationship with the sergeant.”
Izzy shook her head. “I handled her with kid gloves, and it was pretty clear from the start that she didn’t want to talk about any of this. I did not push her in any way.”
“Then why would she make that accusation?” Detective Bryant asked.
“Because I think she knows something and doesn’t want to talk about it. I believe digging deeper into everyone you’re talking to is worthwhile.”
Detective Stewart crossed her arms. “Does that include you too, Agent Cole?”
“Certainly. I don’t have anything to hide.”
“You have strong motive to have killed Sergeant Tybee,” Detective Stewart said. “After everything he did to you, it would be natural to be struggling, and maybe one day it all became too much.”
Piper lifted her hand. “I let you level that accusation once already, but a second time is too much. Now you’re just badgering my client, and I won’t allow it.”
Piper’s fiery response put Izzy more at ease. Piper was fighting for her. Izzy wasn’t used to being in this position, but to know that Piper believed in her meant so much. Could she be a Piper one day? Could she advocate so passionately? She wasn’t sure if she had it in her, but she certainly wanted to try.
“This interview is over.” Piper stood.
“We’ll be back in touch soon.” Detective Stewart looked directly at Izzy. “Don’t plan to leave town without letting us know, okay?”
Before she could answer, Piper spoke again.
“We’ll cooperate, but it’s just because we want this investigation put to bed.” Piper grabbed Izzy’s arm and led her out of the room.
Izzy could only hope that she hadn’t just made things a lot worse for herself.
Since Layla didn’t have great options, she’d decided going to the safe house that Frank had set up was the best she and Hunter could do while they waited to see if Scarlett could come up with something outside the system.
They’d gotten there late the night before—almost morning. The first twelve hours had been uneventful.
Frank had directed her to go radio silent with everyone—the DEA included—and she figured that might be the best course. They’d dumped their phones, and a CIA runner had delivered new phones without even seeing them.
She could tell by the tone of Frank’s voice, however, that he was beginning to be on edge. She didn’t think he really believed she was working with Al-Nidal. The fact that he’d been so helpful since she called him made her think that she was persuading him back to her side.
Hunter was working on his laptop, still intent on the DEA case for Mason. After Keith Hammond’s death, they’d run into a lot of dead ends. Cass had pretty much been ruled out, given the theft, but there was still a big question mark over Zane’s head, though she didn’t think there should be.
When she heard a light knock on the door, Layla jumped up from the couch. Hunter lifted his hand to tell her to be quiet. He then pulled out his side arm, and she grabbed her gun from the coffee table beside her. No one should be at the safe house. Frank had notified her about the phone delivery earlier, and she hadn’t heard from him since.
Layla and Hunter both moved slowly to the door, weapons drawn. Her pulse thumped loudly as she prayed this wasn’t another attack.
She had almost reached the door when she heard a voice.
“Layla, are you in there?”
She knew immediately who was outside. Hunter stopped her from moving any closer, but she was no longer afraid.
“Yes, I’m here.” She looked through the peephole and saw Nick on the other side. She opened the door, and he walked in.
“Are you all right?” Nick asked.
“Yes. What’re you doing here? I thought this location was completely locked down.” Or at least that was what Frank had promised.
Nick didn’t answer, instead turning his attention to Hunter. “And you are?”
“Hunter McCoy.” Hunter stood tall but didn’t offer his hand to Nick.
Nick’s blue eyes flashed with recognition. He frowned. “I
