Chapter 21 #2
“I don’t want you to get your hopes up,” Paul said, stopping me before I walked inside.
“We don’t have concrete proof tying him to the car incident or the break-in.
We’re working on securing warrants to look through his finances and to get his location on his phone the last few weeks to see if there’s anything that ties him to either crime, or if he hired someone to do it.
With the other casino willing to press charges for his behavior, we should get the judge to sign, but let’s see what Halpert has to say. ”
I nodded and waited in the observation room, then watched through the one way mirror while they ushered Halpert into the adjoining room and sat him down.
Brian Halpert was in his mid-forties, out of shape despite the high quality of the suit he wore, and sat there with a belligerent expression on his face.
“Mr. Halpert, you’re clearly here because you were arrested for menacing,” Paul said, indicating the charge that was filed for his threats and harassment. “But we’re also looking into your involvement with the incidents involving Violet Corbin.”
The sergeant took a photo of Violet from the file he’d brought in with him and pushed it across the table at Halpert. The other man looked at the picture with a scowl on his face. “Who the fuck is that?”
“Violet Corbin,” the sergeant repeated. “She’s a dealer at the Vespera Casino. She’s been dealing with several misfortunes lately. Ever since you threatened her after losing a substantial amount of money at her poker table.”
“Has she?” Halpert shrugged. “Well, you know what they say about karma.”
Fucking asshole. I wanted to punch that smug look off the man’s face, but knew it would only get me arrested if I barged in there and beat the shit out of this guy.
“I’m not really a fan of karma,” the sergeant replied easily. “I’m not a fan of coincidences, either.”
Halpert narrowed his gaze. “What, exactly, are you suggesting?”
“I think you know what I’m suggesting.” Paul slid a black and white print out across the table, a snapshot of Halpert pointing a finger at Violet while clearly yelling at her from across the poker table where he’d just lost tens of thousands of dollars.
“We have security footage from the casino showing you threatening Miss Corbin. And then, these incidents over the past few weeks.”
“Are you arresting me?” Halpert demanded.
“Nobody is arresting you right this second, but you’re definitely a suspect,” Paul told him.
The other man scoffed, but there was a twitch of fear around his eyes I didn’t miss. “Couldn’t have been me. I’ve been out of town. I drove to California to deal with some business I have there and just got back.”
Which did explain why his name hadn’t shown up on flight checks, as well as his absence and why the police hadn’t been able to locate him.
“Can anyone verify that?” Paul asked.
Halpert supplied various contacts, including the place he’d been at for business, and the hotel he’d stayed at while he’d been there.
It would be easy enough to establish his alibi if he was telling the truth.
At least that he hadn’t been the one physically responsible for the acts of violence against Violet.
“We’ll be pulling your financials and phone records,” the sergeant told him.
“What?” Halpert blustered, his face flushing. “What the fuck do you have to do that for?”
“Because being out of town doesn’t preclude you from hiring someone to do your dirty work,” Paul said evenly. “You’ve made a point of telling us how rich and powerful you are since we’ve brought you in. That’s one way someone like you could get things done without getting his hands dirty.”
Halpert went redder, and whatever bravado he’d been clinging to started to crumble. “I didn’t have anything to do with that bitch’s bad luck, okay?” he spat out.
My hands clenched into fists at my sides until my knuckles ached.
“We’ll see,” the sergeant said, standing. “We’ll verify your alibi and pull the records and see what’s what. You’ll need to stay in town until your name is cleared, just in case we have further questions for you. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Paul left Halpert to stew in the interrogation room until someone released him. I exhaled hard. Now it was a waiting game. Judge signatures, warrants, records, and seeing what the evidence turned up.
I exited the room and met up with Paul in the hallway. He held up the list of people and places Halpert said he’d been. “It’s quite an extensive list, so I doubt he’s making up the fact that he was out of town all this time.”
“My money is on him hiring someone,” I said. “How soon can you get the warrants?”
“By the end of the day,” he replied. “But it will take time to go through everything.”
Frustration burned through me. “If he hired someone, they might still be out there, actively targeting Violet.”
“I know,” Paul said, his tone steady but sympathetic. “But there are protocols we have to follow, and if we skip them, anything we find could get tossed out in court. You know how this works.”
I did. I hated the waiting game, especially with Violet’s safety on the line, but I knew he was right.
“I’ll let you know what we find out, when we have all the facts.”
I knew that was as good as I was going to get. We parted ways and as I walked back out to my car my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw Chase’s name on the display.
“Hey, what’s up?” I asked, certain he was going to give me an earful about Violet’s mood.
“You’re going to want to meet us at the hospital,” Chase said grimly.
My world tunneled. My hand shook as I unlocked the car, my breathing coming too shallow as I imagined Violet hurt. Bleeding. Maybe worse. Fuck.
“I’m on my way,” I said, my voice rough as gravel.
I ended the call before Chase could say another word as I started the engine and tore out of the parking lot toward the hospital. My heart was in my throat, pounding so loud it drowned out every rational thought.
Because if something had happened to Violet, if I’d failed to keep her safe, then nothing in my life would matter.