Chapter Eleven #2
Livvy didn’t have to conjure up the images. They were already front and center in her mind. “Neither was pronounced. Average.”
“And her mouth?” Nova went on.
“Full,” she provided.
Nova looked up again. “Like yours?”
She settled for a nod, and she was glad when Ethan reached over and took her hand.
“And the shape of the eyes?” Nova pressed.
“Round with just a slight upturn at the edges.”
Nova worked in silence for a few minutes, her pen quickly moving over the tablet’s screen. She then turned it for Livvy to see. Livvy released the breath she’d been holding when she saw that it wasn’t the woman’s face. Not quite.
“Her cheeks are slightly fuller,” she supplied. “And her hair was a darker blond.”
Nova immediately got started on tweaking the image, and when she was done, she turned it back toward Livvy.
There was another round of minor adjustments on the position of the eyes.
One on the curve of her chin, too. But when Nova added in all of those and showed her the sketch, Livvy knew they’d nailed it.
“Yes,” she managed. “That’s the woman.”
Nova beamed out a smile, which faded considerably when she saw Livvy’s reaction. “All right,” she murmured. “I’ll fire off a copy of this to the sheriff. I’m guessing you’ll want one as well.”
“I do,” Livvy said, and she gave Nova her phone number. Nova immediately sent a text with the picture attached.
Ethan took her phone and looked at the image. He muttered something under his breath that she didn’t catch.
“I can go ahead and put this in the missing persons database,” he offered, and when Livvy nodded, he sent off the image. Now all that was left was the waiting. If they got a hit, they’d know who she was, and if they didn’t, then they were back to square one.
“Thank you,” Livvy told Nova as the woman gathered up her things and got to her feet.
“Anytime.” She tipped her head toward Livvy’s phone, where the sketch was still on the screen. “Hope you find her,” Nova added.
Both Ethan and Livvy stood, following Nova out of the break room and back toward the bullpen. They said their goodbyes, and she headed to the front door.
Just as Anthony walked in.
Livvy didn’t have to guess the man’s mood. The muscles in Anthony’s face and his mouth were tight. His eyes were narrowed, and he aimed those eyes at Ethan and her.
“Why the hell was I ordered to come in again?” Anthony snapped.
Livvy sighed. “Because we need to ask you some questions.”
He spewed out some raw profanity while he made his way through the metal detector. “You want to harass me, that’s what. You think I killed Chloe. I didn’t. But I’m not sorry she’s gone. Chloe got exactly what was coming to her.”
“Which means you had motive to murder her,” Ethan pointed out. “And before you say anything else, let me refresh your Miranda warning.”
Ethan proceeded to do just that while Anthony glared at them and spouted off more of that profanity. The chatter must have alerted Grace because she opened her office door. She had her phone to her ear but issued an “I’ll get back to you” to the caller. She ended the call and looked at Anthony.
“You’re the one who ordered me in,” Anthony complained, but he didn’t give Grace a chance to confirm that. “And here I should be celebrating that witch’s death instead of being hauled in here to be grilled.”
“This way,” she insisted, waggling her fingers for Anthony to follow her. “Livvy and Ethan, you’re welcome to join us.”
They took Grace up on that offer and entered her office. Probably because the interview rooms were all still occupied. Grace immediately went to her printer to retrieve something that she then put on her desk. Livvy saw that it was a copy of the sketch she’d just done with Nova.
“I printed it out so I could have a better look at it,” Grace muttered to her as they were taking their seats. “Thanks for doing that. I know it couldn’t have been easy for you.”
Livvy nodded. It hadn’t been easy, but in hindsight, it was something she should have done years ago. It was time she faced the truth.
Whatever that truth might be.
Grace sat behind her desk, and she hit the recording function on her phone before shifting her attention to Anthony. She was doling out just as much of a glare as he was while she read in the pertinent time, place and those present for the interview.
“Mr. Carlton, tell us your whereabouts this morning,” Grace started.
“Well, I sure as hell wasn’t at New Hope shooting Chloe.” Smugness replaced his glare. That didn’t last, though, because of Grace’s withering stare. “All right, fine. I was at home.”
“Can anyone corroborate that?” Grace was quick to ask.
“No.” He didn’t seem bothered about that either. “I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it.”
She shrugged. “Or I can do a gunshot-residue test to see if you recently fired a gun.”
Something went across Anthony’s face. Alarm, maybe. “Don’t you need a warrant for that?”
Grace lifted a paper from her desk. “Which I have. Just a few more questions, and then I’ll do the swab—”
“I fired a gun,” Anthony blurted. “Not at New Hope,” he was quick to add. “But at Hannigan’s.”
Livvy knew the place. It was one of those massive sporting goods stores outside of San Antonio that had a firing range.
“So, you just happened to shoot a gun there at the same time there was an attack at New Hope?” Grace asked, the skepticism coating her voice.
“No, it didn’t just happen,” Anthony snarled. “After what happened to Zadie, I wanted to buy a gun for protection.”
“When I view the surveillance feed for Hannigan’s, you’ll be on it?” Grace pressed.
“Yes,” Anthony said without hesitation. “I was there yesterday.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “And you bought a gun?”
“I did,” he verified. “It’s in the glove compartment of my car.”
After a glance from Grace, Ethan took out his phone. “Should I go ahead and get started on a warrant to confiscate the gun and examine it?”
“Absolutely.” She paused a heartbeat. “Unless Anthony will voluntarily let us look at it and check to see if it matches the caliber of the shots fired at New Hope.”
Anthony opened his mouth but then seemed to change his mind about what he’d been about to say. “Tit for tat,” he threw out there. “I’ll give you permission to test my gun if you’ll give me back my mother’s diary.”
The comment clearly surprised Grace. “The diary is still being analyzed,” she let him know.
“Well, I want it back now,” Anthony demanded. “I should have never let it out of my hands.”
Livvy heard a lot of regret in the man’s voice. And worry. Grace no doubt picked up on that, too.
“There are some inconsistencies in the diary,” she informed him, “and it’s being checked to see if it’s valid. There are tests to determine the age of the ink.”
Again, Anthony opened his mouth, stopped and then cursed. He groaned but managed to keep a defiant expression.
“All right, full disclosure,” he finally said, holding up his hands. “I wrote parts of the diary.”
“Really?” Grace stretched out the syllables on that. “Why would you do something like that?”
He huffed. “Because I wanted to draw out my mother’s killer. I wanted to draw out Chloe. I didn’t want her dead,” he was quick to add. “I wanted her to admit what she’d done, and I thought the diary would get you to arrest her.”
“Or I could arrest you for falsifying evidence and obstruction of justice,” Grace fired back.
That put some panic in Anthony’s eyes, and he stayed quiet for several moments before he snapped out, “I want a lawyer.”
Grace pulled in a long breath but then nodded. She motioned for him to stand. “You can make that call and then wait in reception. You won’t be leaving the building until you’ve finished this interview.”
“Are you arresting me?” he grumbled.
“Not at this moment. Don’t give me a reason to change my mind about that,” Grace warned him.
Anthony cursed her and stormed out, nearly knocking into Eden, who was right by the door. Eden gave him a long cop’s glance before she motioned for Grace, Livvy and Ethan to go back into Grace’s office.
“I just finished taking Sienna’s statement,” Eden explained.
“She says she was in her quarters on the top floor when she heard the shots, and at first she thought it was a car backfiring or a TV on too loud. Sienna said when the noise continued, she made her way down the back stairs, where you found her.” Eden glanced at Livvy and Ethan.
“Where we found her. And Franklin,” Livvy emphasized.
Eden nodded. “Yeah, about that. Sienna says Franklin didn’t join her there on the stairs until after the shots had stopped. And get this—Franklin asked Sienna to do him a favor and to tell everyone that he’d been with her during the entire time of the shooting.”
“So, he asked her to lie,” Grace muttered, and she smiled. “Sounds like grounds for an arrest to me. Since Franklin’s lawyer got here about ten minutes ago, we can start the interview. Come on,” she added to Livvy and Ethan. “Let’s see what Franklin has to say.”