Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
How did he do it? Victoria walked beside Cillian up the hallway at the police station, following an officer to the lieutenant’s office.
Cillian still had the inexplicable ability to talk her into things, apparently, and to persuade her to change her mind. Something no one could ever do, according to her siblings.
The moment Cillian had seen the threatening note left on her windshield, he’d announced they were going to the police at once. Never mind that she had a patient appointment. Or that the detective clearly didn’t want to see her again, especially regarding anything to do with Thomas.
Cillian had shot down those objections easily enough by reminding her that Thomas, her friend, had been murdered, and no one was going to be punished for that if Detective McCully was left to his own hunches.
Cillian had also insisted that the threatening note should be reported, regardless, since she could be in danger.
Victoria would just as soon forget that last part of Cillian’s argument. And the way his eyes had sparked with something ferocious ever since he’d read the note, as if the thought of her being in danger made him angry and protective.
Did he feel that strongly about her? Did he care for her?
What would she do if he did? She couldn’t allow—
No. She wouldn’t go there. Not right now. She redirected her thoughts as she and Cillian turned into another hallway, officers in uniforms and suits passing in the other direction.
She hoped Cillian was right about one thing—that going over Detective McCully’s head to his lieutenant would result in Thomas’s needless death being given the attention it deserved. That Thomas deserved.
But nerves fluttered in her stomach as they entered the office where a man in his fifties stood behind a desk with a stern expression.
“Lieutenant Willis, thanks for seeing us.” Cillian’s strong voice gave her a modicum of reassurance. Perhaps his persuasive powers would work on the lieutenant as well as they did on her.
The lieutenant jerked a nod. “Have a seat.” His tone was polite, but not friendly.
Victoria couldn’t blame the man. Cillian had only secured this unplanned meeting by…
actually, she wasn’t quite sure how he’d achieved it.
He had walked up to the officer at the front desk while Victoria hung back, still debating inwardly whether or not they should go through with Cillian’s plan to circumvent McCully.
It would only make the detective angrier with her, which would completely destroy any hope that she could still convince him to investigate Thomas’s death.
She knew how to deal with people like the detective and keep the peace, if Cillian would only be patient.
But while she’d been deliberating, Cillian had apparently said something to the desk officer that unlocked an immediate meeting with Lieutenant Willis. Victoria didn’t particularly want to know what he’d said or done to obtain such a quick but inhospitable meeting.
The lieutenant spoke again as soon as he sat behind his desk and Cillian and Victoria took the uncomfortable chairs facing him. “I understand you have a serious complaint about one of our staff, Detective McCully.”
Oh. That was what Cillian had said.
Victoria shot him a dismayed glance, but he watched Lieutenant Willis, giving him a confident smile.
“It’s only serious if he continues to ignore the evidence in a murder case. But I’m guessing you can steer him in the right direction.”
The lieutenant tented his fingers above the desk. “You’re talking about the death of Thomas Briscoe.”
Cillian gave a controlled nod. “A clear case of murder, but McCully is determined to ignore all the evidence and proclaim it’s an accidental death. I can’t help but wonder why he would do that. Do you have any ideas?”
Heat crawled toward Victoria’s cheeks as she fought the urge to shrink down into her seat in an effort to disappear. Was Cillian actually implying to the lieutenant’s face that his detective wasn’t honest? That he had improper or sinister motives in Thomas’s death?
The lieutenant’s mouth worked for a bit as his eyes narrowed. “I can assure you McCully is an experienced and skilled investigator. He knows how to read the evidence and not make assumptions.”
“Then why is he sweeping this death under the rug as an accident? Maybe his case load is getting out of control?” Cillian lifted his hand off the skinny metal armrest of the chair that was much too tiny for his large frame.
“You see what reporters or the public could make of this if it gets out, right? And from what I hear, Thomas Briscoe’s death is a pretty big deal with the press. ”
Her insides stiffened at the implied threat. Cillian had always been forceful and resented authority. But this way of rebelling with a smile and dropping threats he seemed ready to fulfill was new.
She braced for the lieutenant to expel them from his office. And the station. Hopefully, he wouldn’t arrest them for making threats.
The lieutenant shifted his gaze from Cillian to Victoria. “You’re the one with this supposed evidence?” He would have had to speak with McCully about the case to know that.
She nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Okay.” He leaned forward on his elbows. “Let’s hear it.”
She shot Cillian a quick glance. Perhaps his approach worked better than she thought. Straightening her spine, she used the calm, polite, but confident tone that worked best with people like the lieutenant and her father as she laid out the evidence she’d shared with McCully.
Lieutenant Willis listened in silence until she described Thomas’s fear of falling.
He held up a hand like a stop signal. “I have to agree with McCully on this point. Mr. Briscoe’s balance issues and fear of falling are further evidence of an accidental fall, especially on an icy driveway where anyone could have slipped. ”
“But he didn’t actually have balance issues.” Victoria met the lieutenant’s gaze. “He only feared that he did.”
“All the more reason for him to have gone out to get the mail.”
“We’re going to have to claim professional knowledge here, Lieutenant.
” Cillian glanced at Victoria before returning his focus to the older man.
“Ms. Weston here has been a practicing physical therapist for years, and I’m a clinical social worker.
When a patient, especially an elderly one, has fallen, they can develop fears like Briscoe’s.
The fear that they’ll fall again can convince them that they can’t trust their balance.
And that fear is so strong that I promise you, that person is not going to suddenly go out into icy weather to get the mail.
Especially when he knows his favorite person who collects his mail is coming that morning.
” Cillian smiled. “I’d be willing to give expert testimony on the stand, if you’d like. ”
Lieutenant Willis watched Cillian in silence for a few moments again, his expression appearing to transition between irritation and grudging respect.
“All right.” He shifted his gaze to encompass Victoria.
“You’ve brought out some interesting details that could…
” he lifted his hand again, “I’m only saying could, be relevant.
I’ll discuss what you’ve told me with Detective McCully to be sure he understood it all. ”
“Thank you.” Victoria kept the surprise from her voice. She hadn’t expected that much progress to be made from this meeting.
“But that said, I don’t want civilians like yourselves interfering in police investigations or trying to play amateur detective.” His stare turned stern enough to be her father’s. “I expect your involvement in this to end here, is that understood?”
Her shoulders stiffened. Wonderful. They had irritated him, after all. At least his response wasn’t quite as impolite as the detective’s.
“Whether you like it or not, Lieutenant, she is involved.” Cillian’s tone hardened next to Victoria, twisting her stomach.
He shouldn’t challenge the lieutenant like that.
He could push him too far. “And so am I. Someone left this note on her windshield this morning.” Cillian leaned forward and placed the paper on the desk.
Lieutenant Willis opened the note, appearing to read the contents. He looked up, his jaw still set in the same grim expression. “This could have been left by anyone for a myriad of reasons. It could be a harmless prank, completely unrelated to what happened to Briscoe.”
“Wow, really?” Cillian shook his head. “I’m beginning to feel like I’m talking to your detective, and the same suspicions are coming to my mind. I suppose there are people who want this death to have been accidental, right?”
Victoria put her hand on Cillian’s arm, squeezing her fingers into the leather of his jacket and the tight muscles underneath.
But she was too late.
The lieutenant’s eyebrows pulled lower, his expression darkening as he stood. “I’m going to have to ask you both to leave now. And I suggest you steer clear of this situation and my detectives.” The warning in his tone didn’t need any further clarification.
Cillian rose, as well, and Victoria lifted her purse off her lap to do the same.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Cillian couldn’t resist taking another stab at him, apparently. “We’ll be back.”
Victoria grabbed his forearm and tugged him toward the door with the most normal smile for the lieutenant that she could manage. “Thank you for your time. We’re sorry to have bothered you.”
Cillian thankfully allowed her to pull him from the room and move quickly back up the hallway.
“We’re sorry to have bothered you? Really?” Cillian’s tone was more amused than irritated as he looked down at her.
“I was trying to do damage control.”
“That wasn’t damage. It was laying the groundwork. We’ve got him nervous now. He’ll get on McCully and look into all the evidence again, questioning all the assumptions. You didn’t need to placate him like a scared puppy.”