inside the station, she grabbed Matt from the conference room. “I want Owen to relax. I’ll interview him solo. I want you to watch from the monitoring room.”
“OK.” Matt headed for a closed door down the hall.
Bree tugged on her sling but could find no position for her arm that was comfortable. Ibuprofen wasn’t touching the pain. She took a deep breath and went into the room.
Owen was waiting inside, watching the screen on his phone. He looked up and set his phone on the table as she entered.
Bree sat next to him and turned her chair to face him. He looked rough, with bags under his eyes big enough to hold groceries. But he was sober and showered. His jeans and T-shirt looked clean with just a few normal wrinkles, not the kind that came from sleeping in your clothes for several days.
“How are you?” she asked.
He sighed. “I don’t know. It doesn’t feel real, you know?”
“I know. It will in time.”
“I’m not sure I want it to feel real.” He pulled out a paper and slid it across the table. “I answered those questions like you asked.”
“Thank you.” Bree skimmed his answers. His statement was brief but matched what he’d told her verbally. She pushed the page back to him. “I’ll need you to sign your statement.”
“OK.” He picked up a pen from the table, signed the paper, and gave it back to her.
Bree slid it into her folder. “I have a few additional questions.” She handed him a Miranda form, read his rights, and asked him to sign the acknowledgment.
Owen balked at the form. “Didn’t somebody confess to killing Paul Beckett? I kind of assumed the same person killed Holly. I was feeling better that you’d caught the guy.”
“Yes,” Bree lied. “But I still have to cross all my t’s and dot all my i’s. We can’t take the risk that a defense attorney would claim we didn’t do a thorough job and get him off.”
“I guess.” Owen signed the Miranda form, but he seemed reluctant.
“This interview is being recorded.” Bree took the form. “You obviously know Paul Beckett was killed last night.”
Owen nodded. “I saw it on the news.”
“You said you assumed the same person killed Holly and Paul. Is there a reason?”
He lifted a hand. “Considering Holly worked for Paul, it just seems crazy to think they were both killed within days of each other by different people. Maybe it’s all about Beckett Construction.” Owen’s brows furrowed. “Maybe Paul was doing something illegal.”
Bree watched him closely. “I don’t know. His son is the one who confessed to killing him.”
“Did he say he killed Holly too?”
“No. Why would he?”
Owen shook his head and stared at his hands. “But he did it, right? He killed Paul.”
“We can’t say with one hundred percent accuracy at this time. You understand.”
“Of course.” He exhaled. “But why would Paul’s son kill Holly?”
“We don’t know. Did you know Holly went to Paul Beckett’s house?”
“No.” Owen’s shoulders snapped straight.
“She did.”
“How do you know?” he asked.
“The Becketts were involved in a divorce. Mrs. Beckett had a private investigator following her husband.”
Owen was quiet for a few seconds. “What does that have to do with Holly? She could have been dropping off something for the business. She did work for him.”
“If it was that simple, why did she lie to you about it? You said that Holly was going out with Deb for drinks Tuesday night. Deb says Holly blew her off to drive out to Paul’s house.”
Owen shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Did you ever suspect Holly was having an affair with Paul Beckett?”
“No!” Owen jumped to his feet, his face red. His chair scraped backward on the linoleum. “How can you even ask that? She would never have cheated on me.”
“I’m sorry, but I have to ask the question. It’s my job.”
Owen slowly lowered himself back into the chair. “It just doesn’t seem fair to attack Holly’s reputation when she isn’t here to defend herself.”
“I know, but a good defense attorney will explore all angles, and you can bet Noah’s mother will hire the best attorney she can find for her son.”
Owen frowned. “Rich people always get off.”
“I don’t want Holly’s killer to get away with anything. Noah has only confessed to his father’s murder. I have to prove he also killed Holly, and I have to be thorough. Please bear with me. I’m doing this for Holly. You want her killer caught, right?”
“Right.” He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, as