lobby and tried to read old magazines to pass the time. Eventually, however, after reading the same paragraph five times, she gave up. She sat there for what seemed like hours, staring at the dingy walls and entering an almost meditative state before Commander Stevens stepped up to her.
“Dr. Whitaker?”
Nina jerked to attention. “Yes?” She stood, looking for Simon. “Is the interview over?”
“Not quite yet. Simon is still in with Davenport, trying to wrap up a few loose ends. He asked me to tell you he should be out soon.”
“Did—did he get the information you need?”
“Some of it. Davenport confessed to sending you a threatening card and breaking into your house, but that’s it. It’s to be expected,” Stevens reassured her. “He’s copping to those crimes since we already have the evidence we need to charge him with them. I’m not at all surprised he hasn’t copped to the others, especially since he has an attorney. They’ll wait to see what the DA charges him with and what kind of deal he’s willing to offer prior to trial.”
“But will the DA have enough to charge him with the other things? Killing my cat? Killing those two men?”
“The initials he left on the man and in your house are circumstantial evidence. We’re still working on tracking down his movements. He claims he drove here and didn’t arrive in California until yesterday morning. If we can confirm he was actually in the city when the victims were killed, it should be enough to charge him. Of course, the DA will want more before he’s actually brought to trial, and we’ll continue working on getting it for him. Unfortunately, we’re going to need your help for a while longer.”
Nina’s eyes widened. “In what way?”
“According to Simon, you and he already discussed why Davenport might have targeted the two men that he did. However, he also said he hasn’t had a chance to talk about those two men in detail, and explore whether you might have met them or otherwise know anything about them or their treatment histories.”
“No. We discussed some things yesterday. Some of his theories, and the victims in general. But he—he hasn’t had a chance to talk to me about them in detail yet. He said he’d speak to me after he was done with Davenport.”
Stevens nodded. “Yes, well, I’d prefer another investigator go through things with you.”
“Why?”
“Frankly, to cover ourselves. It’s clear to me that you and Detective Granger have become...friends...and it would just be simpler all the way around if he wasn’t the detective to take your official statement. Do you have any objection to Jase Tyler or Carrie Ward taking care of that?”
She hesitated and stared at Stevens. All of a sudden, she was hit by a vague sense of discomfort. As if she needed to be wary of this man. But why? What he was saying made perfect sense. And it wasn’t like she’d done anything wrong. Still, she’d have felt better if Simon was here. So he could watch her back, so to speak. But that was exactly the kind of thing Stevens was trying to prevent. He didn’t want there to be any appearance of favoritism or bias in case Davenport tried to fight the charges against him.
So even though she’d remain on her guard, she needed to do what Stevens asked. She tipped up her chin. “Do I need an attorney?”
“No. You’re not under suspicion for any crime, Dr. Whitaker,” Stevens said. “You’re not under arrest and you’re free to leave at any time. We just need to explore what you might know that can connect you to Mr. Cann and Mr. Hastings, the two men to each other or more important, either of the two men to Davenport.”
“Mr. Hastings. That’s the second murder victim? You’ve identified him?”
“Yes.”
“Simon said both murder victims were homeless. Have you informed their families?”
“Mr. Cann’s family was contacted weeks ago. As to Mr. Hastings, we’re trying to track them down right now.”
Nina thought about things then took a calming breath. “Okay. I’m happy to tell you what I might know, but I doubt it will help. As I told Simon, I’ve never worked with the homeless population, certainly not since moving to San Francisco. But first...can I see Lester Davenport? Is that possible?”
“Why do you want to do that?”
“I knew him before he was suffering from guilt-induced crisis. I also had some interaction with him after Beth’s suicide. I’m a psychiatrist. Trained in interpreting behavior and emotional states.”
“Any conclusions