forward.
"Yeah. Paul Desoto. We were in foster care together. I ran into him about six months before we moved here."
"Where did you run into him?"
"The nursery where I used to work. Sometimes I could get plants that were dying or clippings I could re-root from them for pennies."
"Why were you counting your pennies?"
A harsh laugh came from Clare. "Erik's hours got slashed. He had a plane, and we'd bought new vehicles thinking he'd continue to get paid what he had been."
"But he didn't."
"No."
"And then what happened?"
"Paul and I went for coffee. I needed someone to talk to, you know? Erik worried so much, and he was looking for another job, for someone to buy the plane, a way to refinance the smaller house. He was trying, but the bills kept coming."
"What happened when you told Paul?"
"He said he could help." She shrugged her shoulders. "For a price."
"And the price?"
Clare slowly focused on her. "He could fuck me whenever he wanted, and I do what he said."
Amber drew a breath and asked, "Did you agree?"
"I was desperate. I made one stipulation. He could never use me when Erik was home. He made me call him every morning when Erik left and every night when his plane touched down."
"How long has this been going on?"
"Since right before Erik got the new job."
"Why didn't you stop when he got the new job?"
"Paul videotaped us engaged in... you know. Told me he'd tell Erik."
"And when did you know you were helping the man transport drugs?"
Clare sighed. "I didn't know for sure, but almost from the beginning. Paul made me wear gloves when I was handling the trays. He told me to touch them as little as possible. I assumed there was something. Drugs, poison, something. I kept everything Paul gave me. The instructions telling me what to do and when."
"Is it in his handwriting?"
"Yeah, the block print is his. He's always written like that. Even in high school."
"And he paid you?"
"Yeah. He paid me twenty-five thousand dollars for each flat."
"And how did you explain the money to Erik?"
"Paul told me to tell him my foster parents had died, and they'd left a couple of us the proceeds from life insurance and the sale of their house, but it was going to be paid over a period of years. I memorized the words from the instructions he gave me."
"And Erik believed you?"
"Yeah, because the day I told him was the first day Paul... used me. I was a mess. Tears, crying. I love Erik, you know?"
Amber didn't touch the last statement, continuing her questioning instead. "Do you know what Paul did with the trays?"
She shook her head. "I don't. He never said, and believe me, I didn't want to know."
"One more question. How did you think this was going to end?"
Clare shook her head. "I don't know. I got so I could endure Paul, and then... it wasn't so bad. Erik's gone a lot. When he's here, he's really tired." She shrugged. "I figured Paul would get tired of me. By then we'd be okay financially, and Erik could cut back on his hours."
"All right Clare, Officer Patel is going to take you downtown."
Clare's head whipped up. "You said if I told you, I wouldn't have to go downtown!"
"No, Clare. You heard what you wanted to hear. We have our conversation recorded, and I can assure you I made no such statements."
She stood, and Clare lunged at her. The chair she was sitting on slid across the marble floor. "You can't do this! He'll kill me!"
"Paul Desoto? He's not going anywhere."
"You don't know who you're dealing with!"
"You mean Paul's bosses? Aarón Rubio?"
Clare's eyes flared. She snapped her mouth shut and glared at Amber.
"Or is Oscar Peña the one coming after you?"
"I want a lawyer." Clare spit the words at Amber.
"So be it." She nodded at Detective Patel, and the officer assisted the furious woman from the chair and headed for the garage.
"Avni, keep her in the garage until transport shows. We're going to need all hands to search the Edelman residence," Brody ordered.
"You got it, Sarge." Patel and Thompson closed the door behind them.
Terrell's voice rose. "Watson, have them bring in Desoto."
Watson nodded before he lifted his hand, catching everyone's attention. "Sir we have two blacked out SUVs outside the housing area."
Terrell's eyes narrowed. "What are they doing?"
Watson asked the question. "Nothing. They're parked about a block away."
"Keep an eye on them." Terrell's command sliced through the silence. Amber slid her gaze to Brody. She'd