was an experience she knew she’d never, ever forget. And although she’d done her best to move on, she knew that the terrified sixteen-year-old girl she’d been was never far away.
She sighed and thought about Fred Tatters...and his connections to Maria Tindal’s murder. It hadn’t taken long for Tatters’s attorney, to show up. She could tell by the man’s designer suit, high-priced shoes, and pompous attitude, that he was someone Tatters could not afford. But Will Mooney could. But why? Why would an NBA owner pay his high-priced attorney to defend Tatters?
When the man declared his client wouldn’t be answering any questions, Drew had been quick to state otherwise. He’d even gone so far as to say that if Tatters refused, they’d hold him until he did. And they would. Toni figured no one had explained to Tatters’s attorney that stunts like he was trying to pull usually plastered the word ‘guilty’ on the client’s forehead.
Drew then let the attorney know that they were aware of Tatters’s relationship with Roger Shellpoint, a person of interest to the FBI. And he explained to the attorney that it would behoove Tatters to cooperate, since this could quickly become a federal case.
Toni liked Drew’s style of interrogation. He never went after the jugular, but instead took an “I-don’t-give-a-damn-if-you-cooperate-willingly” attitude. But in the end, she’d bet the perp always cooperated.
He was just as cool and calm as he could be, as if he really didn’t give a shit one way or the other. That made it so that people didn’t know how to read him. And then they would start questioning themselves as to whether he knew something they really didn’t want him to know. That got under people’s skin. And evidently, it worked on Tatters’s attorney, too. In less than an hour, he had decided that Fred Tatters would answer their questions.
Tatters again claimed he did not know Maria Tindal and had never met the woman. At least, not officially. He had, however, seen her since he’d attended the same party Byron Nettles had that night. In fact, he’d planned to hit on her himself, but Nettles had beat him to it.
He also knew that she and Nettles left the party at the same time, but he hadn’t known they’d ended up together until he’d talked to Nettles days later. That’s when Nettles had told him about Maria stealing the flash drive. According to Tatters, he’d been concerned because he was the person in charge of getting his employer, Will Mooney’s, products photographed for Wizzin.
Tatters claimed the reason he had placed a call to Will Mooney that night was to verify their meeting scheduled for the next day. And as far as the reason he was in the vicinity of Maria Tindal’s home the same night she had been murdered? That had been purely coincidental. He’d been on his way to meet with a woman and had arrived at her house at nine thirty.
He was certain the security cameras and private guard at the entry to her condominium complex would verify the time he’d arrived and the time he’d left, which had been well past midnight.
They would check out everything Tatters said. If what the man said was true, then he had an iron-clad alibi. But still, Toni found his relationship with Nettles interesting. And the only thing he said about his relationship with Shellpoint was that they’d met last month at a networking seminar in D.C. and exchanged business cards. Tatters claimed that if he’d known Shellpoint was an unsavory character, he would not have gotten involved with him.
As Toni continued to walk toward her car to head home, her thoughts shifted from Fred Tatters to the weekend she had planned. It had been nice of Drew to offer to help her, but she’d known it wouldn’t be a good idea. It was bad enough being around him during work hours. If he came to her place, all she’d be able to think about would be doing what they always did the moment they were totally alone—strip each other naked.
At least they’d survived this first week, she hoped the next week would be even better. There had definitely been plenty to keep their minds occupied. And every day, she got to know more of the detectives in the Crime Investigation Unit. Everyone seemed so nice.
“I see you’re calling it a day, also.”
Toni turned to look at the man who’d moved in step beside her, intruding on her thoughts. She’d never met him,