nothing more than something she and Dr. Tiller cooked up between them. The last time he had seen her this close in person, she’d been standing in the hall of the homeless shelter Tara worked in, holding a gun to his sister’s head. Sucking in a ragged breath, he let it out slowly, catching Alex watching him carefully. “I’m okay.”
“You sure? Cause as much as she deserves it, I don’t want to have to haul you outta here for kicking her ass.”
Chuckling, he shook his head, then sobered quickly as the door opened. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but the Beth Washington he observed now was greatly different from the high-heeled, tight skirt, perfectly made-up and coiffed woman of months ago. But she still appeared more put-together than most of the women he’d seen in the prison. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail but clean. Her lips had a slight pink sheen as well as her cheeks. Uncertain if makeup was allowed, she obviously had access to some. Her outfit was the most striking difference to her former life… similar to nursing scrubs, only orange.
Her gaze darted between the two men and she hesitated before moving to the chair on the other side of the table and sat. Kyle could feel her anxiety zapping about the room, but she appeared composed.
“I’m Detective Alex Freeman, and this is Detective Kyle McBride. We’re with the Hope City Police Department.”
Kyle kept his eyes on her, but she gave no indication she knew him. Since his sister was using her married name at that time, he doubted she made the connection between Tara and himself. Her gaze moved between the two men, but she remained quiet.
“When you worked for Kilton Pharmaceuticals, you must’ve known everything there was to know about the drugs they produced.” Kyle knew he’d caught her off-guard when her brows lowered and she was not able to hide her surprise.
“That’s hardly a secret,” she replied. “I had to learn about almost all the drugs. I was the liaison between the manufacturer and the doctors.”
“More like a distributor, wouldn’t you say?”
“Everything I had to say, I’ve already said—”
“You had a condo overlooking the Inner Harbor that, according to the real estate listing, was stunning, exclusive, one-of-a-kind—”
“So what? What’s your point, Detective?”
“What’s it like in here?”
Her brows lowered again, his question obviously not what she was expecting. “Why do you want to know?”
“I guess I want to know if it’s what you expected.”
She opened her mouth and then snapped it closed, her jaw tight as she clasped her hands together on top of the table. She remained quiet for a moment, then looked up and held his gaze. “I can’t imagine that I have anything to tell you that you don’t already assume. No privacy. No autonomy. No friends. No freedom.”
“So, why didn’t you fight this? Why weren’t you willing to make a deal for a lesser sentence? Why were you so willing to give up everything you worked for? Everything you risked?”
Her back stiffened and her eyes narrowed as she sneered. “You’re going over a well-trod path, Detective. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Dr. Tiller and I came up with the scheme to distribute the drugs—”
“Bullshit. That’s complete bullshit and you know it.”
She opened her mouth again, but Kyle jumped in. “You might as well know, we’re digging. We’re going to keep digging until we find out where the trail at Kilton Pharmaceuticals leads to. You can help with that or keep sitting in here doing your full time, but we’re not giving up.”
She held his gaze for a long moment, then shook her head slightly and huffed. “That’s a foolish endeavor, Detective.”
“Might be, but you could make the process faster.”
“Not going to happen.”
Alex jumped in. “Because you’re afraid. You’re so afraid of whoever’s calling the shots that you’re willing to sit in prison.”
“But you gotta figure, somebody’s got their eye on you,” Kyle added. Her nose flared, and he zoned in on the minute sign of stress. “And it’s not going to be a secret that we came to talk to you.” He waited to see how long it would take before the import of his words hit her. Not fuckin’ long at all.
She sucked in a quick breath and leaned forward. “You’re using me,” she hissed. “One way or the other, you’ll make it look like I talked.”
“Still got nothin’ to say?”
Leaning back, she pinched her lips tightly together. “I’ve got nothing