"You keep a lot of tools, Ms. Blake?" He wrote something on his notepad. I was betting it was a doodle.
"No, detective, but I've got a screwdriver."
"Did Mrs. Pringle ask you to go get this screwdriver?"
"No, but she'd used it when she bought her stereo system." Which was true. I was trying to keep the lies to an absolute minimum.
"So you assumed she'd need it."
"Yes."
"Then what?" He asked like he'd never heard the answer before. His black eyes were intense and empty, unreadable and eager at the same time. We were coming to the part that he didn't quite buy.
"I unlocked my door and dropped my keys. I squatted down to pick them up and the first shotgun blast roared over my head. I returned fire."
"How? The door was closed."
"I shot through the hole in the door that the shotgun had made."
"You shot a man through a hole in your door and hit him."
"It was a big hole, detective, and I wasn't sure I hit him."
"Why didn't the second shotgun blast take you out, Ms. Blake? There wasn't enough left of the door to hide behind. Where were you, Ms. Blake?"
"I told you, the blast rocked the door inward. I hit the floor, on my side. The second blast went over me."
"And you shot the man twice more in the chest," Detective Branswell said.
"Yes."
He looked at me for a long moment, studying my face. I met his eyes without flinching. It wasn't that hard. I was numb, empty, and distant. There was still a fine ringing in my ears from being so damn close to two shotgun blasts. The ringing would fade. It usually did.
"You know the man you killed?"
Catherine touched my arm. "Detective Branswell, my client has been more than helpful. She's told you several times that she did not recognize the deceased."
He flipped back through his notebook. "You're right, counselor. Ms. Blake has been helpful. The dead man was James Dugan, Jimmy the Shotgun. He's got a record longer than you are tall, Ms. Blake. He's local muscle. Someone you call when you want it cheap and quick and don't care how messy it is." He stared at me while he talked, studying my eyes.
I blinked at him.
"Do you know anyone who would want you dead, Ms. Blake?"
"Not right offhand," I said.
He closed his notebook and stood. "I'm going to recommend justifiable homicide to the DA. I doubt you'll see the inside of a courtroom."
"When do I get my gun back?" I asked.
Branswell stared at me. "When ballistics is done with it, Ms. Blake. And I'd be damn grateful that you're getting it back at all." He shook his head. "I've heard stories about you from some of the cops who answered the last call from your apartment. The one with the two killer zombies." He shook his head again. "Don't take this wrong, Ms. Blake, but have you considered moving to a new jurisdiction?"
"My landlord is probably going to suggest the same thing," I said.
"I'll just bet he is," Branswell said. "Counselor, Sergeant Storr."
"Thanks for letting me sit in on this, Branswell," Dolph said.
"You said she was one of yours. Besides, I know Gross and Brady. They were the first officers on scene for the zombies. They say good things about her. I've talked to half a dozen officers that say Ms. Blake saved their butt or stood shoulder to shoulder with them under fire and didn't blink. It cuts you a hell of a lot of slack, Blake, but that slack isn't unlimited. Watch your back, and try not to shoot up any innocent bystanders." With that, he left.