The Outlaw Prince's Captive - Holly Rayner Page 0,54

was by saying the wrong thing.

“I say we just get a warrant and force him to give us whatever this recording is,” Stevens said.

“He can’t be compelled to turn over evidence against himself,” Francesca said quickly.

“He can’t be compelled to testify against himself,” Stevens shot back. “This isn’t the same thing.”

“It might be the same thing,” Francesca said. “Without knowing what’s on the recording, you don’t know.”

“She’s right,” Voles said, glancing at Stevens. “I would have expected you to realize that, Agent Stevens.”

Stevens glowered at Francesca but said nothing.

“It doesn’t matter,” Voles added, “because there’s really no need for any legal rigmarole. Lindström will give up the recording willingly as long as you’re allowed to listen along with us, and so we’ve agreed to that condition.”

“I see,” Francesca said, forcing herself not to look at Viggo. There would be too many questions in that look, and she wanted Voles and Stevens to think that she had some idea of what was going on.

“All right,” Voles said to Viggo. “We’ve met your conditions, have we not?”

In response, Viggo pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened a voice recording app. He pulled up a file and pressed play.

“I can’t believe you’d dare to come back at all,” a voice said. “You’re going to be arrested. That haircut is fooling no one. A paparazzo saw you last night.”

“I’m aware of that, Jean.” The second voice on the recording was Viggo’s.

“Who is Jean?” Stevens asked.

Voles held up a hand, quieting him.

“I warned you,” Fabron said. “I warned you that if you didn’t change your ways, it would end badly. You drink too much, Viggo.”

“I don’t,” Viggo said. “Not anymore.”

“That’s good,” Fabron said. “If you allowed this incident to teach you the lesson you needed to learn, that’s good. Still, it’s a shame that someone had to die for you to change your ways.”

Viggo sighed. “Jean, you and I have always been something less than friends, but something more than acquaintances. You have always had my respect.”

“I wish I could say the same.” Fabron sounded truly regretful. “It has always been clear to me that your successes in life have been a direct result of the privilege of your birth.”

“Be that as it may,” Viggo said, “I would give a great deal to understand why you persist in this deception. I understand your reasons for not wanting the police to know it was you driving the car that night, but why keep the lie going when only the two of us are here? What does that gain you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Fabron said frostily.

“What is he talking about?” Chuck Stevens asked.

Both on the tape and in the interview room, the answer was silence.

“It’s fine,” Viggo said to Fabron eventually. “It’s all right if you don’t want to talk about it. It’s all right if you need to pretend. But, Jean, you should know that I’m in a position to help you. I’m acquainted with the officer investigating the case.”

“So what?” Fabron snapped. “It’s a hit-and-run, Viggo. What difference does it make if you’re friends with a cop? It’s not like they’re going to let me off the hook for it. I’ll go to jail for life. Whereas you have diplomatic immunity and a family that can protect you. You should have just stayed in Konäs!”

In the interview room, Viggo reached out and stopped the recording.

For several moments, nobody said anything.

Then Viggo spoke. “You’ve just heard Jean Fabron confess to the crime I was accused of,” he said. “Agent Bellucci can provide a picture that will demonstrate his resemblance to me—close enough to confuse any security camera.”

“Bellucci?” Voles asked.

“I’d need my phone,” Francesca said. “They took it when I was arrested.”

“I have it here,” Voles said, passing it back across the table to her.

Francesca pulled up the photo and showed it to them. “I ran into him on the street,” she explained. “That’s how we discovered who the true culprit was. Yes, I helped Lindström. But I did so because he was innocent.”

“This is ridiculous,” Chuck Stevens snapped.

But Voles was looking at Francesca as if seeing her for the first time.

“I think,” he said, “that we might have been a bit too hasty in our handling of this matter.”

Viggo spoke up. “There’s still time to correct that. I happen to know where Jean Fabron is going to be this evening.”

And he gave the name and address of the club he and Francesca had visited the night before.

Chapter 21

“I should not be