Sucker Punch (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #27) - Laurell K. Hamilton Page 0,221

. . . that’s monstrous,” Todd said.

“Ironic choice of words, Todd, since we kill the monsters.”

“But you know he’s innocent.”

“But we can’t prove it in time.” Edward shook his head sadly, looking younger and strangely innocently disappointed.

God, he could act. I’d never be that good, but I did my best to play up the whole female-and-small thing. To save Bobby’s life, I’d bat my big brown eyes at his uncle.

“You can save Bobby, Todd,” I said, and debated whether touching his hand would be too much and finally decided against it. I could kill suspects, but holding hands was frowned on.

“How?” he asked.

“Confess.”

“I’ll confess that we stole things and were going to steal more.”

“Like you stole the murder weapon?” Olaf said.

Todd glared up at him, indignant again. It seemed like one of his go-to emotions. “I told you, we did not take it, and if we had, we would not have put it in the garden shed. Something that valuable would need to go someplace much more secure.”

“Like where?” I asked, and widened my eyes at him, leaning in a little closer. I could play to my outward appearance in a good cause.

“If I tell you where we would hide things, will that help Bobby?”

“Maybe,” I said.

“We have a safe in the house.”

“It got opened today before they found the bagh nakha,” Edward said.

“Not the safe in the master bedroom. The one in the basement.”

I looked at Edward, but he shook his head. “There was no safe in the basement, Todd,” I said.

“But there is. I promise you it’s there.”

“What’s inside it?” Olaf asked.

“Small things, but not that boc whatever. I have never seen it outside of Ray’s study before.”

“Did Carmichael help you steal the small things?” I asked.

Todd nodded. “Ray barred Muriel from the house after she said some unfortunate things to Bobby about his condition.”

“Why would Carmichael risk his job for the two of you?”

“For the money. For his cut of the money when we sold the items.”

“Do you have a list of everything you sold and how much you got for it?”

“We do, and I’ll give it all to you. Is that enough to save Bobby?”

“I’m afraid not, Todd,” Edward said softly, gently, like a friend who’s come to tell you your pet died.

“What will save him?”

“Absolute proof that someone else committed the crime,” I said.

“There is no time for that,” Olaf said from the wall. “We need a confession.”

“But I didn’t do it. We did not hurt Ray.”

“Then Bobby dies while we look for other suspects,” I said.

“God, that’s monstrous. It’s not justice. It’s legal murder.”

“I feel the same way you do. I don’t want to pull the trigger on Bobby, but legally I have to do it before the time limit runs out.”

“If I confess, then what happens?”

“If you confess to the murder, then that will get Bobby off the hook,” I said.

“I’ll confess, then.”

“To murder?” I asked.

“Yes, if it will save Bobby. I should have fought Muriel years ago and taken him in. He should have been our son, not Ray’s, and then he’d have never gone on that damn safari and gotten attacked by that witch doctor leopard. He’d be ours, and I’d have a son, but instead I let Muriel have her way like I always do, and now here we are.”

He confessed to killing Ray Marchand. He would not implicate his wife. When Edward pressed him, he said, “I love Muriel. I’ve always loved her.”

By the time we’d heard his confession, I couldn’t decide if Muriel had committed the murder without him, or if neither of them had done it. Either way, I knew Todd hadn’t, but we took his confession anyway. It would save Bobby’s life, and because Todd was human, they’d have to collect evidence before his murder trial. He had time, and he’d get a lawyer, which was something that most supernaturals never got. The lawyer Micah had recommended for Bobby was still on a plane trying to get here, though she had been filing paperwork on Bobby’s behalf. None of it would have been in time to save his life, though she was trying to use it as a jumping-off point for some sort of legal precedent to help the next supernatural citizen caught in the warrant system. Legal precedents are great, but they often don’t save the person involved at the beginning of the fight.

We’d meet Leduc back at his office, because legally I had to let Bobby out of the cage since it was currently