Viola stared blankly at them for a moment.“Okay?”
“Is there a place we can go where we’re not visible to the public?”Faith asked.
Viola smirked.“I’m not worried about my reputation, Special Agent.”
Neither was Faith, but while Bridgette might be expected to back off now that she had the hook set, Faith wasn’t confident that other news reporters would do the same.“I think this is a conversation we should have in private.”
Viola sighed.“You can close the blinds, but unless you’re placing me under arrest, I’d rather not unlock my office.”
“Fair enough.”
Faith closed the shutters and glanced at Turk.He was looking placidly at Viola, not reacting at all other than to show his usual wariness around suspects.A flash of irritation crossed her mind, and she reminded herself that Turk’s calm didn’t necessarily mean Viola was innocent.
“I guess we might as well get the softball question out of the way,” Jessica said.“Did you kill Jackson Entwhistle and Raelynn Hayes?”
“No,” Viola replied.
“I figured you’d say that,” Jessica said.“Do you have an alibi for yesterday morning and the night before that?”Viola sighed heavily, and Jessica smiled.“Ah.Not so much?”
Viola lifted her hands and rolled her eyes.“Do I… need a lawyer?”
She chuckled incredulously when she said the second half of that sentence as though the very idea was absurd.
“Do you feel you need a lawyer?”Faith asked.
That was an innocent-sounding question, but it put people on the defensive.It implied thatifthey felt they needed a lawyer, it was because they had something to hide.Oftentimes, it was enough to cause people to hesitate and try to talk their way out of situations rather than act guilty, which was usually enough to allow Faith to find out what she needed to know.
That’s what law enforcement does.They bullshit people because it’s the only way to get the answers they want.
Faith ignored the sting Bridgette’s words brought and waited for Viola’s answer.Viola scoffed and said, “I mean… I don’t have anything to hide.”
“Would you like to talk to us?”Jessica asked.
“I… suppose?I don’t… I mean, I didn’t kill anyone.You guys can’t possibly suspect me.”
“We’re not ready to say that yet, no,” Jessica replied.“But we know that you had a personal history with both victims.”
“I didn’t have apersonalhistory with either of them,” Viola countered.“I assume you’re referring to the fact that I was let go for publicly revealing my concerns with the K9 program at Thurgood Marshall.That wasn’t a personal problem with anyone.I chose to go public with my concerns because several people died, and I felt it was my duty to inform people of the circumstances that contributed to their deaths.It wasn’t personal at all.”
“Fair enough,” Faith said.“But youdidname Hayes and Entwhistle personally in that letter, yes?”
“Yes, because they were the supervisors responsible for the K9 and bomb detection programs.”
“Yes.And your contract with the TSA was annulled because of your choice to come forward.Meanwhile, they both got to keep their jobs.”
“Yes, it was unfortunate, but I’m not going to kill people to… what?Right a wrong?Is that what you think?”
“You said it, not me.”
Viola sighed.“Listen, I’m not happy that incompetent supervisors were allowed to keep their jobs, but I don’t hold Entwhistle and Hayes accountable for that.They’re several steps removed from the people who make the actual decisions about the TSA’s K9 program.They were given a role and told how to exercise that role.They were told to overwork their dogs and improperly train their handlers.The fault lies with the Administration’s processes, not with the employees and first-level supervisors.If I was going to kill anyone…” She stopped herself.“I’mnotgoing to kill anyone.If I was toblameanyone, it would be the people in Washington calling the shots for the entire Administration.”
The TSA’s headquarters were actually in Springfield, Virginia, but that was an unimportant detail.“Okay,” Faith said.“So whowouldwant them dead?”
Jessica frowned at Faith.“Before you answer that, Dr.Martinez, it’s true that you documented violations several times and were ignored.”
“Yes,” Viola replied.
“And how did that make you feel?”