“Do you understand them?” Detective Rosario asked.
“Of course I do. I’m not stupid. I used to be law enforcement. Who are you today, Slash? Why don’t you tell them who you really work for?”
Detective Rosario glanced over at Slash before handcuffing Karen.
Slash wasn’t fazed. There was nothing Karen could say that would affect her. If Karen didn’t keep her mouth shut, it would only work against her, especially if she started blabbing about ALPHA.
Slash lifted Karen’s laptop off her desk, tucked it under her arm.
“I need to make a phone call,” Karen said.
“At the detention center,” the detective said, as SWAT Agent Eggleston led her through the club.
The music had been turned off, every dancer stood frozen on a stage, shocked expressions plastered on their faces. A lot of the clubbers had cleared out, but those who stayed still hadn’t moved out of their seats.
As Karen passed Bradley, the head bartender, she yelled, “Lock up on your way out.”
Slash was incredulous. Karen’s loyalty to the club was unmatched.
It’s Greg. Her loyalty is to Greg.
Maybe Karen would strike a deal in exchange for information about Greg.
A handcuffed Karen was placed in Detective Rosario’s vehicle while SWAT agents loaded everyone from the back room into the vans. Slash followed them to the police station.
When Rosario brought Karen through booking, Slash stayed by her side.
“This isn’t going to stick,” Karen said. “My boyfriend will post my bond, then he’ll hire the best attorneys in the area.”
Rosario put Karen in an interrogation room and uncuffed her.
“Can I get you a coffee? How ‘bout a bottle of water?” the detective asked.
“Yeah, like that’s gonna fix this fucking problem,” Karen hissed, rubbing her wrists.
After Rosario shut the door, she and Slash observed her from a room around the corner.
“She didn’t stop talking theentireride over,” Rosario said. “She blamed you for getting her fired from some top-secret law enforcement agency she called ALPHA.”
“Not exactly.” Slash let the words roll out. “Karen Woodside withheld information in a serial killer investigation. The casewasn’t even mine, but I was asked to keep an eye on her. She got fired, blamed me.”
“Anything to this top-secret group, ALPHA?”
“First time I’m hearing that one.” Slash’s phone buzzed with an incoming text. After reading it, she said, “He’s here. I’ll bring him up, and we’ll go in together.”
Detective Rosario nodded. “I’ll be right here.”
Five minutes later, Slash, Detective Rosario, and Arson Detective Milholland entered the interrogation room. Karen was pacing in the small space.
“Can I make that call now?” Karen asked.
“After we talk,” Rosario said. “Have a seat.”
Karen sat.
Detective Rosario sat across from her, Slash and Detective Milholland sat in chairs near the door.
Slash opened her laptop on the cued-up video, set the computer on her lap facing Karen, and hit Play.