It wasn’t long into the police questioning that Shawn realized he should have brought an attorney with him. So he waited for another two hours until the public defender arrived at the station house. The guy was dressed in a golf shirt and Bermuda shorts, as if he’d been called away from a round of golf or a family barbecue. After getting up to speed on Shawn’s version of what had happened so far, the lawyer signaled that the officers could come back into the small interrogation area.
“My client came in here of his own free will,” the attorney began. “He’s told you that he was with Carly Neath last night, that she walked out on him at the Stone Pony, and that that was the last he saw of her. Unless you have something to book him on, we’re outta here.”
“So it’s just a coincidence that the young woman who was abducted earlier this week happened to be a girlfriend of his as well?” one detective asked.
“That’s sure the way it looks,” the lawyer said, keeping his face expressionless.
The other detective shook his head, knowing that, for now anyway, their hands were tied. They needed to get some solid evidence on the guy. “All right, Ostrander,” he snarled. “Get out of here. But don’t go anywhere we can’t reach you.”