Doyle McKenzie lolled on the couch in the officers’ break room and watched as the door came open. Alex Sawyer entered cautiously, and he let his gaze travel the length of her body.
“Hello there, Alex,” he said, cigarette in hand directly under the No Smoking sign. “I understand you’re more comfortable in this room than the usual visitor area. I thought maybe you and I should have a little chat.”
“What are you doing here? I’ve got an attorney now, remember?”
“So you have. Might work out okay for you and your husband to share, assuming your guy can practice in Illinois.” He winked through the smoke.
“Sorry, McKenzie. If you’re here to try to upset me, Ben told me about his arrest. He also told me about Officer Suarez. Shouldn’t you be working on that instead of going over the same old ground with me?”
“Danville PD is working that case,” McKenzie said, “and you and I never really got a chance to talk, what with you getting a lawyer and all. I just wanted to be sure you haven’t changed your mind. Sometimes memories get a little clearer when the trial starts getting close. You could still reach out for a plea.”
Doyle stood and stepped closer. Alex backed away in fear. McKenzie worked to unsettled her further. He wanted to test the waters. He wanted to see if Alex or, more important, Ben had started to crack the protective layer he had placed over the truth.
“Look, Alex. I’ve known from the very beginning this was a case of self-defense, but I don’t know the details. Only you know. Let me help you. Tell me what happened and then we can spin it the right way. You’re a cop’s wife. No one wants to see you go down for murder one.”
“Save it. I don’t need any help from you. Ben is twice the detective you could ever hope to be.” Alex’s voice cracked with emotion.
“Ben’s working this for you, is he? Without a badge? He tried that already, you know. Ended up in jail.”
“And I’d still take him over you,” Alex said, raising her voice. “In fact, between Ben and my father, I don’t even put you in the same category.”
McKenzie knew he was getting to her. He kept pushing. “Your husband and your father? A fired cop and an invalid. You sure you know what you’re doing?”
McKenzie waited as Alex stewed over his last comment. He watched as her anger boiled over and got the best of her. “So tell me, McKenzie. Does the name Harley mean anything to you?”
McKenzie played it off like a man with plenty of experience in being deceitful. He shrugged. “Not unless it’s followed by Davidson.”
“Ben and my father will figure it out, and that will clear up quite a few things up. We’ll see you in court.”
“That’s fine, Alex. I just wanted to offer you a last chance to go on record with the truth. Juries in Wisconsin are made up of sensible, salt-of-the-earth kind of people. You get uppity with them, with all this right to remain silent bullshit, and they’re likely to make you pay for it. I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Alex knocked on the door, signaling the guard she was ready to leave. “I can’t wait to get this in front of a jury, McKenzie. Then everyone is going to see you for the horse’s ass you are.”
The door opened and Alex turned to leave. McKenzie called out. “Suit yourself, Alex. But don’t go trying to saddle me up just yet.”