Two chairs sat across the desk from Officer Susan Farrah. She gestured with a sweep of her hand for them to take a seat. Viv took the one on the left, carefully moving it away from the other chair before she sat down.
Rex raised an eyebrow in her direction. Then he offered a friendly greeting. "So Officer Farrah, we meet again. Did you get a good night's sleep?"
Farrah stared at Rex. Doubt on her face. Viv stifled a grin. Susan looks at Rex as if he had spinach caught between his front teeth.
Farrah cleared her throat. "My sleeping patterns are none of your concern, Mr. Redondo." The use of his name with the Mr. made it clear that she wasn't there for chitchat.
"Let me remind you," she continued, "that I'm only interested in how you know our victim, Carmine Nelson. What can you tell me about him?"
Perspiration broke out on Viv's hands. The image of Carmine had kept her up that night. And she had to admit she felt a bit uncomfortable for Rex. Since he lied about knowing the dead man, he was more than likely going to get caught. Unless, of course, Sutton…
She glanced over at Rex. So what's his plan? Did he want to insert himself into the investigation because he fancied himself as some kind of detective? Viv expected Rex would come clean now that they sat in the police station. Surely he'll tell Farrah.
"Oh, Carmine and I are old pals," he said in an easy voice. "We go back, I don't know, maybe a decade."
Viv hid the startled look from her face by turning her head and coughing into her hand. She knew for certain that wasn't remotely true. Hadn't Rex admitted he didn't know Carmine last night? She turned her head back to stare at him. He continued to weave a tale about his supposed friendship with the deceased.
"We'd play golf occasionally." Rex held his hand up to inspect each individual fingernail on his right hand. "You had to take your time with Carmine. He spent a lot of energy with his warm-ups on the course. Never in a rush, that guy. He'd do stretches and then practice swings. He'd tell me that he needed to 'get a sense of the playing field.'" Rex used air quotes. "Of course he knew every green in Palm Desert like the back of his hand. A big player, that was Carmine."
Vivienne couldn't believe her ears. Rex had made up a story on the spot that sounded so convincing. How does he do that? She glanced over at Officer Farrah, who also stared at Rex. I think she's totally taken in. Who wouldn't be with that mesmerizing voice he uses along with the attention to detail.
Farrah slid her hand over to grasp her pad of paper. She scribbled a few notes with a pencil. "Anything else?" Farrah asked, putting her pencil down.
Viv's concern about Rex's glib lies made her wonder. Couldn't Farrah arrest him for obstructing justice? Couldn't he be charged for an offense and go to jail?
"Nope." Rex leaned back in his chair.
Farrah slid her notebook into a drawer. "I guess that will be all for now," she said. "Thanks for coming in."
Viv exhaled in relief. Apparently she's not going to arrest him now or ask me any questions.
Rex stood and Viv did the same. She followed him out the door, into the reception area. Once they stood outside, he turned to her. "How about coffee at Just Desserts?"
"Or tea..."
"You can get an herbal tea." His brows raised above his inviting gaze.
Her palms, now dry, began to itch. She felt her heart race. He wanted to explain and get back into her good graces. She could feel it in the way his eyes appraised her face, running over her mouth. He tentatively smiled again, waiting for her reply. Her heart tugged.
Why do I feel like turning him down would absolutely ruin his day…
"Oh all right. Let's walk over. We can get some steps in. I didn't get a chance to exercise this morning." Viv knew that was her fault. The visit to the police station interrupted their walk with Kevin.
"Wonderful." He smiled at her, as if she'd just delivered the best news ever. "Then I can tell you my plan. Sutton's working on getting the background on all of those HOA guys. One by one we need to track them down. It has to be one of them who killed Carmine. I just know it."
"Carmine the golf guy," she said dryly, using his own description.
"Yeah, him. I hope he does play golf. I mean, who lives in Palm Desert who doesn't?" Rex took her by the elbow, ushering her down the sidewalk toward Just Desserts.