Nick dropped his gun and keys onto a conveyer belt while Matt emptied his pockets. They stepped through the metal detector in the lobby of the Phoenix FBI branch and retrieved their items from the other side. They fist-bumped a couple of security agents watching the event, then continued on their way.
The Phoenix branch had a modern Arizona feel, with bright-white tile floors and tall ceilings. They stepped across the blue FBI emblem etched into the middle of the floor and headed toward the back hallway where the interview rooms sat.
As they walked down the corridor, they passed a series of offices, all with windowed walls, but closed wooden doors. Half the offices were empty, but the ones occupied had agents talking on their phone or glued to their computer screen. They reached an intersection where they could go right, left, or straight into the largest office in the building. It was the only office with horizontal shades on the windowed walls which could allow complete privacy. Now, the shades were pulled to one side and exposed a white-haired man seated behind his desk, a pair of readers on the bridge of his nose as he read something on his tablet.
Nick tapped the open door. “You got a second before I go in there?”
Special Agent in Charge, Lloyd Thiel, stood, greeted the agents, then motioned to the two chairs fronting his desk. He walked over and shut the door, then looked up at the digital clock on the wall. “You got here quick.”
“Yeah, we stayed in the valley last night after dropping off Malkin,” Nick said.
“Smart.” Thiel returned to his chair and looked at Matt. “Are you planning to retain your sharpshooting title this year?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Matt said, crossing his legs.
Thiel looked over his readers and said conspiratorially, “I ever tell you I made two hundred bucks betting on you the last three years?”
“Only a couple of times,” Matt said with a grin.
“Hmm.” Thiel leaned his elbows on his desk and slid the tablet in front of Nick. “His name is Derrick Grimes. Just turned eighteen. His father currently resides in Florence for GTA. Tried to steal a Ferrari from a movie set. Ballsy, but not bright.”
“Let’s hope the kid inherited his genes,” Matt said.
“I’ve got to tell you, Lloyd,” Nick said, perusing the file on the tablet. “Yours is the best phone call I’ve received in a long time.”
“I don’t doubt it.” Thiel leaned back in his chair while Nick slid the tablet in front of his partner so they could both read the boy’s file.
“You will notice his two priors were in Scottsdale,” Thiel said with a look of satisfaction.
Nick and Matt both smiled at that one. Scottsdale was still enforcing a three-strikes-and-you’re-out rule, so it offered them more leverage.
“He was sleeping in the stolen car?” Nick asked. “Parked on the side of Camelback Road?”
“Seemed like he was sleeping off a long night of drinking,” Thiel said.
There were long stretches of silence while Nick and Matt scrolled down the data from the police report.
“Once we knew who he was,” Thiel said, “we had Scottsdale PD drop him off here for questioning. We did exactly as you requested and grilled him pretty hard. Gave him a pretty bleak picture of his impending future.”
“Good,” Nick said while speed-reading the file. “What about an attorney?”
“I just called him. Lives up in Paradise Valley, so I’d say he’s at least thirty minutes away.”
Matt tapped on the tablet. “And you’re sure this is the kid who saw the Perrino murder?”
“Without question,” Thiel said unequivocally.
“What about the woman, Mrs. Weber?” Nick asked. “How does she feel?”
“She just wants her car back. That’s all she cares about.”
“Can she identify him?”
“Not a chance. He was too far away.”
Nick looked at his partner. “I’m done. You ready?”
Matt kept scrolling his index finger down the screen. “Something doesn’t add up. This kid steals a car, then drives to a bar and gets so drunk that he pulls over and falls asleep behind the wheel?” Matt looked up and saw Thiel shrug.
“He’s not exactly Harvard material if that’s what you’re wondering,” Thiel said.
“It’s just when things seem too easy . . .” Matt said, sliding the tablet back to Thiel. “I’m done.”
“Did you feed him?” Nick asked.
Thiel shook his head. “I followed the script.”
“Good. You got any food in the break room?”
“Plenty,” Thiel said. “Need anything else?”
“Yes, I need a piece of paper and a pen.”
Thiel took a blank sheet of paper from his printer and a pen from his desk and handed them to Nick. “Like I told you on the phone, he’s in denial mode. The dumber they are, the harder they are to turn.”
“Understood.” Nick stood up. “Just text me when the attorney arrives, so I have a heads up.”
Nick and Matt walked down the hallway and stopped in the break room to pick up a couple of bagels, cream cheese and put them on a plastic plate. Matt got them some coffee, cream, sugar packets, and plastic utensils.
When they walked into the access facility next to the interview room, they found a couple of FBI agents chuckling about something. They stopped as soon as they saw Nick and Matt.
“What’s so funny?” Matt asked, looking through the two-way mirror at the kid sitting at a small conference table by himself.
One of the agents pointed to the kid. “When we asked him what he thought about Grand Theft Auto, he said he liked it.”
The other agent added, “He thought we were talking about the video game.”
“He really that dense?” Matt asked.
“If he isn’t, then he’s the best actor I’ve ever seen.”
Nick looked at the kid, then glanced at Matt and got a nod. They both instinctively knew they had the right kid. Derrick Grimes sat at the table with his head resting on his curled-up arms. He looked exhausted. It was exactly what a guilty detainee did when they were finally arrested. They rested. The chase was finally over, and they were relieved. An innocent person could sustain themselves on adrenalin for hours, maybe days trying to convince someone of their innocence. Only the guilty were able to sleep.
“Well, we’ll find out.” Nick opened the door and entered the interview room.
Nick and Matt dropped the plate of bagels, coffee, and accoutrements on the table, then Matt went to the corner of the room while Nick placed his paper and pen on the table and sat down.
Derrick sat back with half-opened eyes.
“Where’s my attorney?” Derrick asked.
“He’s on the way.” Nick pointed to the bagels. “There’s no catch here. You’re allowed to have breakfast. It’s not an admission of guilt.”
The kid was thin and had a five o’clock shadow and bags under his eyes. He seemed leery, but reached for a bagel and spread cream cheese on it with a plastic knife.
“Aren’t you afraid I’m going to attack you with this knife?” Derrick said nonchalantly.
“Is that what you want to do?” Nick asked.
“No.”
Derrick prepared his coffee and took a bite of his bagel.
Nick let him eat in peace, maybe allowing the anxiety to ramp up in his system again.
With a mouthful of bagel, Derrick pointed to Matt and said, “Who’s he?”
“Don’t worry about him,” Nick said. “He hasn’t killed anyone in days.”
Derrick stopped chewing for a second to judge Nick’s comment.
“My name is Nick. That guy is Matt. And we don’t give a shit about your car theft.”
Derrick resumed his chewing with a wary eye on Matt.
“You FBI too?” Derrick asked.
Nick nodded. “But we’re in a different division. The one that allows criminals to eat breakfast.”
Derrick ate in silence.
Nick understood he was under a time limit with the attorney on the way, but he needed the kid to be in the proper frame of mind first. He clasped his hands behind his neck and said, “So you were walking down Camelback Road and decided to take a nap in a random car.”
Derrick didn’t respond.
“If that’s true there really isn’t much to charge you with.”
Derrick ate and sipped coffee.
“The fact is, son, the Scottsdale Police Department really doesn’t have much on you except for your two priors. I know they’re trying to scare you with the three-strikes-and-you’re-out law on the books, but they’d need to have charges drawn up and be able to convict you first.”
“That’s what I told them,” Derrick said. “I didn’t do shit. Sleeping ain’t no crime.”
Oh boy, Nick thought. The kid was a gold mine.
Nick sat up and said, “You see your father much?”
Derrick remained quiet.
“Son, we know—”
“Don’t call me son. I ain’t your son.”
Boy, Nick thought, that certainly was true.
“Derrick,” Nick began, “we know that during your last conviction for auto theft, you told the arresting officer that you learned how to hotwire a car from your father. Was that a skill he taught you?”
Derrick shrugged. “He showed me all kinds of shit. None of that matters here.”
“That’s very true. However, it does paint a picture for an arresting officer which would lend themselves to believe you might have stolen Mrs. Weber’s Audi using your father’s skill set.”
“They can think whatever they want,” Derrick said, then gestured to Matt again. “Does he ever talk?”
Nick looked at his partner. “You’d be surprised.”
Derrick was almost finished with his bagel and sipped more coffee. After wiping his mouth with his hand, he said, “My attorney should be here any time now. You can talk to him.”
“Right,” Nick said. He lowered his head and in a conspiratorial tone he said, “You want to know the truth? Scottsdale wants to prosecute and make an example of you. Put you in Florence with your dad. But that’s not what Mrs. Weber wants.”
Derrick looked interested for the first time since they started.
“No?” the kid said.
Nick shook his head. “Listen, the reality is, she knows it was you who stole the car. She was watching you in her backyard and saw you get behind the wheel and drive away. She can easily identify you.”
“Hmm,” was all the kid said.
“But that doesn’t matter. You see, she doesn’t want to press charges against you. She just wanted her car back. That’s all.”
“Okay.”
“That’s it,” Nick finished. “She is a very nice lady, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Sounds nice.”
Nick pushed his chair back as if he were ready to leave, but sat still for a second. “She told me she didn’t want you to go to jail and she wanted you released. I mean, after all it’s her car. She should be able to decide who gets convicted for that, right?”
Derrick seemed pleased about the direction the conversation was going. “Yeah, right.”
“So, if she doesn’t want to press charges, then why are you even here?” Nick asked.
Derrick seemed confused. “Yeah, why am I here?”
“Because the Scottsdale Police have it out for you, that’s why. I know some of those cops and they run a tight ship over there. They try to get as many convictions as possible. It’s good for their quota.”
“Yeah, I believe that.”
“But that’s not what Mrs. Weber wants. And they’re trying to talk her into pressing charges.”
“Assholes.”
“Pretty much.”
“So what do I need to do to get released?”
“Well, I spoke with her this morning and she told me that all she wants is an apology, then she’ll drop any charges against you.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Derrick glanced back and forth between Nick and Matt and said, “So as long as I apologize for taking her car, I can go home?”
“Yup.”
Derrick sat there mulling this over in his mind. The opportunity seemed attractive, but Nick was running out of time.
“Derrick,” Nick said. “The Scottsdale Police are talking with her right now and the longer they talk with her, the better the chance she might change her mind. I would highly recommend you decide.”
“Okay, yeah,” he blurted. “I apologize.”
“That’s good,” Nick said, then slid the blank piece of paper in front of the kid and placed the pen next to him. “Just write her a nice apology letter explaining all the details of the incident and I will send this over to her.”
Derrick hesitated.
Nick cocked his head. “This third strike thing is real, Derrick. Maybe fifteen years inside. That apology is your way out.”
Derrick grabbed the pen. “How do you spell her name?”
Nick told him and watched Derrick begin writing.
“She wants you to give her the specifics, so she knows you weren’t trying to harm her or her family. Just tell her the truth with all the details. The type of car, the street you were on, what you were thinking at the time. That kind of thing.”
Derrick was writing furiously now, trying to get it all out.
“Make sure you use good handwriting,” Nick said. “So she can read it easily.”
Derrick slowed down but kept at it. After a few minutes, he looked up at Nick. “What else?”
“Just clearly sign your name for her and you’re done.”
Just as Derrick signed the letter, Nick’s phone vibrated. The attorney had arrived.
Derrick slid the paper over to Nick and he began reading. It was everything he could ask for.
The door opened and a husky man hiding a beer gut under his gray suit came in holding a leather briefcase. He looked at Nick and said, “What’s going on, guys? Why are we in a Department of Justice building?”
Nick shrugged.
“It’s all taken care of,” Derrick said. “Mrs. Weber is going to drop all the charges.”
The attorney gave Nick a suspicious glare. “Please tell me that Mrs. Weber works for the district attorney’s office.”
“I’m not sure who she works for,” Derrick said.
Nick slid out the chair next to him. “You might want to sit down.”
The attorney placed his briefcase on the table, then sat. “Why don’t you tell me about the charges being dropped?”
“Well, tell him,” Derrick insisted.
Nick slid the sheet of paper over to the attorney and watched his eyes go dark as he read the letter.
“See,” Derrick said. “Mrs. Weber said she would drop all charges if I wrote her an apology.”
The attorney looked at Nick with a deadpan stare and said, “Derrick, this isn’t an apology letter, it’s a confession.”
“What?” Derrick eyes popped open. “No, no, no, this is what he told me to do. He said if I wrote an apology, Mrs. Weber would not file charges for stealing her car.” He pointed to Nick. “Go ahead and tell him.”
Nick gave the attorney an innocent expression. “I’m pretty sure she won’t be filing charges.”
The attorney rolled his eyes. “Derrick, Mrs. Weber can’t decide who gets charged with a crime. She can only file a civil case against you. It has nothing to do with the criminal charge of auto theft.”
“Those fucking Scottsdale cops.”
The attorney gave Nick an exasperated tilt of his head. “Are you going to tell him, or should I?”
Nick almost smiled as he leaned over toward the kid. “I may have exaggerated a little bit about the situation.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, for crying out loud, Derrick,” the attorney said. “He tricked you into signing a confession. He probably wasn’t even sure you stole the car in the first place.”
Nick shrugged.
“Wait,” Derrick said pointing at Nick. “He lied to me. He can’t do that right? He can’t just lie. Isn’t that against the law?”
“No,” the attorney said in a tired voice. “There’s no law against him lying to you. Happens all the time.”
“You shitting me? Isn’t that in the Constitution or something.”
Nick was starting to feel sorry for the nitwit.
The attorney sighed and said, “Obviously you need something from him. Why don’t you tell us why we’re really here.”
Nick took a deep breath. “You saw something from Mrs. Weber’s backyard. A murder. You saw two men murder Charlie Perrino from over the fence. I know this for a fact.” Nick slid a sheet of paper in front of Derrick with two headshots on it. “If you can positively identify these guys as the ones who murdered Charlie, then I will reduce your felony to a parking ticket. You would avoid any serious charges and walk away scot free.”
Derrick glanced at his attorney and watched the man nod reassuringly. “Do it.”
Derrick leaned back in his seat and shook his head. “Nope, you’re not going to fool me again with this shit. I’m not stupid.”
Nick forced himself not to look at his partner or he knew he would break out laughing. Instead, he lowered his head while staring directly into the kid’s eyes. “I’m after some people who are lifetime killers who wouldn’t think twice about adding you to their body count. The best chance you have is to identify them so we can put them away for murder. You saw what they did. I don’t think you want them finding you.”
Derrick sat there unable to see the big picture.
Finally, his attorney frowned and said to Nick, “Can I please have a word with my client in private?”
Nick and Matt left the room and was greeted by Lloyd Thiel who watched the proceedings from the two-way mirror.
“Well?” Nick asked.
Thiel shook his head. “He’s not getting it somehow.”
“I know.”
They watched Derrick’s attorney pleading with the kid, but missing his mark.
Matt gritted his teeth and said, “Captain Meadows was right,” as he moved past the two agents and pulled open the door to the interview room.
“Who’s Captain Meadows?” Thiel asked.
“Someone from our past,” Nick said.
They watched Matt sit across from Derrick and speak with his hands clasped together on the table in front of him, speaking like a pre-school teacher talking to a toddler.
“What do you think he’s doing?” Thiel asked.
Nick smirked. “Speeding up the process.”
Derrick seemed confused for a moment, then looked at his attorney for confirmation. The attorney seemed to have lost his appetite for his client’s ignorance and was giving Derrick some tough love. Derrick’s expression changed. He didn’t blink once while staring at Matt. After a few seconds, he looked down at the photos on the table, pointed his index finger to the first one and began talking.
With his back to the mirror, Matt flicked his fingers, letting Nick know it was all right to return.
“When the chips are stacked against you,” Nick told Thiel as he pulled open the door, “change the currency.”