| |
Luke was quiet. He stayed silent till they were on the street and got into the car. "Do you have a history with Marco Cruz, Agent Storm?"
"No, not until last night," Nash hedged. Even as he said it, Nash felt evasive though they didn't, strictly speaking have a history. He had never made any inquiries into him, even if he had been part of another investigation.
"My information says he called you to the room to speak with you in private. You had words of disagreement, and then you went to the victim and told him what you suspected. Would this be correct?" McCann asked, trying to clarify his information.
"In a roundabout fashion, but yes."
"What was the argument about between you and Marco Cruz?" McCann asked.
"Do you consider me a suspect, or are you going to continue to work with me?" Nash wondered. If he could get out of telling him anything until he absolutely had to, he would.
"We can work together. I would just like to have the details before starting an investigation."
"I'll think about it." Nash parked at the Ritz-Carlton.
"If you have nothing to hide—" McCann began and Cam snorted from the back seat as Nash shot him a glance.
"Nice try," Nash smiled at him. "That line doesn't work on me." They pulled into a parking spot and all three made their way inside the building. He badged through the front desk, palming the key. He watched the numbers on the elevator rise, walked down the hall to the room, and waited as Luke knocked on the door.
Cam stood at military rest, waiting but ready for anything to happen.
Moments later, Cruz opened the door himself. "Storm...is this a social call?"
Just being in the man's presence and hearing the sneer in his voice and on his face set Nash on edge. Maybe I can't do this without beating the shit out of him after-all, Nash thought.
"No, this is an official call. Inspector General McCann, Marco Cruz."
"We're sorry to disturb you, Mr. Cruz." Luke's voice was smooth and respectful, and he carefully kept his face blank. "We need to ask a few questions. May we come in?"
"Of course." Marco stepped back. He wore one of the fluffy hotel robes over lounge pants as he led them into the sizable living area, which was elegant and smelled of incense. He draped himself artfully in a chair while gesturing toward a sofa. "Please, sit. Can I offer you refreshments? Coffee?"
“We're not here to chat. Where were you between three and four this morning?" Nash demanded.
"I'm not sure I like this line of questioning, special agent." Cruz's tone was soft, as if he was used to intimidating people just by being who he was, or who he thought he was.
"Please, excuse us," Luke stepped in, as smooth as butter. "It's been a rough night. If I could ask you to verify your whereabouts as a formality? Also, would it be okay if we record this? We want everything to be on record so there aren't....any questions later." How McCann said it—while shooting Nash a small, subtle look from the side—made Cruz think he knew Nash wasn't stable. That he was a man on the edge and just about anything could happen with no evidence.
Well done, Nash thought, playing into the assumption Luke was portraying by angrily and dramatically over selling it. Throwing himself out of the chair and stalking over to a wall where he leaned with arms crossed over his chest and a scowl covering his face.
Cam shifted so that he was behind Nash, leaning close to the door as well. He was keeping out of the way for now, but it also provided excellent cover as he was sneaking photos and audio with his cell phone.
They could both try a little acting if it got them what they wanted. Cruz nodded like he, too, understood. "My assistant, my lady friend, and I came back to the suite after the party. We went to bed as soon as we got in and are going to catch a plane that afternoon. Why? What happened?"
"Someone murdered a security guard at the museum." McCann informed him.
"Really? How horrible." Cruz stared at Nash. His black eyes were steady, focused, and gave nothing away. But he didn't act surprised or disturbed by the news either, like he had already known what they were coming to talk to him about. "Have you looked into where Blue was? Are you going to ignore the possibility?" He spoke to Nash, ignoring McCann.
McCann was looking between the two of them, to some degree confused because Blue wasn't something the two investigators had discussed, and apparently McCann hadn't come up with that information while doing his own sleuthing.
"You got that boy killed, ignoring what I told you, what you grasp and will not acknowledge." He pointed at Nash. "His partner pulled a gun on one of my men because I questioned his association with a criminal. He's a disgrace to the badge."
"But you would identify with disgrace and criminals, wouldn't you? Being one yourself. " Nash tried to goad the man. "You want to know what I find interesting? You are quick to assume we are searching for a woman. Why is that? Why didn't you think we were here for you? We'd like to see the earrings that your assistant and girlfriend were wearing last night."
"Mr. Cruz," Luke held up a hand, "I'm aware of how difficult it is for someone to question you. I want to assure you that the Inspector General's office is pursuing all avenues of the investigation. With that assurance, I would appreciate seeing those earrings." He tried to gain the upper hand again, tried to defuse a rapidly escalating situation as both men stared at each other.
Hate and anger radiated off of them as they breathed heavily from their argument. For a moment, Marco said nothing and stared over at Nash. "I don't know you, Inspector General McCann, but I can see that you are working with him and I do not believe that this will be a fair investigation with Agent Storm on it. I am not saying anything else and will not disturb my companions. I need to pack for my flight." He said it as if he was dismissing them. Like he had the power to dismiss them.
Nash went to charge ahead, to ask more questions, but McCann stopped him by standing between them. He pushed on his chest, herding him to the door. Adams had somehow snuck past them and was standing with the open door in her hand. She wore a thunderous expression on her face.
Nash dug his heels in as they approached her. "How about it? Want to show me your jewelry box? It is simply to take you out of the equation. If you have nothing to hide, despite how your boss is making it appear... specifically for you. We can easily clear up the misunderstanding and move on to other suspects."
"We are all aware of who the suspect is, even if you are unwilling to see it. Until you get a warrant telling me I have to show you anything, you can kiss my ass," she snarled and pointed a stiff arm towards the hallway.
"Oh, I'll be back with one. With your boss's alleged history, it won't be hard to convince a judge you could be up to no good." Nash turned to look over his shoulder and continued. "I wouldn't think about trying to leave town, either. You will find most modes of transportation cut off, as you are all suspects now, and I would consider it fleeing. Or do... I can't say it wouldn't make my day to take any of you into custody," Nash warned as the assistant forced them out the door.
"That went well." Nash's tone was dry as sandpaper as they left the building.
"If you don't mind getting called a dirty cop and an idiot," McCann snorted.
Nash held the passenger door open and looked over the roof. "Ever hear the saying when you were a kid, 'sticks and stones?'"
"Yes." Luke frowned. "And I'm not sure that I like your Mr. Cruz."
"Not claiming him." Nash shook his head, the fast act reminiscent of a child denying something.
"I also feel there is a lot more going on here other than a murder and a diamond heist. He seems to claim that you have knowledge of something. Something that has to do with this Blue person, and as such, they are the one who took part in the security guard's death." The slick, fancy man disappeared, and in his place, a pissed off cop with a bone between his teeth. Nash now understood why Luke McCann was such an excellent cop in his decade on the London force.
"I didn't rise to his bait before and yes, I had a connection to Blue in the past. I don't know, but I couldn't give him the information that he wanted, like where she is. To tell you the truth, I think he pulled this job in order to get me into trouble and to draw her out of wherever she is hiding."