Major Crimes by Michele Lynn Seigfried Read Free Book Online

bar and the other laid in wait at the house.
    Tina Liara was the next topic of conversation. Bryce wasn’t familiar with her and wasn’t aware of her grievance against Archie. She was new to the police force. He typed her name into Google and found articles about the grievance. He agreed with me about her being a suspect.
    Bryce finished his sandwich, while I hadn’t touched mine yet. I was doing most of the talking at first. He didn’t seem to mind. He finished his orange juice, then told me about the men that were at Savoy’s the night of Archie’s murder.
    “I’m putting Carl and Drew on my suspect list,” I announced.
    “It couldn’t have been them—they wouldn’t have had time to drug me since they both left early.”
    “I know Drew. His last name is Pavlica. He was president of the New Jersey Clerk’s Association at one time. How does he know Archie?”
    “Beats me.”
    “I’m leaving them on the list.”
    Bryce rubbed his face with both hands. “They both have alibis, Chelsey—it wasn’t them.”
    “How do you know? Have you seen them since that night? Did you interrogate them?” I couldn’t help staring at his well-defined biceps. I shook the thought from my brain. I needed to focus on helping Bryce find Archie’s killer.
    “Interview.”
    “What?”
    “I would’ve interviewed them, not interrogated them.”
    “Semantics.”
    “No, actually, there are significant procedural differences between the two.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Well, thanks for the police lesson, Bryce.”
    Bryce smiled. I wrote Carl’s and Drew’s names onto Santa’s naughty list.
    “Why did you write their names down? I told you they didn’t do it.”
    “I ignored you. You didn’t interview them, did you?”
    “I didn’t have to.”
    “Why? You believe their alibis?”
    “You said you knew Drew. Do you think he could hurt a fly?”
    “Well, no, but it’s always the person you least expect.”
    “In Hollywood—possibly, but not in real life. In real life, it’s not always the person you least expect. It’s usually the person I do suspect. It’s a matter of proving it—having enough evidence. I have good instincts. I’ve been doing this long enough to know that Drew and Carl aren’t killers.”
    “Then who is?”
    Bryce told me about Solar.
    “Solar? That’s his name? Solar? Who names their kid Solar?”
    The muscles in Bryce’s face relaxed. His lips formed into a smile. Oh, that smile! “Solomon Aaron Ritter, a.k.a. Solar. A shorter version of his name.”
    “I see. And why do you suspect him? Other than his dumb nickname.”
    “His parents were murdered in stabbings; the perps were never found. I wondered if Solar committed the crime.”
    “And what’s his motive for killing Archie?” I finished my bagel and waited for a reply.
    “Don’t know that yet.”
    “So, what’s our next step? We’ve got some good leads to check out. We’ve found what we can find on the Internet. I could try to talk to these people, but what are the chances I’d get a full confession from anyone?”
    “I haven’t thought all that through. My first idea was to collect DNA evidence. But it’s pricey and I don’t currently have a DNA lab at my disposal.”
    I wondered what the point would be about getting DNA samples. It wasn’t like we had access to evidence collected at the scene of the crime. “Wouldn’t police be testing all the DNA from the crime scene?”
    “Not all of it.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I forgot to tell you that I took something from the crime scene.”
    “Huh? What did you take? Isn’t that tampering with evidence?”
    “There was a ring near Archie’s body. I told you I wasn’t in my right mind that morning. I’m not sure why I took it. Something told me it would lead me to the perp. Maybe not, though. I don’t think it’s Archie’s. I never saw him wear it.”
    “That doesn’t mean it wasn’t his. Where is it?”
    Bryce pulled a plastic bag from his pocket and