Pushed Too Far: A Thriller by Ann Voss Peterson, Blake Crouch Read Free Book Online

file she was carrying on the table top. She would have preferred a room with no table, leaving Hess more exposed so she could better read his body language, but at short notice, this small conference room was all she could get.
    At least the table would also hide her vulnerabilities from him.
    “Chief Valerie Ryker,” he said, slowly running his tongue over her name. “Congratulations on the new title.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Aren’t you going to congratulate me on my freedom?”
    She forced her lips into a smile but didn’t say a word. Often the simple act of saying nothing was a more effective interview technique than all the words in the dictionary. Silence increased the pressure, made the subject eager to fill the void, to explain away his guilt.
    Val wasn’t sure that was going to work with Hess.
    He seemed too relaxed, almost at ease, leaning against the back of his chair as if slightly bored. Where people under stress carried a smell about them, a cross between sweat and a visceral edge of fear, the only scent she could detect was Tamara’s perfume.
    If there was anyone in this room feeling pressure, it was Tamara. Or Val herself.
    She held his gaze and waited, seconds feeling like minutes, but nothing seemed to change. Voices rumbled out in the hall. One of the bailiffs shifted his shoes on the floor, the keys in his belt jingling.
    “Police Chief Ryker?” The lawyer broke the standoff, addressing the camera looking down at them from the corner. “I’ve advised my client not to talk to you. In fact, I am entirely opposed to this meeting.”
    “Noted,” Val responded to Tamara, but she kept her eyes on Hess. “If you have nothing to hide, why be afraid to talk to me?”
    “Actually I’m more in the mood to listen.”
    “Fine.” She flipped open the folder, although there wasn’t a word or image in it that she didn’t know in excruciating detail. “We have uncovered a number of additional facts since this case was prosecuted.”
    “Is this a preview of what you’ll be presenting at the hearing?” Tamara asked.
    “That depends.” Val gave a non-committal tilt of her head. Unless Hess slipped up, the prosecution wouldn’t have anything to present.
    “Depends on what?” the lawyer asked.
    “On what your client has to say.”
    “Don’t tell me. The person you say I killed wasn’t Kelly Lund after all?”
    Tamara shot Hess a nervous glance. “He’s doing you a favor by listening to you. He’s not answering questions.”
    “Fine.”
    “So what are your issues?”
    The way she phrased it, you’d think Val was coming to her for counseling, not interviewing her client.
    Val had been right. Questioning Hess had been a bad idea. It would have been one thing if she was talking to him alone. Then she might be able to use the baby to goad him into slipping up. Maybe. But Tamara Wade was no dummy. The more Val talked, the more likely the lawyer was to notice that she had little new information that pertained to the Jane Doe murder and nothing that implicated her client.
    Best to keep the exchange short and shocking. “The most interesting thing we’ve found was at Kelly’s autopsy.”
    “You’re not planning to accuse me of her murder, are you? Because I have a pretty convincing alibi.”
    “No, I don’t think you killed Kelly.”
    “Finally. Guess a guy’s got to be locked in prison before you believe him.”
    “But we did find that during the time she was gone …” Val paused for a beat. “… Kelly gave birth.”
    “A child?” Tamara’s voice spiked. She turned wide eyes on her client.
    Hess’s sharp eyes remained steady, his face a mask of calm. “Where is the baby?”
    “I thought you were in the mood to listen, not ask or answer questions.”
    “My mood has changed.”
    Tamara Wade held up her hand. “I have to advise—”
    “Shut it,” Hess said.
    The defense lawyer visibly cringed.
    Hess’s ice pick eyes drilled into Val. “Where is he?”
    “He?” At no time