was sitting behind the table. Beside him was one of the guys from the Crime Scene Investigation unit. The third man was a sergeant from another division. He looked familiar. Luke was resting his hand on a stack of papers. Tony, Susanna, and Greg were already sitting at the desks. We joined them.
The sergeant looked at us and checked a sheet in front of him. âWe appreciate you coming in, since youâre all witnesses in this case. Except for Mr. Greg Hill, who is here as a friend of Susanna Vicars.â
âShe asked me to come in with her,â said Greg. âSheâs upset because of her motherâs death.â
âVery understandable,â said the sergeant. âAnd Iâm sure she has our deepest sympathy.â
Luke handed him a thin folder. The sergeant opened it and glanced over the material in front of him.
âGood,â he said briskly. âEach of you can cast light on yesterdayâs tragic events. The fire. The death of Cheryl Vicars and of an unknown person.â
Luke handed him a sheet of paper.
âThat person has been tentatively identified as Freddie Hancock.â
Everyone nodded but Susanna. But I donât suppose the sergeant expected her to.
âYou are all here voluntarily to make a statement. Once you have signed your statement, you should be free to leave.â
Should be free to leave? I would have been happier if he had said, âYou will be free to leave.â I looked over at the uniforms standing at the door. I wondered if anyone else noticed what he had just said.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
COLLATERAL DAMAGE
N ow I remembered that smooth, gentle voice. Sergeant Frank Donovan. I used to watch him lay traps with that kind voice and gentle manner. His sympathetic smile suckered people into saying just what he wanted. I had learned a lot from him in my early days on the force. Then he was promoted, and I lost track of him. I thought he had retired long ago.
âSergeant Montoya,â he said. âWhen the fire broke out, you were at your lawyerâs office, I believe. Is that so?â
The door squeaked open. Mark Davies slipped in and sat on the other side of Angela.
I waited until he was settled.
âI donât know, sir,â I said. âWhen did the fire break out?â
âWhen were you at your lawyerâs office?â asked Donovan.
âI had an appointment for two oâclock. I got there about ten minutes early.â
âDid anyone see you at ten minutes to two?â
I thought for a moment.
âThree people. My lawyerâs partner and a law student who works there were in the reception area talking to Amanda. Sheâs the receptionist. Maybe five minutes after that, a courier came in with a package.â
âThank you. And now, Sergeant Marchetti?â
Tony explained that he was on his lunch hour, eating across the street from 52 Division.
âThank you. Ms. Vicars?â And we went through the others, Susanna having her hair done, Angela and Mark at work. âAnd you, Mr. Hill?â he asked.
Greg looked up, a little bit shocked.
âI was at work. It should have been my afternoon off, but I was called out. But it shouldnât matter, because Iâm not really a witness, am I? Just a friend of Susanna.â
âOf course,â said Sergeant Donovan and reached out his hand. Luke put another folder in it. We sat there staring at him as he read through it. He looked up.
âThe fire. We need to establish the cause of the fire. Weâre hoping you might be able to give us some useful background information.â
âWhat do you mean?â asked Susanna.
âWas Mrs. Vicars a careless, easygoing sort of woman? Did she smoke?â
âNeither one,â said Mark quickly. âA non-smoker and a worrier.â
âCould you explain that, Mr. Davies?â
âShe recently installed smoke detectors on every floor, fire extinguishers in all three kitchens, and put
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley