Without You

If he noticed her reaction, he didn’t show it, for which she was most grateful. “Are you ready?” she asked in as normal a voice as she could muster.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Hallie paused at the door and looked up at him. “Let me handle things. Until I know what Gomez has, we’ll play our cards close to our chest.”

“I’ll do whatever you say.”

Swallowing a sigh, Hallie squared her shoulders and walked out of the room, fully conscious of Jackson matching her step for step. As long as her commitment wasn’t set in stone, what she was about to undertake would be tolerable. Otherwise…

Hallie shook that thought aside as they left the building and headed for his BMW, hoping for the best and fearing the worst.

“Thanks for coming in so soon, Mr. Cole.”

“No problem.”

Detective Gomez turned to Hallie and extended his hand. After introductions were completed, Hallie decided Jackson’s opinion of the detective was right on target. Cocky. Young. And good-looking.

Gomez smiled at Hallie—a smile that rubbed her the wrong way, maybe because it was as smug as it was suggestive.

“I’ve heard of your firm.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Hallie said in a cool tone.

He seemed to think for a second, then his smile disappeared. “No need to be defensive. Some of my friends are defense attorneys. Like Ernie Sanders, for example.”

“Mr. Sanders must not have been that good a friend, Mr. Gomez,” Hallie replied, “or you’d know he died last month.”

“Oh, that’s when he became my best friend, ma’am.”

Hallie stiffened at the direct slam, but before she could make a suitable comeback, Gomez seemed to remember his manners.

“Please, have a seat, both of you. Then perhaps we can get this matter cleared up quickly.”

Once they were seated in his shoebox of an office, he asked, “Can I get you something to drink? Some coffee? Or a Coke?”

Their “no, thank you” came simultaneously.

Gomez shrugged, then helped himself to a cup of coffee. He seemed in no hurry to bring this session to an end, despite his claim to the contrary.

Hallie could feel Jackson’s unrest. He appeared coiled and ready to spring. It was going to be an effort for him to keep his mouth shut and let her do the talking. She sensed right off that the detective and Jackson would tangle if there was no one to referee.

She would have to keep Jackson on a short leash; words said in frustration in a detective’s office had a way of taking on more meaning in the courtroom, and she did not want her client hanging himself because he got angry.

Silence. Two, then three minutes, without a word. Gomez sat across the desk from them, sipping coffee and watching Jackson. When he finally spoke, it jolted Hallie out of her reverie.

“So, were you sleeping with the dead woman, Mr. Cole?”

“No, I was not. And I didn’t kill her, either.”

More silence. Although Hallie didn’t want to look at Jackson, didn’t want to see his face, she had no choice. This was a murder investigation, and no matter how difficult this line of questioning was for her personally, she couldn’t back down. Better to get the ugly question out in the open early.

Jackson’s face had darkened, and he muttered an obscenity. Hallie reached out and placed a hand on his arm. It was hard and rigid, but her touch seemed to calm him immediately.

Another minute passed before Gomez spoke again. “So, tell me about Roberta Klein, Mr. Jackson.”

Jackson looked at Hallie and she gave him a nod, indicating that he was free to answer.

“We are…were…lifelong friends,” Jackson said.

“Then, you saw her often?”

“Not really, at least not in the last year.”

“Oh? Lover’s spat, and she moved out?”

Hallie spoke up. “I think my client has answered that already, Detective. He told you they were not…intimate.”

“For one thing, she didn’t live in Memphis,” Jackson said. “As you know.”

“So she just showed up on your doorstep like some baby wrapped in a blanket, so to speak?” Gomez made no effort to hide his smirk.

Jackson nodded. “That’s exactly what she did.”

“Was she in the habit of doing that? Just showing up at any old time she pleased?”

“In the past, yes.”

“So she felt comfortable—completely at ease—just dropping by out of the blue?”

“One has to assume so.”

“We’re discussing you, Cole.” Gomez’s tone was sharp. “Did she assume so, too?”

“What’s your question, Detective?” Hallie asked in a cold, firm voice, her patience wearing thin.

As if he sensed that, Gomez said, “I understand you took her home.”

“That’s right. I dropped her off rather early, then I left.”

“How was she?” Gomez paused. “When you left.”

Jackson ignored the rich sarcasm in the detective’s voice and asked, “What do you mean?”

Another smirk at the double entendre. “Had she been drinking?”

“A little. Some.”

“Did anything…unusual happen?”