The Knife Before Christmas by Jamie Lee Scott

Author:Jamie Lee Scott [Scott, Jamie Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jamie Lee Scott

Nine

CHARLES

When I walked into my office this morning, the smell of the paint made me nauseous. I walked around, opened the windows, close the door, and snuck out the back.

I wanted to see Hector during visiting hours, so I could talk to him alone. I wasn’t sure how he felt about women because of his culture. He may have held back because Mimi was there. Don’t get me wrong, I’m the least sexist person on this earth, sort of, but different cultures hold different thoughts about women or men. This was my chance to get Hector alone and see what he would tell me.

When I walked up to the visitor window, I saw the same woman from the previous day. She was brusque, but she smiled at me, and within minutes, I was sitting in the visitor room on the hard, round stool, waiting for Hector to be escorted in.

This day was a little different from the previous time we visited, as every stool in the room was full, and the din of people talking made my head hurt.

As I sat waiting for Hector to arrive, I considered how to drown out the background noise. People arguing, babies crying, and people walking in and out; it was too much for my brain to handle. I wasn’t even good with controlled chaos. I liked everything orderly. If I was ever arrested and put in jail, I think my head would explode before the end of the first twenty-four hours, although the set schedules would suit me fine.

When Hector shuffled in, he had a smile on his face. I didn’t know if his attorney told him we’d be taking the case. The surprised look made me think that he didn’t know. The smile was because he was glad to see me. I was used to that reaction.

Hector sat down and picked up the phone with both hands. “So you’re taking my case?”

I had just finished wiping down the phone with antibacterial wipes and heard the last of his sentence. “Your attorney should have told you. He doesn’t know I’m here today, this was a last minute decision to visit. I’m glad it worked out we could talk.”

“No manches!”

“Yes, way,” I said.

“Que padre.” He fist bumped the glass.

I didn’t return the gesture.

“What you wanna talk about?” Hector asked.

“I wasn’t able to speak with you directly yesterday, not really anyway, so I wanted to go over the timeline during the days prior to your fiancée being murdered. I need all the details. Everything you can think of.”

Hector moved the phone from his ear as he reached up to scratch the top of his head, then moved it back. “I already told you everything.”

“No, you didn’t. You barely told us anything. I want you to start several days before your night at the bar. What was going on with you and Zhen? How were you getting along? Was there anything that made you think she might be in danger?”

This time, Hector reached around and scratched the back of his neck.

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