Detective Partners (13 page)

Nicole smiled at him. "It's all right." She took a seat beside him and looked at Jeremy. "You must have an excellent memory. We met briefly and I have to admit that I don't remember much of our meeting."

"I never forget a beautiful woman, Detective." He raised his shackled hands and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "Why are you here? Why do you want to talk with me?"

"I think you know why," Nicole said, glaring at him.

Jeremy arched an eyebrow. "I don't have a clue. Why don't you enlighten me?"

"All right."
Galen unbuttoned his suit coat and sat back. "Early Tuesday morning your girlfriend - ex-girlfriend, excuse
me
, Marsha was shot. Detective Goodwin spoke with her not long after the shooting. She asked Marsha if she knew who shot her. Marsha told her it was you. She died later-"

"She lied," Jeremy growled. "I didn't shoot her."

"Why would she lie?" Nicole asked.

"To make me pay for breaking up with her," he answered. "She went and got herself knocked up by some other guy and tried to get me to believe the brat was mine. I knew there was no way the kid belonged to me."

"What makes you so sure the baby wasn't yours?" Galen inquired.

"I can't have kids."

Nicole rolled her eyes. "That's what they all say, Mr. Seaton."

"If you don't believe me check my medical records," he snarled. "I have a low sperm count."

Galen retrieved his leather bound notebook and pen from the pocket of his coat. "What's your doctor's name?"

"Lewis Holland," Jeremy said.

Galen wrote it down. "If the baby wasn't yours then why did you tell her to get an abortion?"

"I never told her to get an abortion," he replied. "I could care less what she did with the kid. Who told you I wanted her to get rid of the kid?"

"That's not important," Nicole told him. "What's important is that you answer our questions. You broke up with Marsha. If you were finished with her then why did you call her-" She glanced at Galen. "How many times did he call Marsha?"

"Let me check my notes." He flipped through his notebook. "He called her five times on Friday and three times on Sunday."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I didn't call her," Jeremy muttered, squirming. "I-"

"We have phone records showing that you called her eight times over a period of two days," Nicole informed him. "Don't lie to us. You're all ready in enough trouble. You say you didn't shoot her yet the morning of the shooting you never show up for work and no one knows where you are.
If you're innocent then why the need to leave town?
Why not stick around and do all you can to clear your name? If you have nothing to hide then there's no need to lie to us."

"I want a lawyer," he said. "I'm not answering anymore of your questions."

Nicole bit back a groan. She hated dealing with lawyers.

"If that's what you want," Galen said. "You have the right to one."

"May I speak with you?" Nicole said to him.

"Sure." He pushed back his chair. "Let's step out into the hall."

They rose to their feet and left the room. Once in the hallway, Nicole turned to face Galen. "You know what a lawyer means."

"It means we're not going to get anything out of him."

"Exactly."
She nibbled on her lower lip. "If you think about it we really don't have any solid evidence to pin him to Marsha's murder. Sure, she said it was Jeremy that shot her, but she's not here to testify. Since she told me, it's now my word against his and his lawyer will claim that Marsha was in so much pain that she didn't know what she was saying, or that she wanted to pin the shooting on Jeremy as revenge for the breakup. Then we have the phone records. All that shows is that Jeremy was harassing her. His leaving town could easily be explained away as well. I can just hear him now telling the court that he got scared and wasn't thinking clearly."

"We're just going to have to dig deeper, Goodwin," Galen told her. "We have time. He's going to be in jail for a while due to the robbery at the bank."

"I'll call Strauss and ask him if anyone's searched Jeremy's house." Nicole took her phone out of her pocket. "If no one has then I'll have him get a search warrant and we'll do it later. What time is our flight?"

"Two - thirty," he said. "While you're talking to Strauss I'm going to see about getting Seaton a lawyer."

"All right."
She flipped open her phone and dialed Parker's number. He answered on the third ring.

"Strauss."

"Sir,
it's
Goodwin."

"Goodwin, how's it going?" Parker asked.

"Not well, sir," she responded. "Mr. Seaton won't talk. He is demanding a lawyer."

"I'm not surprised,"

"The reason I called is to ask you if Seaton's home has been searched. We're going to need more evidence to convict him."

"Renfro and Marsh searched his home this morning," Parker said. "They found a blood splattered t-shirt and jeans. We're having the blood checked to see if it matches Marsha Proctor's. When we know something I'll let you know. Hopefully, it will be a match and we'll have what we need to nail Seaton. If you're the praying kind, Goodwin, I suggest you pray."

"Will do, sir."

"What are you thinking about?" Nicole asked, during the plane ride home, later that day.

Galen turned away from the window and looked at her. "I was thinking about the case. I called the doctor, Lewis Holland. He confirmed what Jeremy told us."

"So Jeremy has a low sperm count."

"According to the doctor, Seaton couldn't even get a cat pregnant," he said. "The baby Marsha was carrying wasn't Jeremy's. She was cheating on him."

Nicole ran a hand across her forehead and sighed. "She didn't strike me as the cheating kind, but then I can't say I blame her for turning to someone else. Jeremy was horrible to her. Could be she found someone who took care of her and treated her right. I'm even more convinced that Jeremy shot her. When he learned she was pregnant, he probably felt betrayed. The more he thought about it the angrier he got and the more he wanted revenge."

"We'll find out when the results come back on those bloody clothes." Galen picked up a can of coke from the tray in front of him and took a drink. He set the can back down and checked his watch. "We'll land in about an hour."

Nicole laid her head back and closed her eyes. "It's felt like a long day."

"Yes, it has," he agreed. He gazed at her pale and weary face. "Did you have trouble sleeping last night?"

"A little," she murmured.

"Was it because of something I said or did?" he inquired, hoping it was neither.

Nicole turned her head slightly and glanced at him through lowered lashes. "No. I was just thinking about things."

"What kind of things?" Galen knew he was prying. He was doing it for a reason and that was to see if she would open up to him or shut down.

"I was - I was thinking about how lonely my life has been," she confessed. "For so long it has been about the job and nothing else. The older I get the more I think about what I'm missing. You know what I mean, don't you?"

"I do." He cleared his throat. "Our kind of work doesn't leave much time for a social life and a family. The job is our life and I agree that
some times
it's lonely." He thought of his mother and remembered that she wanted to meet Nicole. "Do you have anything planned on Saturday?"

"No," she said.

"Would you like to meet my mom?" Galen asked. "She's wanted to meet you ever since I told her we're working together."

"Is she nosy like you?"

"Of course."
He smirked. "Where do you think I got it from?"

Nicole smiled softly. "Okay."

"Okay what?"

"Okay I'll meet her."

"I'll let her know."

C
hapter  13

"The results are in." Parker glanced around at the team. "The blood found on Jeremy Seaton's clothing belonged to Marsha Proctor. That combined with the other evidence we have is enough to convict him for murder. I spoke with the Albuquerque police department. Mr. Seaton will remain in their custody for a while longer. He has to be sentenced for the attempted bank robbery. After his hearing he will be brought back here to stand trial." He smiled. "You all did a damn fine job. Now go home and get some sleep."

Galen turned to Nicole, who was sitting beside him. "Do you want to get out of here and go grab some dinner with me?"

"Can we have Mexican?" she asked. "I'm in the mood for tacos."

"Mexican's fine," he said. "Let me make a phone call and then we'll go."

"All right."

Taking his cell phone out of his pocket, Galen stood and moved to a quiet corner. He flipped open his phone and called his mother. She answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mom."

"Sweetheart, are you still in New Mexico?"

"No," he answered. "I got back a few hours ago. Nicole and I are getting ready to go to dinner. I wanted to check on you first."

"I'm fine, dear," Olivia assured him. "You and Nicole go and have a nice dinner."

"Before I forget, she's agreed to meet you," he told her. "How does Saturday afternoon sound?"

"Lovely," she said. "I'm looking forward to it."

"I'm sure you are," he muttered. "If you need anything-"

"I will call you," Olivia interrupted. "I love you."