The second, and final, part of my story for my sister.
Damion Marlev leaned back in his chair, his arms folded across his chest. Kate felt him slowly size her up and tried not to be intimidated. Of course, Marlev was six feet tall and 190 pounds even, which is always intimidating to somebody like Kate who was barely more than 5 feet.
“At least he’s cuffed,” Kate thought. Then she focused on coming across as confidant and in charge. Like Emily said, this was the detective’s meeting and they had to make sure the prisoner knew it.
Marlev saw through it. “First time in interrogation?” he asked, a slight Russian burr to his voice. “It would be sad if I had more experience here than the officer.”
“Detective,” Kate told him. She’d worked hard for the title. “And we’re not here to talk about me. Let’s talk about you. You have quite the record, as you mentioned.” She dropped his file down on the table where it landed with a satisfying thump. “Assault, possession of unregistered firearms, a couple of counts of trespassing on city property.”
“And I was cleared of all charges,” Marlev pointed out.
“Not this time,” Kate said. “We’ve got security footage placing you at the scene of Antony Rodriguez’s murder the night he was killed,” she told him, displaying the pictures. “Eyewitnesses placed your car at the warehouse. We tracked a shipment of AK-47’s that left for the Middle East yesterday morning back to you. Good job, by the way, that took our men half the night. The man in charge of the cargo ship was also in the area the night of the murder.”
“Where are you going with this?” Marlev asked. “This proves nothing. It is a big warehouse.”
“You were in the middle of finalizing an arms deal two nights ago. Antony Rodriguez, just an innocent security guard, overheard you. You had to shut him up. You killed him and dumped the body to cover your trail.”
“Pure speculation,” Marlev said, leaning forward. “Detective, you have nothing. My lawyer will have me out of here in 20 minutes.”
“I have proof,” Kate said evenly. “I’ve placed you at the scene of the crime the night Rodriguez died. You supplied deadly weapons that are now being sent to terrorist groups. You think a jury won’t convict with a record like yours? Think again, because nobody's going to believe you. Now you cooperate and things will be easier for you, if not...” She let the sentence hang threateningly.
Kate waited a few seconds to let her point sink in. She thought of what Emily’s next move would be, and decided it was the perfect time for a dramatic exit.
“Have it your way, then,” she told the arms dealer, packing up the security photos. “I’ll see you in 20 to life. But hey, I’m sure you’ll love prison. I hear the food is great.” She headed for the door.
She was somewhat disappointed when he didn’t speak up. But, just as she put her hand on the doorknob, her scare tactics paid off.
“Wait,” Marlev called out.
Kate smiled and turned around. She had him.
***
Emily met her partner outside the interrogation room, looking mildly proud. “Not bad, rookie.”
“Not bad,” Kate repeated incredulously. “Come on, that was great. I got a hardened criminal to give a full confession in a matter of minutes!”
“The guy knows juries well enough by now,” Emily said. “Technically we didn’t have enough to meet burden of proof, but hey, a jury wouldn’t mind too much. He looks way too guilty.”
“Doesn’t matter anyways if he doesn’t go to trial,” Kate pointed out. “I’m just glad we got the confession for arms dealing too. He deserves a heck of a lot more, but I’d say we did pretty well, don’t you think, partner?”
“Yeah, at least he’ll be off the streets for quite some time,” Emily agreed. “Come on, let’s celebrate your first bust. We’ll meet the guys for a drink. Zach’s buying.”
“Does he know he’s buying?”
“Well...he probably realizes that he is.”
Kate smiled. “Sounds good to me.”
:D You're such a wonderful writer, Thena-dear
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