Chitwood pointed at the offending marks. “I think it’s a knife. Note that the bottom of the marks are a little more ragged than the tops. That’s where the cut starts.”
Adam could see that now.
“I bet that’s from a utility knife,” Jake said. “Or a box cutter. Did you test the door for prints?”
Hernandez nodded. “The door and the storm door, though we’re going to find the Keystone Cop’s prints there, too.”
Chitwood sighed. “I didn’t know it was a crime scene until I opened the door and this fell out.”
Serena took a long breath and looked back at the cops. “I don’t understand any of this. Sometimes he or she or whoever it is seems like a disgruntled fan who’s pissed about the books and other times…”
Adam squeezed her hand. He wanted to hear her instincts. She was the center of this. She was the one being stalked. Her instincts could be an important clue. “Go on. Finish the sentence, sweetheart.”
She shivered a little. “Other times it feels more personal. Like this person hates me for who I really am. I’m scared of that person. I’m annoyed by the other.”
Chitwood leaned forward. “Oftentimes these types of perps can have several mental disorders including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It’s not surprising that this person is unstable. But then, I would suspect you probably have researched those disorders. I’m right in saying that your books contain an element of suspense, correct?”
She nodded, though she didn’t light up the way she normally did when someone asked about her work. She seemed to understand that the cops were attempting to pin her down. “Of course. I had a character in Sweetheart in Chains. He was the bad guy. He had bipolar disorder. I understand the disease.”
Adam really didn’t like the look the cops exchanged. They were already filing her problems away as shit they didn’t need to deal with.
“Send us the forensics report when you get it. I’m sure Brighton won’t have a problem with it,” Jake said. He held a hand out to Serena. “Come on. We can go across the street and meet Liam and have lunch over there. I don’t think they need anything further from you. Adam, would you mind talking to Brighton? I need some air.”
Serena stood and looked to Adam who nodded Jake’s way.
“Go on. I’ll be there in a minute.” He didn’t protest, though his stomach did a bit. Jake had a barely leashed air about him. He needed to get away before he said or did something stupid. Jake could be deeply patient, but when he felt an injustice was being done, he tended to get nasty. They still needed the cops. Finesse was called for, and that was Adam’s middle name.
Serena walked away with Jake. What the hell had happened with her ex-husband to put Jake on edge like that? Whatever it was, Adam was grateful because Jake’s hand came out as he opened the doors for her. He rested his hand on the small of her back, guiding her through. Protective. A little possessive.
Adam turned back to the cops. “I understand that you firmly believe my client is doing this to herself, but I expect you to investigate each and every incident. I’m having cameras installed today. I’m actually happy this asshole is getting close. We’re with her twenty-four seven. If he comes close again, we’ll get him.”
Hernandez crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. “I hope you’re right, but something feels off about the whole thing. I don’t like the fact that it escalated just as we told her not to worry about it.”
“It’s not the first time we’ve seen something like this,” Chitwood said. “I started working this division about a year ago, and I’ve already seen at least three cases where the ex-wife sets up the ex-husband. She was either looking for full custody or more money.”
Adam felt his face heating with indignation.
“Miles? Hey, it’s good to see you!” Derek Brighton’s deep voice pulled Adam out of his fantasy where he beat the shit out of the two cops sitting in front of him.
It wouldn’t do a lick of good. He forced himself to turn and smile because he genuinely liked the Lieutenant. Lieutenant Brighton nodded in greeting toward the detectives and then herded Adam away.
“Hey, how bad did they piss you off?” Brighton asked.
“They sent Jake running for the hills,” Adam admitted, following the big guy into his office. He shut the door, happy to not have to listen to the cops anymore. “Can you get this case reassigned? They’re totally prejudiced against her.”
Brighton slumped into his chair. “I could, but you would run up against the same thing . Look, you work this job long enough and you get cynical about everything. You have to. Chitwood out there worked vice for ten years. He came over to this division because he was sick of hauling in hookers and he finds himself in the middle of some of the nastiest domestic disputes we’ve ever seen. And Hernandez, hell, he was born cynical. It didn’t take five years as a cop for that one. This ain’t the Army, buddy. Things aren’t cut and dried here. Sometimes it can be hard to tell who the enemy is.”
“What do you think?” Adam winced as he asked the question. He probably didn’t want to know the answer.
Brighton sat back, his face turning thoughtful. He breathed out a long sigh before speaking. “If I was just going on instinct, I would tell you that girl is a natural sub and she’s not capable of doing any of this. She would rather have positive attention. I would say she would actually go out of her way to avoid negative attention because she prefers to please the people in her life.”
Brighton was a good cop, and from what Ian had told everyone, he was also a damn fine Dom. “That’s what I think. Have you run that theory by your underlings?”
He snorted. “By straightlaced Chitwood and Mike goes-to-mass-four-times-a-week Hernandez? No. I haven’t mentioned that I have BDSM training that tells me she’s submissive. I can imagine how well that would go over. They’re good cops. They’ll handle the case and anyway, now that you and Jake are on her, I suspect you would rather handle things your way.”
He was right about that. “Can I get everything you have? Even the stuff that’s not in the reports?”
“I sent it to you five minutes ago. The techies hunted down the IPs the perp is using. Libraries. Nice. My tax dollars at work. The perp is using suburban library computers to contact your girl when he uses e-mail. We went out and talked to a couple of the librarians, but they don’t really remember much. Apparently they’re underfunded and busy.”