interrogation.
We skirted some pockets of people and headed down the main HotWildlife path, staying on the slightly shadier side, although there were few trees in the sanctuary. We stopped outside the liger enclosure and stared over the moat at the mostly striped feline that was a cross between a lion and tiger.
“So tell me what happened,” Frank said.
I did so, repeating what I’d told the Homicide Detail woman, and then some. I described the disappearance of mama wolf, our worried attempts to find her, and more—up through my entering the infirmary and finding Jon Doe’s crumpled, bloody body.
“So you’re here with Dante DeFrancisco and Brody Avilla?” For a Sheriff’s Department sergeant, he sounded rather star-struck.
“Yes. I’m sure they’re being questioned by someone from your department, but I’d be glad to introduce you to them.”
“Let’s go!” But then he stopped and looked down at me. “They’re potential murder suspects as much as everyone else around here, at least till they’re cleared. But Dante DeFrancisco and Brody Avilla—a megabillionaire and a movie star—how likely is it that either would come here and kill a guy who cleaned animal enclosures for a living?”
“Not likely,” I agreed, hoping it was true.
“Do you know if they knew Jon Doe?” I could tell from his tone that he was hoping I’d say no.
“Well, they talked to him here, of course,” I dissembled. “Jon was helping to nurture the baby wolves and teach everyone how to care for them.”
“I mean other than here,” Frank said.
“Not that I’m aware of,” I said. I crossed my fingers behind my back, just in case. I wasn’t exactly lying. I didn’t really know why Brody had been Googling strange stuff on the Internet and also looking up Jon Doe. And the fact that Dante and Brody exchanged unreadable looks didn’t mean they knew him. Did it?
I intended to assume all things positive. I had no reason to believe Dante or Brody could have harmed the senior citizen who cared for HotWildlife animals.
And even if my murder-magnet mind made me wonder if , there was no reason to mention that to this deputy sheriff. Not yet, at least.
I had some checking to do.
Chapter Six
BUT THE CHECKING would have to wait till later, when I could follow up on it.
In a while, Sergeant Hura conducted his own informal follow-up interview of Dante and Brody. I don’t know what the official session was like, but this one was uneventful for the two interviewees, who were absolutely polite and cooperative like the good citizens they were. All their answers supported the position that they were both appalled at Jon Doe’s untimely death, and that they had nothing to do with it.
We all stood in the shade beside a coyote compound at the far end of the sanctuary as the three of them talked and commiserated. Wagner lay down on some grass-covered earth and panted as he watched each of us in turn.
Frank Hura acted utterly star-struck while questioning the two men deferentially, his tone apologetic, as if he had to do this to fulfill his duty while knowing full well they were absolutely innocent. He had spent only a few minutes alone with the detectives who’d done the formal sessions, so for all I knew, this could be a Columbo kind of intended trap. But I didn’t think so.
And me? It was all I could do not to roll my eyes in exasperation at this whole absurd exchange. I certainly didn’t want Dante or Brody to have had anything to do with the ending of Jon Doe’s life, but my suspicions remained that they out-and-out lied about not knowing him.
Or maybe it was simply a matter of semantics. Maybe they didn’t actually know him, but I believed they knew something about him. Especially since Brody had looked him up on the Internet.
But, okay, even if they were absolutely guilty, I didn’t want them arrested right then and there. I needed to conduct my own inquiry. Hopefully, it would exonerate them as fully as
We skirted some pockets of people and headed down the main HotWildlife path, staying on the slightly shadier side, although there were few trees in the sanctuary. We stopped outside the liger enclosure and stared over the moat at the mostly striped feline that was a cross between a lion and tiger.
“So tell me what happened,” Frank said.
I did so, repeating what I’d told the Homicide Detail woman, and then some. I described the disappearance of mama wolf, our worried attempts to find her, and more—up through my entering the infirmary and finding Jon Doe’s crumpled, bloody body.
“So you’re here with Dante DeFrancisco and Brody Avilla?” For a Sheriff’s Department sergeant, he sounded rather star-struck.
“Yes. I’m sure they’re being questioned by someone from your department, but I’d be glad to introduce you to them.”
“Let’s go!” But then he stopped and looked down at me. “They’re potential murder suspects as much as everyone else around here, at least till they’re cleared. But Dante DeFrancisco and Brody Avilla—a megabillionaire and a movie star—how likely is it that either would come here and kill a guy who cleaned animal enclosures for a living?”
“Not likely,” I agreed, hoping it was true.
“Do you know if they knew Jon Doe?” I could tell from his tone that he was hoping I’d say no.
“Well, they talked to him here, of course,” I dissembled. “Jon was helping to nurture the baby wolves and teach everyone how to care for them.”
“I mean other than here,” Frank said.
“Not that I’m aware of,” I said. I crossed my fingers behind my back, just in case. I wasn’t exactly lying. I didn’t really know why Brody had been Googling strange stuff on the Internet and also looking up Jon Doe. And the fact that Dante and Brody exchanged unreadable looks didn’t mean they knew him. Did it?
I intended to assume all things positive. I had no reason to believe Dante or Brody could have harmed the senior citizen who cared for HotWildlife animals.
And even if my murder-magnet mind made me wonder if , there was no reason to mention that to this deputy sheriff. Not yet, at least.
I had some checking to do.
Chapter Six
BUT THE CHECKING would have to wait till later, when I could follow up on it.
In a while, Sergeant Hura conducted his own informal follow-up interview of Dante and Brody. I don’t know what the official session was like, but this one was uneventful for the two interviewees, who were absolutely polite and cooperative like the good citizens they were. All their answers supported the position that they were both appalled at Jon Doe’s untimely death, and that they had nothing to do with it.
We all stood in the shade beside a coyote compound at the far end of the sanctuary as the three of them talked and commiserated. Wagner lay down on some grass-covered earth and panted as he watched each of us in turn.
Frank Hura acted utterly star-struck while questioning the two men deferentially, his tone apologetic, as if he had to do this to fulfill his duty while knowing full well they were absolutely innocent. He had spent only a few minutes alone with the detectives who’d done the formal sessions, so for all I knew, this could be a Columbo kind of intended trap. But I didn’t think so.
And me? It was all I could do not to roll my eyes in exasperation at this whole absurd exchange. I certainly didn’t want Dante or Brody to have had anything to do with the ending of Jon Doe’s life, but my suspicions remained that they out-and-out lied about not knowing him.
Or maybe it was simply a matter of semantics. Maybe they didn’t actually know him, but I believed they knew something about him. Especially since Brody had looked him up on the Internet.
But, okay, even if they were absolutely guilty, I didn’t want them arrested right then and there. I needed to conduct my own inquiry. Hopefully, it would exonerate them as fully as
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