The Frailty of Flesh by Sandra Ruttan Page B

attitude inferring the answer.
    “Actually, we’re only interested in searching Shannon’s room at this time.”
    “And clearly, since you’re asking permission, you don’t have a search warrant.”
    Ashlyn rubbed her forehead. “In the spirit of cooperation I thought we’d ask, since it’s in your client’s best interests that we find their daughter quickly as possible. They’ve already lost one child. I’m sure they’re anxious to have Shannon home safe and sound.”
    “However, they aren’t anxious to have the police invade their privacy so that they can pursue unfounded charges against a sixteen-year-old girl.”
    “I—”
    “I’m sorry, Ms. Hart. You’ll have to find another reason to see me.”
    Ashlyn clenched her teeth. What she wouldn’t give to wipe the self-assured smile she could hear in his words right off his face.
    He wasn’t finished. “Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other very soon.”
    She terminated the call without another word, let out a deep breath and looked up.
    Only the ghost of a smile lingered on Tain’s lips. “That went well.”
    “Never expect a skunk to smell nice.”
    He laughed. “I thought the saying was, ‘A leopard never changes its spots.’ ”
    “I prefer to think of sleazy lawyers as closer to vermin.” She leaned back against the headrest, eyes closed for a moment. “With Byron Smythe involved we’re going to need rock solid evidence to get in the house. And now he knows we want to search.”
    “He can’t tamper with evidence.”
    “Well, technically, he can. We’d just have to prove it in order to charge him.” She rubbed her forehead. “He doesn’t know what we’re looking for.”
    Tain didn’t answer. That was all the proof she needed: Her words had sounded as hollow to him as she knew they were. A lawyer like Byron Smythe would figure it out in no time at all. If he believed there was something in the house that could help them he’d try to find it first.
    And he didn’t need to tamper with anything to look. If he confirmed what was missing, he’d know the truth.
    “We’re losing time. All we really wanted to do was prove whether or not the kids were lying.” Ashlyn opened her eyes and looked at Tain. “We need to find another way to do that.”
    “You can forget arresting those kids and taking them in for questioning. If you thought Zidani came down on you before…”
    “It would waste too much time, anyway. You think Nurani’s parents don’t have a lawyer on retainer, with a house like that? We—” Her cell phone rang and she lifted it to look at the caller ID, answered and listened to the voice on the other end. “We’ll be right there,” she said, and hung up.
    Tain reached to start the car. “Sims?”
    She nodded as she clipped her seat belt. “He’s found something he wants us to see.”
    Craig wondered how his dad had felt when he stood over the body of sixteen-year-old Hope Harrington.
    It was easier than acknowledging how he felt himself, just going over the evidence.
    The school photo in the file set the stage. A beautiful girl, slender, creamy skin, with silky black hair and gentle blue eyes. Sometimes blue eyes seemed cold, but Hope’s eyes were like a warm sky on a cloudless day. There was something in her shy smile, but even the hint of self-consciousness that crept in couldn’t conceal the fact that Hope had been a lovely girl.
    Underneath her simple beauty there was another story that came through. Perhaps it was the faded blouse, the lack of makeup or the absence of any jewelry other than a locket around her neck. Craig couldn’t put his finger on it, but he didn’t believe his assessment was tainted by his earlier meeting with Lisa Harrington.
    They were poor. And there was something within Hope, just the tiniest touch of sadness in the lines around her eyes, that said she knew she wasn’t destined for great things. It wasn’t that her smile was forced, but it was bridled.