CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

When they entered the room, Jessie sensed immediately that something was off.

Crutchfield was already standing up, almost as if at attention. He followed her with his eyes as she sat in the chair behind the desk on the other side of the partition.

“I’m glad to see that you’re doing well, Miss Jessie,” he noted.

“What do you mean?”

“The news said that a woman was arrested for the murder of Victoria Missinger and that the LAPD consultant who caught her was injured in the incident. No name was given but in light of your slight limp, I feel safe drawing the conclusion.”

“What did you ask me here for?” Jessie asked, trying to move past the gamesmanship, though she suspected it was a futile effort.

“Patience, my dear,” he said, sounding slightly peeved. “Please, I have so little to look forward to in here most days. Won’t you allow me this little respite from the drudgery for a little fun?”

“You consider this fun?” she asked.

“I do,” he admitted. “Tell me, was my assistance useful? Were my clues on point?”

“They were,” Jessie told him. “The killer was a ‘lady’ who was unhappy with her lot in life. Although, by the time I made those connections, she was already taking steps to get rid of me.”

“I’m glad she wasn’t successful,” Crutchfield replied, sounding something close to sincere. “Although for a time there it looked like you’d pegged the wrong ‘lady.’ I have to admit I was disappointed in you.”

“Yeah, well, we sorted that out in the end,” Jessie retorted, more defensively than she intended.

“And it’s a good thing you did too,” Crutchfield said. “Had you not, I might have been forced to chastise you.”

“I feel like you do that all the time anyway, Mr. Crutchfield.”

“Oh, not verbally, Miss Jessie,” he corrected. “I would have had to teach you a lesson, to show you that you were wrong.”

“How would you have done that?” she asked uneasily.

“Most likely by having your friend Lacy, the one you’re currently slightly estranged from, gutted like a pig.”

Jessie’s jaw dropped open despite her effort to hide her shock. She couldn’t speak. Behind her, Kat shifted uncomfortably in the corner where she stood but said nothing. Crutchfield was more than happy to continue.

“It would have been a hard lesson, I admit,” he continued mildly, as if he were discussing restaurant menu options. “But you needed to be made aware that you were on the wrong track with that whole maid business. And sometimes lessons are difficult.”

“But you changed your mind?” Jessie asked, finally finding her voice again.

“Yes. I’d say you were about twenty-four hours from losing Ms. Cartwright. But you righted the ship and as a result, her innards are intact. By solving the case, you saved your friend’s life. Well done!”

Jessie sat quietly for a moment with her head down. When she raised it to look at him, she fixed him with a hard stare.

“How are you getting your information, Mr. Crutchfield? I can’t help but feel like you’re cheating.”

“Cheating, my dear Miss Jessie? How could I possibly be cheating? You are the one who can walk out into the big bright world when you leave this cell. I’m the one trapped here, with cameras monitoring my every move, microphones recording every word I say, every snore, every gaseous exhalation. And all of it set up by your best buddy over there in the corner. I’m at a tremendous disadvantage in our interactions, don’t you agree?”

“And yet,” Jessie noted, “I feel like you’re about to reveal that’s not the case. It’s quite clear that you’re holding something back. Whatever it is you’re dying to tell me, it’s taking everything in your power not to shout it out right this second.”

“Oh my dear Miss Jessie,” Crutchfield said, chuckling softly to himself. “I do have such affection for you. It’s true, of course. I do have a tidbit to share. I just wanted to remind you how far my reach extends before I shared it with you, so you wouldn’t doubt my words when I say them. Please remember, I’m the one who ordered the apartment break-in. I’m the one who knew the exact time you’d be in danger from Josiah Burress, the vagrant in that abandoned apartment building. Please keep those facts in mind when I share my next revelation with you.”

“Noted,” Jessie said, certain from the gleam in Crutchfield’s eyes that he couldn’t hold off much longer. “You’ve proven that what you say isn’t to be taken lightly.”

“Thank you for acknowledging that,” he replied. “Then let’s get to it. You recall, of course, that I met with your father a few years ago, in this very facility, for a conversation that proved most enlightening.”

“I recall vividly,” Jessie said, thinking back to the video of the two men talking.

“Well, Miss Jessie, I just wanted you to be the first to know that we’ve scheduled a follow-up.”

“What?”

“I’ll be having a little chat with your father,” he repeated. “I won’t spoil things by saying when. But it’s going to be lovely, I’m quite certain.”

“How?” Jessie croaked, her throat suddenly dry.

“Oh, don’t you worry about that, Miss Jessie. Just know that when we do talk, I’ll be sure to give him your regards.”