Bloody Noses & Crack'd Crowns

Chapter 30

I DO NOT OWN THIS STORY. All credit goes to TheWeaverofWorlds on ao3

Robert Gray sat in interrogation room B at the Bangor Precinct. It was a shoe box of a room, and with its gray walls and dingy overhead lighting, it seriously lacked imagination. He couldn't say how long he had been in here, within this room all sense of time ceased to exist. It had been designed this way. He had been placed here to sweat it out, and he was sure he was being observed through the mirror across from him. He smiled grimly at it, his eyes tracing the contours of the room until they landed on a small camera. It was meant to be hidden, but he wouldn't allow them any illusions of who was in control. He had been placed here to sweat it out sure, but Robert wasn't worried. After all, he had done nothing wrong.

The door opened and two officers stepped in.

Robert didn't acknowledge them until they were directly across from him. He flicked his eyes between the two of them taking in their appearance. The taller of the two wore a Maine State Police uniform, but despite his rank he seemed to defer to the other man in a wrinkled suit. This was the man who had arrested him. Robert's eyes narrowed slightly. He'd have to be careful around this man.

"Mr. Gray, my name is Detective Nell from the FBI and this is Chief Sullivan of the Maine State Police."

Robert remained unimpressed. "Quite a bit out of your jurisdiction, coming all the way up here just for me."

"Hardly. We have you on kidnapping charges which cross state lines, that puts you exactly in my jurisdiction."

"I've never kidnapped anyone."

The Statie glanced to Nell, and Robert had to suppress a smile. Already there was unease forming, a wedge which Robert planned to take full advantage of.

"Entering your wards into illegal fights is no walk in the park." The Statie said.

"Please, even if I had done such a thing, in the state of Maine that is only a class C crime."

"Child endangerment is hardly 'only a Class C crime.'" The Statie looked ready for a fight, but Robert wasn't interested.

"Have you called my lawyer yet?"

This time it was Nell who glanced at the other officer. It was time for them to go, and they knew it.

Robert watched them leave. Under his breath he muttered, "run rabbit, run."

The door closed with a click.

Robert leaned back in his chair and turned to the mirror, a smile curving across his lips. They had nothing on him.

–

Out in the hall Detective Nell scrubbed his hand over his eyes. "He thinks he knows everything. Did you see the way he watched us? Cocky bastard."

Sullivan nodded.

The door from the observation room opened and they were joined by the District Attorney, Sadie Epping, and the Bangor Chief of Police, Gary Jones, who had requested to be called Jonesy within five minutes of their meeting.

Jonesy was a cheerful guy, but you wouldn't know it by looking at him tonight. The late hours had not been kind to the chief of police, they wore heavily in the droop of his shoulder and the bags under his eyes. His hands shook slightly from too much caffeine, but he did a good job of hiding it.

"How much longer can we delay calling his lawyer?" Jonesy asked.

"Not much longer," Chief Sullivan said.

"Shit. What more can we do?"

"We need more on the kidnapping, he's not as innocent as he acts," Sadie Epping said.