Mr. Good Bad Guy

55 - A Few Baby Steps Ahead

EZRA'S POV

I arrived at the police station just in time to see Isaias being led into an interview room. He looked disheveled and exhausted, but there was a determined set to his jaw that made it clear he wasn't going down without a fight. I couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for him, because I knew he had nothing to do with what was happening.

"Detective Moran." Captain West nodded in my direction as I entered the room. "Nice of you to finally join us."

I wanted to say that I wasn't late, but I kept my mouth shut and sat down next to him. Isaias didn't look to be in the mood to talk, but he knew he had to. There was no reason to be here, if he wasn't going to talk.

Captain West leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. "We've been waiting for you to give us the time of day, Mr. Acosta. What made you come in today?"

Isaias looked at him, his expression guarded. "I just wanted to clear my name," he said. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Then you shouldn't have any problem talking to us," Captain West replied. "What if we were waiting for you to confess, so we could arrest you? That's gratitude, isn't it? Or would it make you think we were dumb enough to believe you and Irene were just friends and she ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Isaias's jaw tightened, and he glanced at me. "Look, I know Irene, and she would never have gotten involved in any shady business. She was just as determined as me to find out who is behind all of this. Maybe she got close and someone wanted to shut her up."

"And leaving her boyfriend behind to die?"

"Have you not seen the things they've been doing up until now? They burned down a perfectly good property. They've murdered men and kidnapped their wives. Who's to say they haven't made some child orphans? And then they successfully kidnap a psychologist working the case. Not once. Not twice. Three times, Captain. They're ruthless. They won't stop until they get what they want."

Isaias's voice had taken on a pleading edge, his eyes beseeching Captain West to understand. But the captain remained unmoved. "You seem to be forgetting something, Mr. Acosta. You're the one who's missing. You weren't at your office when she got into the accident. No one knows where you were."

I watched in interest, wondering what Isaias was going to say. I had no idea where he was that day, but I could tell he didn't want to say. Especially since it could mean he'd have to reveal that he and Irene had something going on. A relationship that wasn't ready to see the light of day.

Captain West leaned forward, his gaze fixed on Isaias. "You don't have to tell us where you were. But you do have to tell us what you know. About Irene, about your research. About anything that could help us find who did this."

Isaias hesitated, glancing at me again. "I'm her boss. She was my employee. Whatever she didn't want me to know, she didn't have to tell me. You'd have better luck speaking to her colleagues. All I know is that she did seem afraid that someone was after her. That no one would believe she'd been kidnapped, but she was medically declared crazy."

"What do you mean, 'medically declared crazy'?" Captain West asked, his brow furrowing. "Having a hallucination disorder doesn't necessarily mean one is crazy. Did she say that herself?"

"It was implied. When we had dinner, she was a bit skittish. I don't know what she wanted to tell me, but she invited me out again, because she wanted to show me something."

Captain West frowned. "Show you something? Like what?"

"She wouldn't say. I wish I'd pried it out of her."