The men consulted each other with a glance, then Knight said, “You say he didn’t hurt you.”
“He didn’t.”
“Okay, but based on what he did to the Floyd brothers, it’s clear that this man is capable of violence. He also motivated you, if not coerced you, to commit a felony. Now, Emory, looking at it strictly from a law enforcement standpoint, don’t you think it’s feasible that he attacked you on that trail?”
“For what purpose?”
Grange said, “Maybe just for the hell of it.”
She looked toward the kitchen area where the drawers had been opened and rifled. She thought of how tidy he’d kept it and how meticulously he’d performed every task, such as repairing a toaster. “Whimsy? No, Sergeant Grange. He would never do something just for the hell of it. Besides, I’ve told you that he treated me kindly.”
“I wouldn’t call turning you into a thief a kindness,” Knight said. “But just for the sake of argument, let’s say that break-in was for a good cause. Let’s say it was necessary in order for you to help a girl in need of medical treatment. Let’s also say that those Floyd boys deserved the whipping they got. Going by their rap sheets, that’s not a stretch.”
“Then why are we here and having this conversation?”
“Because I still believe you were a hostage of sorts, not a willing participant in that burglary. Buddy and me don’t want to see you punished for something you were forced to do under duress.”
He leaned toward her, getting to the crux of his argument. “Even if you can’t remember it, it’s reasonable, isn’t it, that this guy clouted you over the head and hauled you off that trail? Any way you look at it, that’s assault and battery and kidnapping.”
“I don’t believe he’s guilty of those crimes.”
“If he’s not guilty of something, why didn’t he bring you into town and make himself known?”
She opened her mouth but had no words with which to respond.
However, as though she had spoken, Knight said, “Exactly. Staying under the radar was worth twenty-five grand to him. Which leads us to believe that he’s a fugitive. You need to help us catch him.”
“Why do you need me? You’ve searched every inch of this cabin.”
“Which doesn’t belong to him. It’s a rental.”
“Oh.”
“You sound surprised.”
She glanced toward the denuded bookshelves. “He treated it as an owner would. But if he’s a renter, then surely his name is on the lease.”
“Rent’s paid by a lawyer in Seattle.”
“Seattle?”
“On behalf of an LLC, and the general partner of the LLC is a corporation. We’re trying to cut through all the red tape necessary to get to a human being behind the corporation, but in the meantime, our suspect is getting away.”
Grange joined in. “The Floyd brothers claimed not to remember what he looks like. Their mother, too. The description Lisa gave the deputy could’ve been of me or Beyoncé. We find it real hard to believe that their powers of recall are that imprecise. And we think you remember him in a lot more detail than you gave us.”
Knight said, “That could be construed as obstruction of justice.”
“How could you prove what I do and do not remember about him?” she challenged. “I had a concussion and a CT scan that shows it.”
In frustration, Knight switched tactics. Sighing as though in resignation, he said, “We’re getting nowhere fast. I can hear your husband arguing with the deputies outside, and I sympathize with his impatience. He’s had it up to here with us.
“And, pardon me for saying so, Emory, but you’re looking peaked. Maybe you shouldn’t have checked out of the hospital so soon. We should’ve thought twice before hauling you up here.
“But since we made the trip, tell us one thing. Just one thing that’ll help us. Then we’ll go back to Drakeland, see that you’re put up someplace nice and made comfortable so you can rest.”
She waited out the inanities, then said, “Please stop talking to me as though I’m an imbecile.”
“Last thing I think is that you’re an imbecile.”
“I’m not infirm either. I am, however, tired of your hounding me to give you information that I don’t have.”
“I think you do.”
“Then you think wrong.”
Grange said, “We could charge you with aiding and abetting a criminal.”
“You don’t know that he’s a criminal.”
“We’ve got video of him committing a burglary.”
“No you don’t. You’ve got video of me.”
“Did he threaten you and the Floyds not to reveal his identity?”
“I don’t know his identity.”
“Every minute you sit here and refuse to cooperate—”
“I’m not refusing.”
“—he’s getting farther away.”
“Tell us his name.”
“I don’t know it.”
“Emory—”
“I don’t know his name!”
*