Witch Wolf (Camren) Book 1

Chapter 21

The walls of the interrogation room were a disgusting shade of off-white. No, there wasn't one of those nifty little one-way mirrors. The station hadn't been able to afford one when it was first built. Dan Holbrook was sitting across the table from a petite brunette with blonde highlights.

 I recognized the outline of her features and the light scent of her perfume. There was still a hint of fear to her smell, but it was such a small amount that the flowery perfume overrode it. Dan turned to look when I walked into the room. He didn't get up, or offer to shake hands, but that didn't surprise me.

 His dark brown hair was in the same short cut it had been for years. The black slacks he wore were ironed and obviously tailored. He'd taken the suit jacket off and draped it over the back of the chair so that the charcoal dress shirt and shoulder holster were in open view. I remembered from years of working with him that he often did that during any sort of interrogation, be it victim questioning or suspect questioning. He left his gun in plain view.

 I didn't agree with flaunting a weapon in front of a victim. In my opinion, it's rude, but I've seen it work in front of a suspect. When a suspect is placed on the opposite side of the table, their eyes fill with worry, darting back and forth from face to gun. Dan flaunted his gun for that reason and to display that he was in charge.

 It irked me that he was doing it in front of a woman who had been attacked. She huddled over a mug of coffee. Her eyes darted to me and relief slid into their hazel depths. I thought I understood the relief. Women generally feel more comfortable around other women, especially women who have just been attacked by a man. 

Her long hair was pulled out of her face, tied back at the nape of her neck. It emphasized her triangular features, bringing the full mouth and wide eyes into view. There was a scratch across her left cheek. It looked like it had just stopped bleeding. "Cabello," Dan spoke and his tone was thundering deep, "have a seat." He stood and removed his jacket from the back of the fold-out chair. 

The chairs were uncomfortable. "Ally Brooke, this is Preternatural Private Investigator Camila Cabello. She'll be interviewing you from this point on." I didn't exactly take kindly to the fact that he'd given a complete stranger my first name, but I kept my mouth shut. If you know what's good for you, you don't argue with Holbrook.

 I sat down as Dan folded out another chair that had been against the wall. He took a seat in the corner of the room, placing the clipboard in his lap so he could take notes. I forced myself to smile at Ally. 

"Ms. Brooke, can you tell me what happened to you this evening?" She looked at Captain Holbrook. "How many times do I have to tell you what happened?" I spoke before Holbrook could respond. "Ms. Brooke, I understand you're tired, irritated, and that you've probably told the story a million times. That's how interviewing goes. I've been called in to help work this case. I'm the one that needs to know what happened to you tonight. If you don't tell me, I don't think Captain Holbrook is feeling generous enough to fill me in. So it comes down to this—you want my help or not?"

 Her fingertip circled the edge of the coffee mug as she gave me a considering look. "Fine," she said. "About a week ago I answered a personal ad in the local newspaper." 

"Was it a dating personal ad?" I asked, just to be specific. "Yes." I nodded. "Was the ad from a male or female?" She gave me a look. "The ad was from a male seeking a female."

 "You answered this ad?" She nodded. "We went out to dinner around eight this evening." 

"Do you remember his name? Where did you go eat?"