“Oh, okay,” she said, a little taken aback. She swallowed and nodded uncomfortably before continuing. “Earlier, when I asked you if you knew the name of the man police suspect, you said no.”
“Right,” he replied, curious what was coming next.
“Well, please forgive my bluntness, but I wasn’t so sure you were telling me the truth.”
His mouth subtly fought a grin, recognizing the irony in her statement. He said nothing.
“I mean. . .” she continued with some shakiness in her voice. “You hesitated before you answered the question, and my guess is that you might know the suspect’s name but that you didn’t want to tell it to me because you were afraid of getting your police friend in trouble.”
It was suddenly clear to him that she was there on a mission—a mission to extract the knowledge he h
