The CEO Above My Desk (Mckenzie Shinabery) novel Chapter 155

Chapter 155

Rowan

A

They thought this room was designed to break people.

They hadn’t realized who they put inside it.

I sit back in the metal chair, one ankle crossed over the opposite knee, hands folded loosely in my lap. Relaxed

posture. Controlled breathing. Bored expression.

The two detectives across from me are not relaxed.

Good.

One of them, Harris, is younger. Impatient. Too eager to prove he isn’t intimidated by money, power, or the name

Ashcroft. The other, Rhodes, is older and smarter, which means he is far more irritating because he knows exactly

how dangerous this situation is and keeps pretending it’s routine.

Rhodes opens the folder in front of him and studies the first page like he doesn’t already have his questions

prepared. “Mr. Ashcroft, we need to clarify your connection to Detective Calder.”

“My connection is simple,” I say. “He assaulted my wife.”

Harris’s jaw tightens. “Before she was your wife.”

My eyes move to him slowly. “Careful.”

Rhodes clears his throat. “Detective Calder was found dead tonight. Shot in the back of the head. Execution style.”

“I’m aware.”

“You don’t seem upset.”

“I wasn’t fond of him.”

Harris leans forward. “That supposed to be funny?”

“No,” I say calmly. “It’s supposed to be accurate.”

Rhodes watches me for a long second. “You had motive.”

1/3

11:42 am PMMO

Chapter 155

“Yes.”

That clearly wasn’t the answer they expected.

Harris blinks. Rhodes’s pen stills.

I lean back a little more, letting the silence stretch just enough to irritate them. “You want me to deny the

obvious? Fine. I wanted Calder removed from Violet’s life. Permanently, if necessary. But dead?” I tilt my head.

“Dead makes him useless.”

Rhodes’s expression shifts slightly.

There. Finally. Someone with a working brain.

“You believe someone silenced him,” Rhodes says.

“I know someone silenced him.”

Harris scoffs. “Convenient theory.”

“No,” I reply. “Convenient would be your department pretending Calder was a good man until the body count

became inconvenient.”

Harris pushes back from the table slightly. “You think you can walk in here and insult this department?”

“I didn’t walk in here,” I remind him. “You brought me here in an unmarked vehicle before counsel arrived, which

tells me one of two things. Either you’re incompetent, or someone told you to move quickly before Devin Hale

could stop you.”

Rhodes’s eyes narrow. Harris says nothing.

Interesting.

I continue, voice even. “Calder was tied to a corruption network involving Councilwoman Hargrove, altered permits, bribery, dead confidential informants, and at least one prior incident in another jurisdiction that should

have prevented him from ever carrying a badge again.”

Harris gives me a hard smile. “You seem to know a lot.”

“I pay attention.”

“You pay people.”

2/3

11:43 am PMM

Chapter 155

“Yes,” I say simply. “Usually to do what your department should have done for free.”

Harris stands so fast his chair scrapes the floor.

I don’t move. Not even when his hands plant on the table.

“You want to keep talking like that?”

I look up at him, expressionless. “Sit down before you embarrass yourself further.”

His face reddens.

Rhodes cuts in before Harris does something stupid. “Sit down.”

Harris doesn’t look away from me for another second. Then he sits.

A

Good boy.

Rhodes folds his hands over the file. “Let’s talk timeline. Calder’s estimated time of death is still preliminary, but

it appears to fall within a window where you had access to transportation and personnel.”

“I also had witnesses.”

“Your wife.”

“My wife. Devin Hale. Theo Ashcroft. Camille. A judge. A clerk. Two retail managers. Security downstairs. Building

cameras. Courthouse cameras. Vehicle GPS. Credit card logs.” I pause. “Would you like me to keep going, or is your

theory sufficiently dead?”

Harris mutters, “People with money can make evidence disappear.”

I smile faintly. “Yes. Which is why whoever killed Calder did it near the docks, near where Violet’s brother was

found, in a way that points cleanly toward motive. Too cleanly.”

Comments

Samantha Henton

Love this book it’s so good can’t wait for more!

7 days ago

5

<SHARE

1 Comments >

62

3/3