Thanks for all the reviews, and the new follows/favorites. I've just about finished writing this, so I'll probably be updating daily from here; but I may be persuaded to update more frequently if I see people are really liking the story, so get reviewing. ;)
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February 14th
"You should go in there and talk to her again," Delaney says.
He should, he knows that. But what is he supposed to say? McDonald's not really a people person. He doesn't always know the right way to react to things, the right words to say, the right gestures to make. He tries, of course, but he doesn't always get it right.
"I could go and talk to her, if you want," Delaney offers. "You look like you could use a break."
He shakes his head. He feels almost protective of her. He hadn't been there when they'd found her with the body, when they'd brought her in, but he'd been assigned to her case from the start. Now he's been talking to her – or at least, sitting with her – for the best part of an hour, and he's starting to feel a connection to her. It's going to make it more difficult, he knows. He should stay objective. This girl just killed someone, and no matter what her story, that wasn't the right thing to do.
"I should go back in there," he says at last, but it still takes him a couple more minutes to work up to actually going back to the room.
As soon as he sits down Spencer's eyes snap up to his, but she doesn't speak. Her gaze unsettles him; she jumps from apathy to anger, confusion to clarity, despair to defiance, so quickly that it's hard to keep track.
"How are you feeling?" he asks. His fingers tighten around the handle of his mug of coffee as he recognizes how stupid that question was. She's just been through something unspeakably traumatic. Now isn't the time to be asking touchy-feely questions like that. He just needs to get the facts. He clears his throat. "Sorry," he says gruffly. "I suppose that was a silly question to ask."
Her mouth quirks up, just slightly, but it's the closest thing to a smile he's seen so far. It cheers him a little. Maybe there's hope yet.
"I know you probably don't want to talk about this all," he goes on, "but it's important that we get the facts in order. That way we can -"
"Figure out how long I'll be rotting in jail for?" she supplies.
He doesn't answer right away, unsure about her tone. Is she joking? Self-loathing? Resigned?
A knock at the door interrupts his scattered thoughts.
"Come in," he murmurs.
Delaney pokes his head in the door. He looks at Spencer, and then gestures for McDonald to follow him. Once they're in the hall he says, "I have some people you might like to meet."
McDonald looks confusedly at the door of the interrogation room. "I'm kind of in the middle of something."
"I know," Delaney says. "But a couple of girls turned up a few minutes ago. I think you should talk to them."
"Why?"
"They're witnesses," he explains as he leads McDonald to another room. "They saw Miss Hastings commit the murder."
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