"Lieutenant Stone. I thought you were the last one to try and tag a murder charge onto an innocent civilian without any sort of evidence."
Brett Henderson ran a smug hand across his tailored light gray suit, as he circled the interrogation room and its occupants like a slithering snake. Harry Johnson was visibly agitated, his fingers tapping a fast rhythm against the table, as he pushed his chair closer toward that of his attorney.
"And here I thought you had made enough money off frivolous lawsuits to retire early, Henderson.", the Lieutenant growled, as he opened the case file in front of him.
"There's no need for hostility.", the attorney countered soothingly, as he leaned against a nearby wall and crossed his hands in front of his chest, "I understand it has been a long day for you. They say that your partner was hurt. I hope this wasn't because the two of you jumped to yet another conclusion prematurely and tripped over yourselves."
"Don't push it, Henderson."
Trying to keep his voice calm and controlled, Mike looked back up at Harry Johnson. The man's cold brown eyes scanned him intently, and he made sure to hold the gaze.
"Listen Lieutenant, my client and his wife have been here all day and endured your accusations while patiently waiting for you and your partner to return. Mister Johnson is a well-respected member of the Oakland community and as such, has a responsibility to his congregation and needs to return home immediately. Just like you, he wants the murder of his beloved daughter solved as quickly as possible. But Mister Johnson is very upset by your allegations that he might have something to do with Mavis' death."
"Is he?", Mike asked and smiled broadly. He could tell that after a day stuck in the interrogation room, Johnson was ready to blow a fuse.
And he was ready to let it happen.
"Well, we have a witness that says Mister Johnson severely beat his daughter on a regular basis. That same witness also swears that if he had found out about Mavis' pregnancy, he would have killed her."
Henderson returned the fake smile and put his hands in the pockets of his dress pants.
"And does this witness happen to be Dylan Harris? The same person who actually raped Mavis? The person who will be facing Criminal Sexual Conduct felony charges? You're putting the word of a child rapist over that of an Ordained Minister? Are you serious, Lieutenant?"
Mike bit his lip, as he shook his head.
"Dylan was Mavis' boyfriend. The intercourse was consensual."
"And what evidence of that have you got now, that Mavis is dead? Only his word. And may I remind you of how many rapists out there claim that the intercourse was consensual once they were caught by police? Come one now!", Henderson shot back, never giving him a chance to refocus, "See Lieutenant, this is what I am talking about. There is no solid proof in your charges. What was the time of the murder? Have you got that nailed down yet? What day did it happen? Was there a fight? Was it suicide perhaps? Were there any witnesses that can tie my client or his wife to the murder scene?"
"After my partner talked to Misses Johnson-", Mike began, only to have Henderson rush towards him and lean his hands on the table.
"Speaking of which, Lieutenant, I am this close to filing charges against your ill-tempered protégé. Not only did he severely upset Misses Johnson with his accusations that her husband was beating her, his intimidation behavior can only be described as gravely disturbing. Did you order him to push her? Is this how you conduct your everyday business here at homicide? Is this acceptable behavior in your eyes? To push an innocent woman to the point of crying? I should run to the media with this, and honestly, maybe I will…So after all this harassing you and your partner have done to these fine upstanding citizens here, let me ask you this one more time…what concrete evidence do you have to charge my client with murdering his daughter?"
Swallowing hard, Mike drew in a deep breath and fell silent.