Author's note: Sorry it's taken me a while to update, thanks for being patient!!
'We know Vicky.' Steve Sloan said coldly 'We know everything.'
Seated across from her in the interrogation room, his clear blue eyes were like chips of ice. 'We know about the affair you were having' he bluffed brusquely 'we know that you were the mystery woman in Cairo, staying at Peterson's hotel'.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Vicky looked desperately at his partner – she was a woman, may be she'd understand.
Steve caught the look 'Don't expect Sergeant Archer to cut you any slack' he drawled 'When it comes to murder one, we have a pretty clear policy.' He paused meaningfully 'It's called death row'.
Finally finding her voice, face pale and eyes filled with tears Vicky looked at him desperately 'I didn't do it' she whispered.
'Gee' Tanis spoke for the first time 'ya know that's what they all say'. She looked at Steve and shrugged casually 'You'd think someone could come up with something a little more original'.
'But why?' Vicky said brokenly 'Why me?'
'Simple' Steve said 'Not only did you have motive and opportunity for all three murders, your prints were on the key chain found in Schwenk's office, and your number was stored on his phone, which told us he'd had contact with you several times just prior to his death'.
'But ..' Vicky began
'Peterson ended the affair with you didn't he?' Tanis interrupted, matter of factly 'When it came to the crunch, he told you he couldn't leave his wife'. She looked at Vicky knowingly 'This great man, a man you'd worshipped and adored, tossed you aside like a worthless piece of fluff.'
'And you couldn't deal with that could you Vicky?' Steve continued, getting up from his seat and perching on the edge of the table to lean closer to her 'He was the love of your life and just like that it was over'. He shook his head sadly 'So you killed him. If you couldn't have him then no one else could either. That was it wasn't it?'
Vicky shook her head, wide-eyed and trembling, looking unseeingly from one to the other 'No' she croaked 'that's not how it was'.
Standing up, Steve turned away, momentarily hiding his face from the girl who shivered uncomfortably on the inadequate chair before him. Everything about this room was purposely designed to make a prisoner feel on edge - the depressing grey décor, the rudimentary furniture, the one bald electric light bulb. He grimaced, the contrived intimidation reminded him of 'nam.
He swallowed hard. This was tough. It wasn't in his nature to scare and bully young women. Okay, so it was a role he was forced to play, part of the job, but he sure didn't like himself much right now. A part of him was desperate to take pity on her; in her current state she seemed so vulnerable and lost. But the reality was that this young woman was a killer. He had to ignore her seeming fragility, her youthfulness and the tears in those big blue eyes. Savagely he forced himself to think back to the mutilated bodies, the careful and cold-blooded planning that must have taken place, the lives and families that had been destroyed.
He took a deep breath, his resolve strengthening. Right now, intimidating this little girl, he felt like a louse, no better than the soldiers who had interrogated him, submitted him to ritual humiliation all those years ago. Fighting down his disgust, he clenched his fist. He might not like it, but if hardening his heart was what it took to get a cold-blooded killer behind bars then he'd deal. He had to.
Having noticed his hesitation Tanis looked at Steve worriedly. He was definitely wavering. She didn't like this any more than he did, but they couldn't afford to ease off now. The evidence against Vicky Harris was pretty damning, but to get the confession it was vital that they not be swayed by the girl's looks and demeanour. Tanis sighed, from past experience she knew that youth and beauty did not negate the ability to kill. Neither did gender. As a woman, she was wise to the power of feminine wiles in the manipulation of men. A few tears here, a fluttering of the eye lashes there, it didn't take much. Steve Sloan might be a tough guy on the outside, but he had a soft centre; to a damsel in distress, he was as vulnerable as the next guy.
Resolutely Tanis bit her lip. She hoped Steve would stay strong, but in situations like this it was easy to get caught up in the emotional intensity, to lose sight of reality. She sighed again; this would have been so much easier on them both if the killer had turned out to be a huge guy who'd put up a fight. Instead they had a young girl who was crumbling in front of their eyes. Still, she reminded herself firmly, she'd joined the LAPD not the Samaritans; acting tough came with the turf.
Tanis got up to stand beside Steve. Imperceptible to Vicky, she placed a discrete hand on his arm and squeezed encouragingly, willing him to continue. Snapped back to reality by Tanis' touch and instinctively reassured that she understood his dilemma; Steve turned back to Vicky, his cold expression firmly back in place.
'Let me tell you how I think things went' he said. 'You arrive here from England; don't know a soul. You're working closely with this hot shot Professor that you've always admired. You work long hours together, no one else around and maybe you're infatuated. Older guy, younger girl, he's flattered. The two of you start to get close. Things heat up and you think you've met the love of your life'. He paused looking at her sternly 'But then you want more. You want him to leave his wife'. He smiled ruefully at her 'It's an old story'.
Smoothly Tanis took over 'But he wouldn't leave his wife would he Vicky?' She sighed deeply 'They never do, believe me I know'.
Steve looked at Tanis sharply; there had been real feeling behind that last remark. Either she was a damn good actress attempting to manipulate the girl or she really was speaking from experience. Had she been hurt in love, had her heart broken by a married man? Despite himself, his interest was awakened. He knew so little about her life outside of the office. Surprised by a sudden rush of feelings, a desire to know more, he shook his head in confusion. He felt strangely jealous of the man in her past, but at the same time protective; keen to make sure she wasn't hurt again.
There was a pause. Tanis had expected Steve to jump in, but when she looked across discretely, hoping to give him his cue, he was staring into space. She grimaced. Okay, so they hadn't done this in a while, but usually they worked well together. Almost telepathic in their interchange, verbally bouncing off each other, usually they skilfully maintained the momentum, keeping their subjects confused and under pressure. Today they weren't so slick. She risked another quick glance. He still looked tired, may be that was it, or may be she'd been right the first time, maybe he couldn't handle the situation. She frowned; her instincts told her there was something more, something in his expression that she couldn't read, but right now she didn't have the time for analysis.
Pulling herself together she continued addressing Vicky brusquely 'And when he won't leave his wife, that's when it hits you, just what a fool you've been, how he's used you'. She paused 'And that's when you fall apart'.
'Only you didn't fall apart did you Vicky?' Steve said. To Tanis' relief he seemed to be back in the game 'You knew exactly what you were gonna do, how you were gonna get your revenge'.
He paused before lowering his voice menacingly 'What was the poison you hit him with Vicky? What exactly were you whipping up in those test tubes when you were meant to be doing his research?'
Sternly Steve folded his arms 'What ever it was; you were cooking it up in the lab that first day I saw you. It knocked me out then, just like it did when I came into contact with it later ..' he paused meaningfully 'on the bodies of the victims'.
'The project' she whispered 'I was working on the project'.
Steve frowned at her, straining to hear. He exchanged a glance with Tanis who shrugged, the girl was babbling. Taking a deep breath he changed tack 'Using that blow-pipe was real clever, put us right off the scent. That one fooled even my father; and that sure doesn't happen often'.
'Blow pipe?' Vicky said in confusion
'Given the origins of the murder weapon, you knew that we'd suspect an Egyptologist' Steve continued 'Maybe you were hoping to put the heat on Summers, after all, he and Peterson were in Egypt together. But then there was a hitch wasn't there Vicky? You had to kill him too'.
'We weren't the only ones who found out about the affair were we?' Tanis interjected bluntly, before Vicky had time to gather her thoughts 'Summers found out didn't he? He saw the two of you together in Egypt and after Peterson got killed he was gonna expose you as Peterson's lover'.
Tanis looked at the girl keenly 'You couldn't let that happen could you Vicky? You knew that if the affair came out you'd be the prime suspect for Peterson's murder. We'd haul you in here so fast you wouldn't know what hit you'.
Vicky gasped. She couldn't take it in. Everything was happening so fast. She opened her mouth to protest, but Steve jumped in.
'You know the plan worked really well, didn't it?' he said 'I have to admit you had me stumped. You know you would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for Schwenk. I'm guessing he found out about the whole deal. Was he blackmailing you Vicky? Is that why there were so many phone calls to your lab?' He looked at her sternly 'Why else would an archaeologist be communicating so frequently with a chemist?'
Finally finding her voice Vicky looked at Steve and Tanis
'The project' she whispered.