Chapter 3:

Tristan Dugrey stood in the shadows on the glass side of the two-way mirror and regarded the assortment of women behind it.

Without looking away from it, he spoke to the officer who'd just entered, a veteran cop with a gimpy leg and a ratty clipboard. "What's the woman's last name, Luke?"

"Mayne, Madeline. She's twenty-eight. Owns two big garden supply shops and a catering company in the city. You know the family?"

"I've heard of them. She inherited well."

"Every dime of the old family money. She was the sole heir, adopted at twenty-two months. She has two blood sisters, but no siblings in the legal sense."

"The three were split up?"

"At a young age. Don't know the story there." Luke flipped through the wad of papers on his clipboard. "I do know the other two weren't as lucky money wise. The youngest crapped out totally. Her old man lost his job and turned to alcohol. Her mother died when she was just ten."

Tristan's gaze settled on the most striking of the women behind the glass. She wore a snug fitting pink t-shirt that ended just above the waistband of her equally snug jeans.

Luke followed Tristan's gaze. "That's Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, goes by Rory, one of the sisters. She's older than the suspect by a year."

Tristan half smiled. "I met her ex once. Remember Logan Huntzberger?"

"His ex-wife, no shit?" Luke looked surprised for a moment before going back into his usual monosyllabic manner. "Then you'll know she's not a fan of cops or cop stations. Called in a favor and got herself into the lineup. I've seen the pair of them close up, there's a strong resemblance."

"That should confuse your witness nicely."

"You don't have to sound so amused." Luke barked. "I'm stuck with the paperwork on this one, and trust me, between Stiles and his holdings, a tardy witness, no murder weapon and a doppelganger tossed into the mix, I'll be filling out reports for the next six months."

Tristan kept his eyes on Rory. "You think Madeline Mayne hit him?"

"Personally, no. Poison's a woman's weapon."

Tristan's lips curved. "Some would call that a sexist remark."

"I'm forty-two and deskbound. I'm entitled. I told you, I've seen the woman. In my jaundiced opinion, she wouldn't have bludgeoned the guy."

"Maybe she has a Jekyll and Hyde personality."

"Not from what I saw. A little off in space, maybe, but hey, she's rich."

Tristan couldn't resist a grin. "You need to get out more."

"What I need is for Caesar to get his butt in gear. He's handling the witness. Name's Christopher Hayden. He looks like a musician."

"Credible?"

"On the surface. Says he freaked when he saw Stiles get hit. Did I mention they were business partners?"

"Stiles and the witness?" Tristan regarded Rory through half-lidded eyes while he rolled that tidbit over. "What's Hayden's story?"

"Panicked when he saw Stiles get hit. Went home and hid for two days."

"Didn't want to get involved?"

"Something like that. Said upfront there was no love lost for his late partner."

Tristan glanced sideways. "So if the surviving partner had no love for the dead one, where do you read the words credible witness?"

"We have no priors on the guy, in fact, no charges of any kind. Three parking and two speeding tickets in the past fifteen years all paid in full. He has an ex and a kid, a daughter. No problem there. He's on the books for child support, and there haven't been any gripes from his former wife, so he must be coming through. He has a Condo in the warehouse district and he went to Tulane."

"Your alma mater."

Luke's expression grew pensive. "I wanted to be pro running back in those days."

Tristan ran his eyes over Rory's legs. He'd bet a month's pay they were the longest in the room. "There's no security in pro sports, Luke. You're better off here."

"Uh huh and while we're on the subject, you're here tonight because…?"

"Why else? I missed your smiling face."

Luke snorted. "I haven't smiled since that bullet shattered my knee cap three years ago. You got nothing better to do, go hunt up Caesar and tell him to get in here with that witness."

She didn't paint her fingernails, Tristan noted. And he could see the green of her eyes from here. "You need to slow down, Luke, lay back." He smiled. "Take a vacation."

"Love to. You wanna do my job while I'm gone?"

"Sorry, already booked."

"That's what they all say." His head came up. "Is that Caesar's voice?" He paused on his way out. "You gonna leer at Madeline Mayne's sister all night or check out that waterfront hotel you mentioned earlier…Is that you, Caesar?" He raised his voice before Tristan could answer. "We're in 5C." He called. "Later Blondie."

Tristan nodded. Rory had a look of alertness about her that he found intriguing. She wouldn't miss a trick-which would make her extremely difficult to deceive.

A smile curved his lips even as his eyes lingered on Rory's face. He pushed off from the wall. He had his work cut out for him.

Okay, so I chose Tristan, like most of you wanted. For those of you who haven't read my stories before, I have one stipulation. I don't update unless I get reviews. So this will be the only update I make without reviews for the future. I'm not trying to sound like a bitch, but I want to know what you ppl think and if this story is worth continuing because if it's not, I'll stop now.