Chapter XXVIII

Interrogation and Judgment

She wasn't lying, Sofia immediately knew, but she wasn't telling the whole truth either. Since she had already run Dupree's sheet, she knew the woman was clean. There was something more though. Her fingerprints were on record, but it was noted that she was probably on file because she had traveled to Iraq with a USO tour, three times. Still, there was something missing in her explanation. Sofia didn't doubt that a seven years younger Sara had brought work home with her, but something still tickled at her senses. Something was off. Whether or not Catherine sensed the same thing was debatable. The CSI was much harder to read. Catherine Willows was a good interrogator, but had a reputation for going a little rogue with it. Sofia had no intention of letting Willows go crazy on this particular case.

She sat down beside Catherine and folded her hands on the table. "Hello again, Miss Dupree, we've only met in passing." That was a tactful way of saying 'I saw you lay one on my good friend Sara'.

"I'm Detective Sofia Curtis."

Alex's attention shifted from Catherine to Sofia. "I wish we were meeting again under better circumstances, Detective Curtis." Her words seemed genuine but her voice was still tight and guarded. Of course if Sofia had just been hauled in to a police station with little or no warning, she wouldn't be happy about it either.

"We just have a few questions for you."

Alex angled her head, "This couldn't be done at my hotel? You had to drag me from my breakfast down here in handcuffs?"

Sofia's face didn't betray her thoughts, but she did shoot a quick glance at Catherine. There was more to this story and neither woman was going to tell her.

"Forgive me if I'm not kicking back and talking football, showing you pictures of my nieces and nephews or updating you on my love life."

Sofia's lips quirked for a moment. Despite the circumstances, she was beginning to see what Sara had seen in the woman. Beside her, Catherine scoffed, "Well we're not interested in any of those things. You can tell me though, where you were this past Monday. The day, or more accurately, the night of Dedrick Marsh's death. And," Catherine added, "Wednesday." The night that Preston Abernathy was killed. It was Friday morning, almost afternoon, and Sofia could barely remember where she had been those days. Of course Alex Dupree had, presumably, gotten a little more sleep than she had.

Alex pursed her lips. "I was here and there, I've been on and off this tour, working in cities when I can. Vegas is the first one I've met back up with the tour on since New York. My plane got in-" She patted herself down, "Shit. Where the hell did I put my Blackberry? My manager and his assistant program all that shit in there so I know where I'm supposed to be." She sighed, "Lets see, my plane got in on Monday afternoon-ish from London and I went straight to my hotel and slept until around nine-ish, went to dinner over at the Luxor with Criss, then we went to a few clubs. We got separated and I went back to my room alone."

Catherine didn't bother to note anything down, "Back to your hotel alone?" She didn't sound particularly satisfied with that explanation.

Alex, though, only shrugged, "Yes, alone."

Catherine crossed her legs under the table and draped her arm over the back of her chair. "So, you went to your hotel and went to bed all alone, and woke up on Tuesday and did what?"

Across from her, Alex rolled her eyes. "I woke up around normal time, six thirty I guess, went to the VIP gym and used their equipment and pool, took a steam. After that-" Alex tilted her head back and looked at the ceiling, "I had a massage, then went back to my room." Again, she shrugged, "Took care of some business and left out about noon for lunch and shopping with Kim Kardashian. Then I caught a show with a couple of old friends who were having a little vacation here."

Catherine tapped her fingernails against the chair. "Your friends have names?"

Alex raised a brow, "Doesn't everybody?"

Sofia sighed, "I assure you this goes no further than this room."

Alex rolled her eyes once more. "All right, Detective, Nicole and Kieth, and I went to see one of the Cirque shows then retired to a private poker game at their hotel -- Ceaser's -- with a few other friends and before you ask, their names were Hugh and Sandra, they happened to be in town for a thing or something."

Catherine looked at Sofia and then back at Alex. "You're kidding me."

Alex shrugged, "Nope. Draw poker, Kidman fucking wiped me out. After that I called my car and went back to my suite at the Paris, alone."

Catherine still hadn't taken down any notes, "And what time was that?"

Alex only shrugged, "I thought you were interested in Monday and Wednesday."

Sofia, who was still skeptical about the entire thing, smiled, "Then tell us about Wednesday."

Alex blew out a breath. "Woke up around six-ish again, took a call from a designer in Milan while I ran on the treadmill, had breakfast with the tour ladies down in one of the bistros. Went to the college. Gave my speech, took questions, then I --" She paused for just a moment, "I ran into Sara, and you two and Greg." Catherine opened her mouth, but Alex continued, "Sahara told me a little about him earlier, she seems very fond of this Greg guy."

Sofia smiled, "He's a good guy. So what did you do after Sara and I took our leave?"

Alex chuckled, "I left before she shot me." The model pantomimed shooting a gun with her thumb and forefinger at Catherine. "And then I got in touch with some contacts."

Catherine, impatient now, snorted, "Contacts, for what?"

Alex crossed her arms, "That has nothing to do with whatever it is you're investigating me for."

Sofia shrugged, "This is just procedure, cut us a break here."

Alex sighed, "Sara is going to kill me when she finds out I talked to you without a lawyer. I sent out feelers for Sara, okay. Got the address of the Lab where she works and found out when her shift was so I could send her flowers, okay. Are flowers a crime now?"

Catherine, who had heard something about flowers this week, frowned, "And after that, what did you do that evening, because I know you weren't out with Sahara."

Alex's eyes went sharp and she sat up board straight. "You don't get to call her that."

Catherine almost grinned, "So where were you, alone again?"

Sofia could see Alex Dupree losing her cool. "No. I went to a club, got drunk and then got laid. I'm sorry I didn't really catch her full name, number and social security name for you. Now are we done?"

Catherine stood, "No, I have plenty of questions left."

Alex's chin went up, "Well, you're going to wait until my damn lawyer gets here to ask them." The super model crossed her arms over her chest and the conversation was essentially over.

Sofia stood up, "Do you need to call your lawyer?"

Alex blinked, "Sara said she would, besides, she has my phone and without that I have no idea what number I would call."

Sofia nodded and then opened the interview room's door. "Catherine?"

The CSI stood up slower, and didn't take her eyes off of Dupree as she stood. They would have left without another word but Catherine's cell phone began to ring.

It was not her work issued cellular phone that chimed off, but her personal one. The way Sofia knew it had to be Catherine's personal line because the LVPD definitely didn't make pop songs standard issue ring tones. Annoyed, Catherine quickly declined the call without even taking the phone out of its holder on the belt. They were still in the door when it went off again. Avril Lavigne's somewhat annoying and oddly catchy 'Girlfriend' played loud enough from the phone to be heard in the hallway. Alex, still in her chair at the table, looked at her and flipped her curls over her shoulder, "You might want to get that, it sounds important."

Catherine all but pushed Sofia through the door in front of her and slammed the steel door behind them.

"This is Catherine." She all but barked at her phone and Sofia felt bad for whoever it was on the line.

It was Lindsey, and that was all Catherine could figure out. "What's the matter. Lindsey?" She could not keep up with the shriek-like rapid pace teenage chatter. A little perturbed, "Lindsey, slow down, what is this all about, you know I'm at work."

"How could you do this to me?!"

Catherine blinked, "What?"

Her daughter took a deep breath. "I just saw you on television. You are ruining my life. I mean how could you!"

Catherine sighed, "Lindsey, I fail to see how-" The sixteen year old interrupted her, "YOU ARRESTED ALEX DUPREE!"

Catherine stopped mid-step. "What?"

Lindsey was on a roll now. "I just saw it. You arrested the top model on, like, the planet. I am now the daughter of the woman who ruined fashion. As if I wasn't enough of a freak, now I am like, a pariah! Plus, you like busted her right in the middle of a date or something! It's all over the internet and TV. It's totally turning viral! Stacey downloaded it from YouTube already!"

Partially ignoring her daughter's wild rant, Catherine went over to Jim Brass's currently empty office and switched on the television he had in it. The mid-day news was running the story. There was a nice shot of her leading the deputies and Alex Dupree out of the Paris and putting her in the car.

"Lindsey," She interrupted the teen's monologue, "I've got to go." She clicked the phone shut and let out a puff of breath as the anchor continued to expound upon the story. "Damn it. Damn it, damn it." The press had hold of it, which meant the Mayor would be calling soon and she was in the direct line of fire.

Behind her, Sofia cleared her throat. "Nice going, Willows." The blonde detective leaned against the door jamb, arms folded over her chest. "You do realize that Dupree can sue the Department, and you, for millions. This is circumstantial as hell and now the press is running with it."

Brass's unmanned phone started to ring and Sofia chuckled, "Great, it's already starting."

Catherine whirled around. "This is not circumstantial. She has something to do with it. I knowit."

Sofia pushed off the wall. "She's a super model, Catherine, not a homicidal maniac."

Catherine threw her hands up, "I can't believe this. I knew she had Sara eating out of the palm of her hand, but you? Sara, I can believe she would go for her innocent pretty girl in trouble act, but you, Curtis? God, are you that swayed by a pretty face?"

Sofia took two steps closer to Catherine, they were standing nose to nose. "I don't know where you get off, but get this straight. I am the Detective in charge of this case. You. Work. For. Me. I want your ass in that lab, working the evidence, until you have something to show me. No more of this bullshit. You brought her in because she's involved with TAN? Sara and I got a pamphlet, there are around two million TAN members in around one hundred and eighty chapters nation wide. You want to bring them all in?" She tore a sketch, the sketch that resembled Alex, from her folder. "And this?! You built this. This is completely inadmissible. You are toeing the line of fucking this case, my case completely!" Sofia's voice had rose to the point of shouting and the other detectives had taken notice.

It only took a minute for Capitan James Brass to make his way through the crowd, with a none too pleased Sara Sidle at his heels. "CURTIS!"

Sofia took a quick step away and looked at her him. "Jim-"

The seasoned Captan held up a hand. "Back to your desk."

Those who claimed he favored Sofia couldn't had backed their claim up at the minute for all the money in the department. The young detective opened her mouth, but was quickly cut off. "Now, Detective."

Still obviously angry, Sofia turned with military precision and stormed off. The gathered men and women opened a path for you as she passed them. Brass looked around him. "Don't you people have something to do?" The assorted plain clothed and uniformed cops quickly made themselves busy.

Brass brushed by Catherine and sat at his desk. Only after he had scrubbed his hand over his head and taken a drink of the stone cold coffee from the mug on his desk, he looked up at Catherine. "Cut Dupree loose."

Catherine looked behind her to catch a glimpse of Sara talking to a Armani-clad man in the hallway before she turned to look at Brass. "You're kidding."

Brass massaged his temple. "No. The Sheriff just called me. The lawyer called me. Gil called me. Cut her loose."

Catherine opened her mouth, but Jim, obviously highly annoyed, cut her off again. "I've heard. Video and connections, a theory. Until you can back that theory up, I don't want to hear any more. I respect you, Catherine, and what you do, but I do not appreciate you turning my department into a three ringed circus. Cut her loose. Lawyer assures me she'll stay in town."

Catherine's face set into a scowl. "But Sara-"

Despite its taste, Brass took another gulp of coffee. "I've already talked to Sara and she knows what's what right now." He held up a hand. "I'm coming to the Crime Lab tonight, at the beginning of shift. I want to hear the case whole and in its entirety then."

He turned to his paperwork. "I'll see you then, and Catherine, I never want to see you screaming at one of mypeople like that again. I mean it."

Capitan Brass waited until the fiery CSI was out of his office and his bullpen before he rose and took his coffee cup outside. He threw the remaining toxic waste into the sink and got a somewhat fresher cup. He paused at Sofia's desk on his way back to his office. "My office." She rose and followed him in and closed the door behind them without being asked. He waited until she sat down and stared her down.

"I'm taking lead on the case."

Sofia jerked up straighter, "What? You said yourself that I could handle it."

He didn't even blink. "That was before I saw you having a junior high bitch fest with Catherine Willows in my office."

Sofia had nothing to say to that. "I let you run with the case because you're sharp, you know the job and have a good head on your shoulders. You usually have good judgment and control." He took a drink and found that the coffee was only slightly better hot. "What the hell happened in here? Jesus, Sofia, I expect this from the knuckle draggers in uniform or even Vartann or Vega, but you?"

She let her hands fall to her lap. "I'm sorry, Sir, it just. She got under my skin. It's on the damn news. Her little bust today has compromised the entire investigation."

Brass folded his hands and his dark eyes went hard as stone, "That does not mean you can cause a scene like that. We have to work with the CSI, you know that. The Sheriff and Mayor are in on this now. Can I rely on you to hold your damn temper or do I need to take you off the case?"

Sofia sighed and pushed her hands through her blonde hair. "I'm fine, but if Catherine goes after Dupree again --"

Much as he had done earlier, Jim Brass held up a hand and cut her off. "Catherine is going to stay away from Alexandra Dupree. You are going to stay away from Alexandra Dupree. Sara is going to stay away from Alexandra Dupree. I don't want anyone in this department looking at a picture of her until we have something more circumstantial than some slide show and Catherine's temper." He took another drink and winced. "Now go home, Fia, you look like hell."

She stood up and turned to leave, but was stopped once more by her C.O.'s voice. "And Curtis, if I ever see you toe to toe and nose to nose with someone like that again, you better have joined the PD boxing team."

She mumbled off another "Yes Sir" and he dismissed her.

Alone in his office, Jim scrubbed his hands over his face again and again. He hadn't enjoyed that at all. Catherine was a solid colleague and a good friend. He had bought Lindsey onsies for God's sake. Sofia was his best investigator and a good woman. One he liked to have on his team and at his back. This case was a royal pain in his ass: if they made it to the end without shedding blood, they would all be lucky. He opened the case file that he had just taken back over and sighed. It was on days like these he wondered if he shouldn't turn in his retirement papers with his shift report.

Author's Note: That was fun.