Kathryn Warner was the very picture of calm self-possession when Frankie entered the interview room, closely followed by Eric. She was tall for a woman, with shoulder length brown hair, subtly highlighted, and soft brown eyes. Alexx was right, Frankie mused, she is a pretty woman. Very pretty. And well aware of it, if the way she kept running her fingers through her hair was any evidence. Warner was also very well dressed, and Frankie spotted a high-end designer watch on her wrist. A designer that would be difficult to afford on an insurance adjustor's salary. Frankie smiled to herself as she sat down. Criminals always made the same mistakes. It would be infuriating if it wasn't so helpful.
"Thank you for coming in Ms Warner. We do appreciate the co-operation." Polite to start with, don't let her know how much is really known, that was the key Frankie thought.
"Ah just hope you catch that awful man who sent me that package!" Warner's accent reminded Frankie momentarily of Calleigh's, but Warner's accent was far more pronounced. She leaned back in her chair and pulled out a cigarette, before gesturing to Eric. "If you would be so kind, sir?"
Eric's eyes widened, but he said politely, "I'm afraid we have a no smoking policy inside this building." Warner's smiled dimmed for a second, and a flash of annoyance appeared in her eyes, but she put the cigarette away without any argument.
Frankie smothered a smile. "It's about that package that we need to talk to you." Warner transferred her attention back to Frankie for a brief moment, interest showed clearly, before she turned back to Eric and smiled at him. "We think there may be a link between the attempt on your life and the bomb at the Everglades Open Centre. Have you ever been to the Centre?"
Warner blinked in surprise – she really was a very good actress, Frankie thought – and shook her head. "No, never. What on earth makes you think those horrible attacks are linked?"
Eric answered before Frankie could, and she hoped he remembered not to give too much away. "Our explosives expert has noticed that the bombs were identical in composition and structure. We really need to know if there are any links between you and the people at the Centre."
Eric was doing well, Frankie thought. Horatio was right, he was ready to move up to CSI Level 3. She pushed a piece of paper over to Warner and said, "This is a list of the victims claimed by the blast at the Centre. If you know any of them, let us know."
Warner scanned the list quickly, and then shook her head. "No, I don't know any of these people. Wait, yes, one of the names is familiar." Both Frankie and Eric leaned forward expectantly, albeit surprised that she should admit the acquaintance. "Amanda Hardy. I think she has a policy with Sunshine State. I'm sure I've written to her." Frankie sighed and sat back in her chair.
"I doubt this is about an insurance claim gone bad," she said dryly. "I'm curious – where did you live before you came to Miami?"
Warner looked startled, truly startled for a second, but she recovered nicely. "Well, I don't know that it's any of your business, Ms Nelson, but I lived in North Carolina for many years. Charleston is a beautiful city. Have you ever been?"
"I'm afraid not." Frankie paused for a moment, wishing Horatio was doing this interview. He was so much better at the sudden 'reveal' of information that would fluster a suspect and trip them up. "What name did you use in Charleston, Ms Warner?"
Kathryn Warner lost all her colour and stared at them, her eyes wide. "What? How…I…you, I mean." She took a deep breath. "What are you talking about?"
"Your name wasn't Kathryn Warner while you were living in North Carolina. We know, because I spent all of yesterday trying to find where you lived before Miami. And I can't find any trace of you. So you weren't in North Carolina under this name." Eric's tone was hard.
"I changed my name. That's hardly a crime." Kathryn had regained her poise now. "I really don't see why I'm being treated as a criminal here. I'm the victim! Why all the questions?" Her voice, now that she had got over the initial shock, had taken on a wounded tone. Frankie watched her admiringly. Really, she should have gone into acting rather than crime.
"Not registering the change of name is a crime though," Eric snapped. She turned a cold look on him, but he met it seriously.
"I was running from an abusive relationship. I was scared," she said flatly.
"So what was your name?"
Warner hesitated long enough for Frankie to confirm that she had been involved in something criminal – and the bank robberies seemed like the most likely candidates – before she said very quietly, "Kathryn Ellison."
"Thank you." Frankie smiled as Eric stood up abruptly. "If you wouldn't mind waiting here Ms Warner – I mean Ellison – we need to pursue a few more lines of inquiry." She followed Eric out of the door, and touched his arm lightly. "What's up? You're very snappy all of a sudden."
"We need to find her partner – the one that got away, and we're wasting too much time playing games with this woman!"
"If we're right about the motives behind the bombings, then there won't be any more until Kathryn leaves here. We can't afford to scare her off Eric. We have no evidence to prove she did anything wrong. At the moment, she is just a victim." Frankie spoke soothingly and Eric looked annoyed.
"I know. It just grates that those kids died because of her and David Barker. If they hadn't robbed that bank, those two little kids would still be alive." More like Horatio than he knew, Frankie thought to herself.