Chapter 43

We sat in the lobby of the precinct… again. This place was getting on my nerves.

"What am I going to say?" I twisted the remainder of my dress in my hands.

"I'm sure you'll think of something." Monroe reached for my hand, halting the further assault of my outfit.

My stomach was in knots as I came up with what to say while we waited. Confronting Madame Dazzles was easy, but explaining why I was holding her down… Well, that wasn't.

"Renée," Nick said as his head poked around the corner. I shook as I stood. Closing my eyes briefly, I begged the practiced calm to take hold, and then walked the corridor to Nick's desk.

"Okay, so we need to get some kind of statement from you." Nick gave a slow shake of his head. "I don't know how to write this up."

"Just write that I figured out it was Lydia Swift since I saw her at the museum."

"It's not that easy. How did you know it was her?"

"While I was at the gala tonight, I recognized her eyes. They were the same blue as the thief."

Nick crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair. "Okay, so how does that lead to you holding her down in a back room with your dress torn?"

I held my hand to my head. "When I recognized her, I confronted her about being the thief. She panicked and forced me to the back room. I tried to flee and that's when I saw you… so I cried out. She pulled me back and drew her crossbow… But I was able to knock it away and hold her down… in self-defense. That's what was happening when you guys came through."

"Yeah, maybe…" He rested his arms on top of the desk and slouched forward. "But it seems unlikely you were able to take her down like that."

"She wasn't exactly dressed to kill. Her heels and gown made it easier to knock her off balance, so…"

"Why the hell did she even have a crossbow at an art gala?"

I shrugged. "Why did she have a crossbow at all? I don't know, Nick. She had her things in that back room."

Nick was clickity-clacking on his keyboard, eyes forming dark clouds. "If I get this report done, it'll be a miracle. The captain is expecting this done right. Any mistakes now could cost us the investigation."

"You have her in custody, and obviously you have something more on her than what I told you." I tilted my head slightly. "So what did you find on her?"

"I looked into the donations from a different angle. It seems the same car was seen at all three locations. After locating a good camera shot from outside, the plates were registered to Lydia Swift."

"But the donations don't necessarily mean she was the thief, right?"

"No. While there's nothing illegal about donating money, there is something illegal about donating marked bills from a bank robbery from three years ago."

"Oh my! So the money…?"

"Yeah, when the food bank tried to deposit the cash, the serial numbers came up in the database. Whoever paid her for the last theft probably set her up. I did a background on her. Lydia Swift only goes back a few years, which leads me to believe it's not her real name."

"But that still doesn't link her to the theft."

"Well, she did that on her own tonight. We were coming to investigate the donation, but after the phone call from Monroe… Well, you'd already figured out more than I had… apparently. Finding the murder weapon tonight filled in the missing link in the chain."

"Right, the crossbow."

The murder weapon would surely link Madame Dazzles to the murders and the thefts. The memory of that thing pointed at my head a second time sent a shiver through me. Perhaps I did assume too much.

"Once forensics matches it up with the arrow we found tonight, it should be enough to take to a jury. But that doesn't answer how you knew it was Lydia Swift." His stormy eyes glared at me. "It was more than just her eye color, right?"

"There were a few things. Actually it was Monroe that helped me figure it out." I explained the watch lesson Monroe had given me. "So sure enough, Lydia wore her watch on her right hand. When I thought about it further, I recalled her filling out forms with her left hand. Lydia had also mentioned once before that she held these galas as her way to give back to the community. It fit the Robin Hood theme. And those blue eyes. I knew I'd seen them before. It also didn't hurt that she showed herself when I told her I'd seen her true colors at the museum." I gave him a smirk.

"Keep your voice down," he motioned with his hands.

"Sorry. So, do you have enough for your report?" I asked.

Nick shrugged. "I'll work something out."

Captain Debonair walked toward us, stopping at Nick's desk. "We're ready to begin with Miss Swift. Did you finish with Miss Davenport here?"

"Yes. I think we got what we needed." He stood up and so did I.

"Miss Davenport, it seems the force needs to thank you for helping us on this case."

"Just doing my civic duty," I croaked out a reply.

"Well, perhaps we'll be seeing more of you… since you're a friend of Nick's." He looked into my eyes like that statement meant more than he wanted to let on.

Nick seemed taken aback. "Captain, I…"

"If you'll please excuse us, we have some questioning to do." The captain said before Nick could finish his sentence. Those hazel green eyes regarded me with another twinkle, but it vanished almost as quickly. Thank goodness I hadn't had to give my statement in the CSI room with him again.

"Detective Burkhardt, if you need anything else, you have my number," I said in a professional tone.

Nick looked daggers through me like I'd just said that I would talk to him at the secret Grimm clubhouse. I couldn't help it if the captain was smart enough to see through the charade that we didn't know each other. It wasn't like he was aware of everything, like why we knew each other.

Both men walked away and I headed back to Monroe. I let my breath out as I saw his face. Wonderful, chivalrous Monroe. What would I ever do without him?

"So, did you two figure out what to say?

"Yeah, I believe I've said enough."

A/N: So the captain has figured out Nick and Renée aren't strangers. But he's probably known for a while, huh?