Detective Read Online Free Page B

proceeded with
deliberate slowness, taking time for
comments. So you were born in
August, Maggie? Hey, so was 1. That
makes us Leos, but I don't really
believe in that zodiac crap. Do you?
    Despite the low-key approach, the
girl was still wary, so Jorge let
the pre-interview run on, though he
had not yet mentioned the crime
being investigated.
    Maggie, just a few more personal
details. Are you married?. . . No?
Me neither. Maybe someday. Well, how
    26 Arthur Halley
    'bout a boyfriend? Kermit? Well, I'm
afraid Kermit's in trouble, too, and
not a lot of help to you right now.
Maybe he's the one who got you here.
. . How about your mother?... Wow!
You never saw her?... Well, how
about your father?... Okay, okay, no
more questions about them.
    Jorge sat close to Thorne,
occasionally touching her arm or
shoulder. With some suspects, he
might hold their hand, even perhaps
induce tears. But Thorne was tough,
so Jorge held back. There were
limits, though, to how long a pre-
interview could last.
    Is there anyone at all you'd like
me to contact for you, Maggie?. . .
Well, if you change your mind, be
sure to tell me.
    From outside, Ainslie waited
tensely to witness the Miranda
declaration. Meanwhile he watched
the girl. There was something
familiar about her face, but despite
a facility for "flash
recognition" an identification
system in which police were
trained he couldn't place her. The
elusiveness puzzled him.
    Okay, Maggie, there's a lot more
to talk about, but I do have to ask
you this: Are you willing to keep
talking to me just like we're doing
now without an attorney present?
    Jorge was walking a hairline,
though still within legal bounds.
    Almost imperceptibly, Thorne
nodded. Good, 'cause I'd like to
keep talking too. But there's
something we need to get out of the
way you know how regulations are. So
I have to tell you this, Maggie, for
the record. You have the right to
remain silent. . .
    The official formula continued,
the wording more or less: You need
not talk to me or answer any
questions. . . Should you talk to
me, anything you say can be used as
    DETECTIVE 27
    evidence against you . . . You have
the right to an attorney at any time.
. . If you cannot afford an attorney
one will be supplied free of charge
. . .
    Ainslie listened carefully.
Although police interview rooms were
mainly soundproof, voices could
penetrate the one-way glass in front
of him, so later he could testify, if
needed, that the Miranda warning had
been given. Never mind that Jorge's
voice had become offhand and casual;
the right words were what mattered,
though Thorne seemed scarcely to be
paying attention.
    It was time for Jorge's second
calculated gamble.
    Now, we can either keep talking,
Maggie, or I go back to work and you
won't see me anymore. . .
    On the girl's face a look of doubt:
What happens next if this guy
disappears?
    Jorge recognized the signs. He was
close to success.
    Maggie, do you understand what I've
just said?... You're sure? . . .
Okay, so that's out of the way . . .
Oh, just one thing! I need you to
sign this piece of paper. It confirms
what we've been saying.
    Thorne signed the of ficial release
form, her handwriting scrawly but
certifying that after having been
informed of her rights she had chosen
to talk to Detective Rodriguez
without a lawyer present.
    Ainslie put away the notes he'd
made. Jorge was in the clear, and
Ainslie, already convinced of the
pair's guilt, believed there would be
at least one full confession within
the hour.
    As it turned out, there were two.
    As Jorge's questioning
continued first of Thorne, then, in
the other room, of Kaprum it became
evident they had had no coherent plan
to begin with, a fact that caused a
    28 Arthur Halley
    capital crime to be committed
instead of simple robbery. Then,
afterward, they had seriously
believed they could get away with it
by concocting a stew of lies, all of
which seemed ingenious to them but
ludicrous to anyone with
crime-solving experience.
    Jorge to Thorne: About