I’d seen photos of him, so I had some idea of what to expect: reasonably attractive, dark brown hair and eyes, thick eyebrows, and a strong jaw. But he looked better in person.
He was just under six feet and in good shape. He wasn’t Rob Lowe or Colin Farrell gorgeous, but I’d say he was hot enough to snag more than his fair share of attention. Even though Chloe had been more than twenty years younger than he was, I could see the attraction. I guess. I mean, he was a cop, after all.
He shook hands with Alex and Michelle, introduced himself, and thanked them for staying past what he was sure were their normal hours. “I’m sorry I’m late. The traffic was really bad coming over the hill.”
I could well believe that. He lived in the Valley-in Porter Ranch, to be exact, which was one hell of a schlep for him at this time of day. I left my office and went over to him as I held out my hand. “Samantha Brinkman.”
A warm, slightly surprised smile spread across his face as he took my hand. The softness in his eyes gave me a bit of a surprise, too. His grip was strong, but not a “drop you to one knee” bone crusher. “Thank you for seeing me, Ms. Brinkman.”
I didn’t tell him to call me Samantha. I’d see if things got that far. “Come on in.”
I could tell just by the way he’d handled the introductions that Dale Pearson wasn’t your typical barbecue, beer, and broads cop. And he’d dressed to show respect, in a pale-blue button-down collared shirt and black slacks.
He was seemingly relaxed as he sat in the chair across from my desk with his legs crossed guy-style, ankle on top of knee. But his hands were clutched in his lap as though he was afraid that if he let go, they’d start throwing haymakers. I’d given him a thumbnail sketch of my experience, graduated with honors from Loyola Law School, spent seven years in the public defender’s office, handled two hundred homicides, and so on. Dale nodded, but I got the feeling I wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know, so I moved on to the meat of the matter.
“Everything you say here is privileged, and the more I know, the better off you’ll be. So I encourage you to be as forthcoming as possible. Okay?”
Dale nodded, but his look was guarded. That was pretty typical. No matter how many times I gave that spiel, I had yet to find a client who really spilled all the beans-then or ever. “I understand the victims’ apartment was burglarized about two months before, and you responded to the call. What was a homicide detective doing on a burglary call?”
