Free A Reason to Believe by Diana Copland Page A

strode into the squad room, his
    face flushed and his jaw hard.
    Matt didn’t like Preston, he never had. With his
    movie-star-handsome face and his thousand-dollar
    suits, he seemed too much like someone from
    central casting starring on a TV show. He also
    wasn’t subtle in his inferences that cops weren’t
    terribly bright, so there weren’t many on the force
    who liked working with him. Matt had never been
    assigned to a case Preston was prosecuting, but
    he’d heard stories.
    When he saw Matt, Preston stopped, his eyes
    narrowed. “You.” He pointed a finger as he
    approached. “Bennett, right?”
    “Yes, sir,” he answered automatically.
    “You found the Reynolds kid’s body, didn’t
    you?”
    Matt swallowed when he saw the glare aimed in
    his direction from Captain Branson, who stood
    behind Preston with his hands in his pockets. He
    nodded warily.
    “Why haven’t you been working this case for the
    last few days? This is the most important case we
    have.” He turned to glare at Branson. “All hands
    on deck, Captain. I would think I shouldn’t have to
    tell you.”
    Branson returned his glare, his lips so tight there
    was a white line around them. “Detective Bennett
    is out on personal time, sir.”
    “Personal time?” Preston turned his eyes back to
    Matt. “What could be more important than catching
    the killer of this little girl?”
    Matt started to speak, but Branson beat him to it.
    “Family tragedy, sir.”
    Matt looked at his superior officer but bit his
    tongue and held his silence.
    “Oh.” Some of the fire seemed to drain out of
    Preston. He glanced once more at Matt, as if
    unsure whether or not he wanted details.
    Apparently deciding he didn’t, he said “Sorry” and
    stalked around him to punch the elevator button. “I
    want the evidence gathering wrapped up in the next
    two days,” he added without turning. “This needs
    to go before the grand jury by New Year’s.”
    The doors to the elevator slid open and Preston
    disappeared from view. Branson turned on his heel
    and stormed back to his office, slamming the door
    so hard the glass shook within the frame.
    “A plethora of assholes,” Ed murmured.
    Matt sent him a small, grim smile before he
    ignored the elevator and headed for the stairs.
    Once in the Bronco, Matt called the number
    Kiernan had scrawled on a piece of hotel
    stationery, and was surprised when the man
    answered on the second ring. “Are you still
    interested in going to the little girl’s house?” he
    asked.
    “Of course,” Kiernan answered without
    hesitation. “We should be done here by four. Is that
    all right?”
    “That should be perfect.”
    What he neglected to tell him was that he didn’t
    plan to call ahead for permission. He didn’t want
    to invade the Reynolds’ home, but he was
    convinced if he told them why he was coming
    they’d be denied access. If he just showed up with
    Kiernan…well, he might be denied anyway, but it
    would give them less chance to think about it. He
    wasn’t overly proud of the impulse, but he was
    curious to get Kiernan in the house and to see what
    he could come up with.

    * * *
“Shit.”
    When Matt pulled up outside the gates of the
    Reynolds’ spacious home, there was a small
    crowd gathered. Two news vans were parked in
    front of the house and a small contingent of people
    dressed in heavy coats, hats and gloves lingered
    near the driveway.
    “Problem?”
    He glanced in the rearview mirror at Aidan
    Fitzpatrick. “Just media,” Matt answered. “I
    should have figured they’d have the place staked
    out.” Kiernan was studying the crowd on the street
    with interest. “You might want to duck down, just
    until we get into the driveway. I doubt you’d like
    to see your face on the evening news.”
    Kiernan gave him a cheeky grin as he unfastened
    his seat belt and slid down into the well in front of
    the seat. He was wearing worn jeans, scruffy red
    high-top sneakers and a faded hoodie over a