Free A Wicked Truth by M. S. Parker

coated with the sticky mess. Only then did I release him.
    My day was already off to a better start than yesterday. I just hoped it continued to be that way.
    Considering I had to go talk to my favorite detectives today, I doubted it.
    ***
    I'd dressed carefully for my 'interview' today. A black skirt and a nice blouse that would've been appropriate for work, but weren't too dressy for just coming into the station. I wanted to look like I could be on my way to work, but that I could also just have dressed this way to come in and talk. I wasn't planning on lying to the cops if they asked about my job, but I wasn't going to offer the information either. It wasn't any of their business that I'd been suspended. Hell, it was their fault. Them and their stubborn insistence that I must have been involved in Allen's death.
    I didn't want them to completely overlook me, since that would mean they were doing their job correctly and considering all possibilities, but I did want them to get their heads out of their asses long enough to realize that I didn't deserve to be the main focus of their attention.
    I paused a moment by my car to smooth down my neat, black pencil skirt and then patted my hair to make sure nothing was out of place. I wanted to look calm and collected, but not cold. It was a good thing I'd had at least a couple years teaching under my belt. It helped me maintain that balance between professional and cordial that working with kids required. I couldn't keep myself too distant from my students, or they'd think I didn't care, but too friendly was inappropriate. Teaching had also given me practice in keeping my emotions from showing too much on my face. Especially when working with elementary students, a teacher couldn't let their personal life affect how they treated their students.
    I'd just have to think of Detectives Reed and Rheingard as second graders. At least, I thought wryly, it wouldn't be that difficult with Detective Reed. He didn't appear to be the most evolved person I'd met.
    I went inside and walked straight past the desk sergeant. I knew where I was going. Both detectives were already at their desks. Reed was nursing a cup of coffee while Rheingard looked busy with some paperwork. I wondered if any of it had to do with me.
    “Good morning, Detectives.” I kept my voice pleasant, as if the last time I'd seen them, they hadn't been accusing me of homicide.
    “Mrs. Lockwood.” Detective Rheingard looked up, raising an eyebrow. “We weren't expecting you so early.”
    “Since I had to cancel yesterday, I figured I should come in early today.”
    “Feeling any better?”
    I turned from Rheingard to Reed and suppressed a scowl. The expression on his face clearly said that he didn't believe that I'd been sick. While that hadn't technically been true, at least in a physical sense, I hadn't been emotionally capable of talking to them last night. That counted as sick, at least in my book.
    “Better enough,” I said. “Should I take a seat?” I gestured towards the chair next to Reed's desk. I knew we'd end up in an interrogation room again, but I figured it couldn't hurt to try. I was, after all, in here voluntarily.
    “Why don't we go somewhere a little more private?” Rheingard suggested, pushing back from his desk.
    “You should remember the way.” Reed smirked at me as he stood.
    I didn't bother to respond. I'd figured out their interrogation strategy before, though I did wonder if Reed's ignorance and statements intended to provoke were intentional or just part of his obnoxious personality.
    “Please have a seat, Mrs. Lockwood.” Rheingard held the door open for me to go inside.
    I settled in the same chair I sat in before and folded my hands on the table in front of me. Reed and Rheingard sat down, the latter across from me.
    “With your permission, Mrs. Lockwood, I'd like to record our interview.” Rheingard put a small recorder on the table between us. His eyes cut towards his partner,