Free Daddy's Little Killer by LS Sygnet

you're curious why
I'm here, I need to ask you a few questions about the body inside
that house."
    "And I asked for a lawyer."
    "Cut the crap, Orion.  When did you get
back to Darkwater Bay?  For that matter, when did you really
leave Washington D.C.?"
    "What difference does it make?"
    "Depending on the victim's time of death, it
could be the difference between your alibi passing muster and this
charge sticking.  Geez, all I've heard from your pals is what
a great cop you were.  I'm not seeing that so far."
    "Screw you."
    "Missed your chance last night."
    "Diana Farber, who is she?"
    "A figment of my imagination.  It
shouldn't be so difficult for you to grasp the concept that
psychologists rather enjoy games, Orion.  That's all you
were."
    "Those would-be kidnappers weren't playing
games, were they?"
    "Probably not.  Then again, I'd imagine
I've pissed off more than my fair share of criminals over the past
decade.  That dead body in there isn't about me.  Fifty
percent of the people at this crime scene think she got in her
current condition with a little help from you."
    "I have nothing to say."
    "Personally, I think it's an astounding
coincidence that you found a body in the same condition more or
less, as your most infamously botched investigation.  Then
again, Daddy always taught me that there's no such thing as a
coincidence."
    "I would never harm Gwen or any other
woman!"
    A tiny smile quivered at the corners of my
lips.  "First name Gwen.  Now we're getting
somewhere.  Doesn't Gwen deserve justice for what happened to
her, Mr. Orion?"
    "She'll never get it from Darkwater Bay
PD."
    "Not even from your pals Briscoe and
Conall?  Briscoe, he was the mentor you mentioned last night,
wasn't he?  Is his partner Conall your best friend?"
    "I have nothing to say."
    "Bullshit.  Level with me, Orion. 
What were you really doing in D.C. this week?  Don't expect me
to believe that incident at the Ritz wasn't arranged by you to give
you an easy in with me.  Did Hardy send you to follow
me?  Are you working for Datello?"
    "What?" Orion snarled.  His wrists
strained against the cuffs, and for a second, I felt a pang of
anxiety that they'd snap.  "I hate that piece of shit!"
    "Which one, Hardy or Datello?"
    "I wouldn't walk across the road to piss on
Datello if he were on fire."
    "How did you get here before I did?"
    Orion masked his anger with a smirk, but his
eyes still glittered in the semidarkness.  "Nothing to say to
you.  Cop."  He spat the word like an epithet.
    At least he didn't call me a fed. 
"What's Gwen's last name?  You know how this works, I
presume.  If we're going to figure out who was the most likely
suspect to commit the crime, I need to know about the victim. 
Her name would be a step in the right direction."
    "Foster," through tight lips.
    "And was she the kind of friend you wanted
Diana to be last night?"
    Veins in his neck bulged.  "No," came
out clipped and terse.
    "Client then?"
    "I couldn't tell you even if I wanted
to."
    "There's no such thing as security
guard-client confidentiality, Orion.  Why were you standing me
up in Washington to be here with Gwen tonight?"
    "Emergency meeting."
    "And the nature of your business with this
client was what, exactly?"
    "Gwen was not my client.  She was an
old friend."
    "How old?"
    "Thirty-four." 
    I laughed softly.  "If that's old, I'm
downright geriatric, Mr. Orion.  Tell me, did you plan to let
me know that you weren't going to be around to play hero for me
tonight?"
    His eyebrows stitched together.  "Did
you plan to tell me you weren't gonna be in town, Doc?"
    "Don't call me Doc."
    "Did you?"
    "Perhaps I tried to leave you a message when
I left town."
    "You didn't."
    "No," I said.  "Nor did you.  Why
did you skip the last day of your conference to rush home?"
    "Legitimate work trumps rubbing elbows with
my competitors.  Hell, you were there when I got the
call."
    "Yet it didn't seem quite this urgent when
you got it, did it,