Free The Wrong Man: A Novel of Suspense by Kate White

late thirties, wearing a short-sleeved white linen shirt. He seemed like the kind of guy who coached kids’ soccer on the weekends.
    “What can I get you to drink?” Todd asked. “Coffee?”
    “Just water, thanks,” she said. As he rose to fetch it, she suddenly felt overwhelmed with fatigue.
    “Give me a sec, too, will you?” Molinari asked. She crossed the room and spoke quietly to an older man at the far end. Probably, Kit figured, a boss who was eager for an update. She glanced worriedly at her watch. If she wasn’t out of there in thirty minutes, she would surely miss her flight.
    The two detectives returned almost simultaneously. After handing Kit a plastic glass of water, Todd perched on the edge of his own desk and Molinari sat at hers, typing notes on the computer. She asked Kit to start from the very beginning and describe X as best as she could and anything that he said or did that might be pertinent.
    She shared everything she recalled about X personally, including his supposed plan to head to Miami. She mentioned the dinner, just as she had with Ungaro, but nothing about visiting his room. As far as she was concerned, it was totally irrelevant. Matt Healy’s death had zero to do with her getting butt naked with X.
    “Did you see what kind of car he was driving?” Todd asked.
    “No, and I’m not sure if it was his own or a rental.”
    “Any other details about his background that might be pertinent?”
    “What difference would it make?” Kit asked. “It would probably all be a lie.”
    “You’d be surprised,” Molinari said. “Humans have a crazy need to reveal themselves, and sometimes even con artists slip in facts that are real.”
    Kit shook her head. “There’s nothing more than I’ve toldyou. Except that he said he had a sister who lived in Miami. But he never said where.”
    Molinari then mentioned that the New York City police would most likely be in touch with her in the near future.
    Great , she thought. It just goes on and on.
    Surreptitiously Kit checked her watch again, and saw that she was out of time. When she glanced back toward the two detectives, she caught them exchanging a look and wondered what it could mean. Molinari leaned forward.
    “You’ve been very helpful,” Molinari said. “But we need a bit more of your time.”
    Oh God, Kit thought. Was this going to explode somehow? She stared at Molinari, waiting in dread.
    “We’d like you to work with a sketch artist for us.”
    “But I’ll miss the flight,” Kit exclaimed.
    “Why don’t you give us your info and we can see if there’s another option available tonight. And Detective Todd will drive you to the airport.”
    Kit nodded wearily in consent.
    “Are you thinking that the man I met could have actually killed Matt Healy?” she asked. By chance, the buzz in the room had quieted almost instantly and her words carried across the bullpen.
    “We don’t know,” Molinari said. “At this point we’re still determining if the hit and run was premeditated. But as I told you earlier, I don’t like coincidences.”
    “Do you think I have anything to worry about?” Kit asked.
    Molinari toggled her head back and forth, as if she were weighing the question.
    “Right now there’s no indication this man is after you,” she said, “but it wouldn’t do any harm to be cautious.”
    And what did cautious mean? Kit thought glumly. Was she supposed to look over her shoulder every place she went?
    They managed to find another flight for her, an hour and a half later, and so she sat down with the sketch artist, describing X. It wasn’t hard. He was still strangely vivid in her mind, as if she’d stood looking into his eyes just moments ago.
    When the artist finally showed her the results, she caught her breath in surprise. It was him , staring straight at her. This time, though, there was no charm to his eyes, only a hint of malevolence. Had the artist interpreted that from something she’d said? She nodded