Free The Equalizer by Midge Bubany

be more specific?” I asked.
    “Yeah, he went after Lisa Kelly, his secretary.”
    Whoa. Our model citizen went after his secretary? “You know this for a fact?” I asked.
    Jack brought his hand to his forehead and sighed. He didn’t look happy.
    “Sure! Jack knows too.”
    Jack sat forward and rapped his knuckles on the table. “No basis. Move on. We’ll discuss that later, Cal.”
    Bob’s eyes flickered. I couldn’t let that kind of information slide.
    I avoided eye contact with Jack as I leaned forward. In my peripheral vision, I saw him lean back. “Tell me what you know about it.”
    “Well, about a week ago, Lisa came into Cadillac Jack’s all upset. Said that Ted trapped her in the file room and felt her up.”
    “How did you feel about that?” I asked.
    “It pissed me off. She was young.” Bob had raised his voice and started using his hands. “He was all fatherly toward her at first. Helped her find an apartment and all. Then he come on to her like that?”
    “That kind of behavior would make a guy angry,” I said.
    “Definitely.”
    “Where you were yesterday morning when you heard the shots?”
    “I told you I dint hear no shots.”
    “Who did you see?”
    “No one . . . see that’s why I walk there,” said Bob with an edge to his voice—just what I wanted.
    “Mr. Brutlag, two men were brutally murdered and you’re the only person we know who was at the scene. You live a short distance but didn’t see anything and didn’t hear rifle shots. You stated you didn’t like Kohler and his behavior made you angry. Now, I put that all together and well . . . I’ve got a suspect.”
    Bob drew his head back and said, “ A suspect? Pftt.”
    “Bob, answer the question,” said the sheriff in a patronizing manner.
    “Was there a question there?” Bob said. A corner of his mouth turned up. His tone was like a sassy kid’s. I believed he was fueled by Jack’s attitude.
    “I don’t have to prove I’m innocent for Christ’s sake. You have to prove me guilty, and that’s gonna be pretty damn hard, ’cause I dint shoot nobody.”
    With that, he sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. Jack stifled a smile with his hand. I felt a spike of anger, but I tried not to react. Jack was undermining me. His face would not be caught on camera, but mine would. Jack began tapping the eraser tip of his pencil on the table. Tap, tap, tap, tap. I wanted to grab it and break it in half and throw it across the room.
    Brutlag’s expression made me think he’d become overconfident. “Ted was already dead when I found him. End of story.”
    I had to regain control. “Not quite. What did you do after you saw Kohler in the boat?”
    He punched his words out: “I went home to call 911.”
    “You a married man?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Can your wife verify when you left the house and returned?” I asked.
    “No, she’s in Texas visiting her mom.”
    “Your wife’s name is?”
    “Juanita.”
    “She works at Buzzos. Is that correct?” I asked.
    “Yes,” said Bob.
    “Did she ever have problems with either man?” I asked.
    “I know Kohler flirted with her and the other waitresses,” said Bob.
    “More reason to not like him, right?”
    “Right. Look, I’m not hiding anything here.”
    “He flirted with your wife and molested his own secretary, which made him a hypocrite in your eyes.”
    “Yeah, so?” Bob said.
    “So he should have been stopped, right?”
    “Damn right!” he shouted.
    “And you stopped him!” I said.
    “No!” Bob shouted. He sniffed, jerked his head, and glared back at me. After a few seconds, he said, “I know what you’re trying to do. It wasn’t me who killed either one of ’em.”
    Bob was like a rubber band pulled tight. I remained silent and kept eye contact. He’d look at me for a few seconds then down at his hands, then back at me. It was only about fifteen seconds before he looked at Jack and asked, “Can I have some more coffee and another doughnut? Damn