Bill and I stopped at the door, but before we could knock, it jerked open.
“Get in here, Murphy,” Roger bit out.
With a raised brow, I looked at Bill and then entered Doug’s office. It wasn’t like Roger to pull such a power trip. I understood that he was pissed; I’d been when Sydney told me, too.
Sydney was sitting in one of the office chairs with Wesley sitting next to her. Doug was sitting behind his desk, looking like he had been dragged through hell about ten times over. I felt sorry for the guy. I knew he wanted to grieve his daughter’s death, but he also had to make sure it was properly investigated.
“Sydney?” I asked, looking at her like I was surprised to see her.
“Hi, Mike.” Her response was soft and low. She wouldn’t meet my gaze at all.
“Did you know there was a flash drive on the body?” Roger asked me.
Sydney snapped, “It wasn’t on her body. I’ve told you this three times. Why are you twisting my words? It was across the room. I was upset, and I reached down and picked it up. I wasn’t thinking. Mike was outside the room calling the station. When Mike came back into the room, I was distraught. That was my best friend I was looking at. Mike said something about having to leave because people were coming. My head was spinning, and I had the jump drive in my hand.”
“You didn’t think to give it to your boyfriend?” Roger snapped.
“Roger.” Doug and I spoke at the same time. Doug gave him a warning look and shook his head. I wanted to punch the fucker.
Wesley interjected, “Let’s remember that we’re here in good faith. If you want to create a hostile environment, we can take this to court, which I’m certain will bog down this investigation. I suggest professional respect if we want to keep this informal. I will allow my client to clarify, but tread carefully, officers.”
Sydney waited for Wesley to give her the go-ahead before she spoke again. “Like I said, Detective McGregor, I was distraught. Not thinking clearly. Confusion, anger, fright—they were all swimming in my head. I don’t even remember slippi
ng it into my pocket until I was walking home after I was released from the scene. The moment I figured out what I had done, I called Wesley because, believe it or not, I do realize it was an error on my part.”
“An error?” Roger’s face was red as he bellowed, “You took evidence from a goddamn crime scene!”
Sydney flinched. Wesley stood. “Enough. If you are going to treat her this way, we will leave—unless you intend to arrest her.”
“Why are you yelling at her?” I stepped in front of McGregor and lowered my voice. “You need to take a moment and pull yourself together, detective. It’s been a long night for all of us, especially for Doug and Sydney. We both know this type of interrogation isn’t going to work. So why don’t you take a breath and if you have to, step out of the room.”
Roger stared at me, an angry look in his eyes. Then he seemed to realize what he was doing. With a frustrated sigh, he turned back to Sydney. Wesley remained standing, ready to leave.
“Did you see what was on the jump drive?”
Wesley nodded again to Sydney as he lowered himself back in the chair. She took a breath. “No. The moment I realized I had it, I called Wesley.”
Then he looked at me. “And you didn’t know she had taken anything from the scene?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “If she had told me she found evidence, I’d have made her turn it over right away. Like I did with the coin and letter.”
Roger nodded and looked at Doug. “It’s your call.”
Sydney wiped a tear from her cheek and rubbed her hands together in a nervous gesture. “Doug, you know I would never do anything to jeopardize the investigation into what happened to Vickie. She was… she was…”
When she broke down in tears, I wanted to reach for her, but Wesley was there. He wrapped his arm around her, and she leaned into him. I tried not to let it bother me. Sydney said they were friends, and I had to trust her.
Doug slowly exhaled before speaking. “Sydney, I know. I also know it’s not every day you stumble upon a body, let alone the body of your best friend. You realized what you did and came to me. I’m going to take your word you didn’t make a copy of the drive and we are going to move on.”