Chapter 300: Chapter 38
Liam’s white Lamborghini Aventador purred to a halt in front of the imposing entrance of the Zenplex, the new state-of-the-art facility where authorities conducted high-profile interrogations for important figures.
The sleek lines of the car mirrored Liam’s own ticulous appearance. As he stepped out, his face was a mask of emotionless precision. It was a rare sight to see Liam Thompson devoid of his usual charm and expressiveness, but today, he was a stud in cold detachnt.
Dressed in a perfectly tailored navy blue suit that hugged his athletic fra, the cut emphasized his broad shoulders and narrow waist, the rich fabric catching the light with a subtle sheen.
His presence was magnetic, drawing every eye as he strode into the building with long, confident strides. The polished leather of his shoes echoed against the marble floors, and the subtle scent of his cologne lingered in the air.
Everyone in the bustling corridor froze, their conversations halting mid-sentence as they turned to watch the must handso bachelor of all ti walk in like he owned the place.
Gasps of admiration and whispers of awe rippled through the crowd. Liam’s chiseled features, piercing black eyes, and impeccably styled hair made him appear as if he had stepped out of a glossy magazine.
His aura commanded attention, an unspoken authority that rendered the most composed individuals speechless.
With his three lawyers trailing closely behind him, each wearing an expression of determined professionalism, Liam walked with a deliberate, almost leisurely pace into the interrogation room.
The detectives already inside stiffened as he entered, but he paid them no heed. He moved with the grace of a predator, each step asured, exuding a controlled power as he didn’t co here to play, he was here on a serious case that would either cause them a lawsuit or put him behind bars.
He ignored all of them entirely as he approached the table, pulling a chair away with a smooth, practiced motion. He sat down, crossing his ankle over his left knee, his posture relaxed. Only then did he lift his gaze to et the eyes of the detective. "I’m here," he said, his voice a deep, calm timbre that filled the room.
Outside the interrogation room, the scene was one of barely contained chaos. Almost every female detective in the building had converged on the two-way mirror, vying for a glimpse of the man who had so effortlessly commanded their attention.
Among the people standing outside the mirror was Will Parker. He wasn’t in charge of the interrogation, so he stood outside to observe the activities inside. Nonetheless, his female colleagues in the office were starting to annoy him with how they were acting like they’d never seen a handso man like Liam Thompson.
Will Parker’s assistant peered through the two-way glass and remarked, "Interesting, the way he’s sitting in there like he is the king of the world."
Liam was sitting on the side facing the two-way mirror, but he’d angled his chair away from the table and was sitting with one foot propped on the opposite knee, his back to Will.
A tablet and pen were on the table near his elbow, along with an untouched cup of coffee provided by the agents. "He has turned his back on one lawyer, and he’s ignoring the others," the assistant comnted as he took in the scene inside the room.
"He doesn’t think he needs them," Will speculated. "I think he intends to handle this entirely by himself without the help of his lawyers."
"His lawyers undoubtedly warned him not to donate any of his DNA by drinking anything we give him," the assistant said. "He also knows this is a two-way mirror and that we’re probably standing out here."
As if on cue, Liam turned his head to the right and looked straight toward them with a blank, bored look.
"Fuck ," remarked a female agent by the mirror. "He’s even better looking in person. I’d give up anything to have a casual fling with a hunk like that."
Will ignored that and tipped his head toward the glass. "Here we go," he said. "Edward is going to start off with the photographs sent to us by that informant to give him the idea that we know all of his movents for months now."
Edward, the agent in charge of the interrogation, thumbed through the photographs they had been gathering from the unknown man who made them believe Liam was involved with the disappearance of his stepbrother and selected a close-up picture of Liam and Rayne kissing on the balcony at a hotel.
"Let’s work backward toward the day of your brother’s murder, shall we?"
Liam quirked a brow at him and said nothing.
"Can you explain this for ?" Edward said and casually tossed the photograph on the table towards Liam.
Liam leaned slightly forward, looked at it, and then at Edward. "Aren’t you a little old to need an explanation for this?"
Edward slapped another, similar photograph on the table, but this one was taken the night before at the villa, and Liam’s hand was on Rayne’s breast. "Explain this as well."
Liam barely flicked a glance at the photograph, his blood boiling at the sight of the woman in it. "What part of it don’t you understand?"
"That’s interesting," Will said. "I didn’t think it would be this easy to get a reaction out of him."
"I don’t see any reaction. He looks completely unperturbed," the female agent at the mirror argued.
"No, he clenched his jaw, but just for an instant. He’s angry, and he’s also very skilled at hiding it. Rember that in court," the assistant noted.
Edward took his ti putting the photos back into the right folder, letting Liam see that they had many photos of his activities on the island in the stack of files.
"Maybe we should start from the beginning, instead," Edward announced. "Where were you on the day Alvin Thompson disappeared?"
"I don’t know what day that was," Liam replied calmly. "He was gone for several days before his wife and son realized he wasn’t at the second mansion and reported him missing."
"Have you been to the Milo property in the past months since your brother went missing?"
"I haven’t been there in decades."
"You’re sure about that?"
"Positive."
Another detective took over. Reaching into an envelope, he removed a clear plastic evidence bag containing a leather button with a pattern and insignia on the front. "Do you recognize this?" he asked Liam.
His three lawyers tensed. "You don’t have to answer that, Mr. Thompson," one of them said quickly.
Liam ignored the warning. "It looks like the missing button from one of my overcoats."
"Do you know where we found this button, Mr. Thompson?" When Liam didn’t reply, the detective continued, "We found it stuck under the soil where your brother’s body was found. That place is located a few feet from the property line of the Thompson land, which belongs to you. You said you’ve not been there in decades. Do you want to rethink that answer?"
"No, it was right the first ti."
"Can you explain, then, how this button from your coat turned up in that place?"
"I can’t explain it."
The detective perched a hip on the corner of the table. "How do you suppose a button that you admit ca from a coat of yours got snagged under the soil of the land you’ve not been to in decades?"
"I repeat," Liam said patiently, "I can’t explain it."
The female agent at the mirror was too smitten by Liam’s charisma and deanor that she felt like lting. She shot a pleased look at Will and was surprised to see that he wasn’t impressed but was frowning, his hands shoved into his pockets.
"He’s not the murderer," Will said in answer to her puzzled stare. "And he’s sure he can prove it."
"What do you an? How?"
"I don’t know, but I have a hunch he’s getting ready to tell us. He has glanced at his watch twice, which ans he’s getting fed up and has soplace to be at."
In the interrogation room, the detective regarded Liam steadily. When he said nothing more, the detective put pressure on him. "Let
tell you how we think your coat button got stuck under that soil—"
"I’m sure it would be a very entertaining, imaginative story, but I’m a little short on ti. Do you have anything else you want to discuss other than this button?"
Liam had already decided to skip the upcoming mall luncheon banquet and leave the country as soon as he was done here, and the detectives were wasting his ti.
When the detective frowned at him and said nothing, Liam continued, "I’ll take that to an you don’t. In that case, here’s what you need to know: Alvin disappeared in October. The coat that button ca off of was made for
in Paris and delivered to
in Zen on Christmas day in winter."
Edward stepped forward and said in a good cop tone, "Where was the coat purchased, and can anyone there verify the date it was delivered to you?"
"I’ll give you my Paris tailor’s na. She can also tell you where the buttons ca from and verify that I have no other clothing with identical buttons."
"Where is the coat now?"
"I sent it back to her so that she could order a new button and nd the hole left by the last one. Is there anything else, or are we finished? I have a plane to catch."
"Not quite," Edward said. "When did you first discover that the button was missing from your coat?"
"In mid-January when I decided to wear it for the first ti. I took the coat out of the closet and realized that the button was gone. I don’t know where I lost it."
Will Parker stared through the window. "Either he doesn’t know, or he doesn’t want to believe it." Without shifting his gaze, he said, "Tell Edward to co out here."
The assistant knocked on the door and poked his head into the interrogation room. "I’m sorry to interrupt. Detective Edward, could I have a word with you?"
Edward strolled out, closed the door, and looked at Will. "Are you buying Thompson’s story?"
Will nodded. "For now, yes. Get his passport, and tell him not to leave the country until we’ve checked with his tailor and had a look at that coat ourselves."
Liam took one look at Edward’s face when he walked back into the interrogation room and knew what the man would say next. He stood up, wordlessly pulled his passport out of his inside jacket pocket, and tossed it onto the table. Then he picked up the coffee, took a swallow, and put the cup down.
"There’s your DNA, voluntarily given. Try not to mix it up with anyone else’s while you’re finishing your investigation. Anything else?" he clipped, while his attorneys rose to their feet and picked up their briefcases.
"Yes, don’t leave the country until you hear from us."
"I’ll heed that warning," Liam replied curtly. "And now you’d better heed mine: If I ever see any of those photographs anywhere, I will bury Will Parker—and you—under a mountain of lawsuits filed against both of you personally, along with the City of Zen and whoever your informant is. And while I’m at it, I’ll make sure the dia learns about your voyeuristic ’hobby’ of encouraging citizens to take private pictures of people. In short, I will sar your nas all over the press."
"Are you threatening ?" Edward asked stiffly.
"Didn’t I just make that clear?" Liam snapped, glaring at all the agents in the room and started walking towards the door, followed by his smirking attorneys. Then he turned back and aid his next threat toward the two-way mirror at Will Parker.
"I’ll give you the rest of the afternoon to get in touch with my sisters and Ashley Thompson and explain to them that I had nothing to do with Alvin’s death. If you fail to convince them, I’ll bring them to your office in the morning, and you can do it in front of ."
After Liam left, Parker opened the door and walked into the interrogation room.
"That’s why I didn’t want to cross that guy," he remarked idly, gazing at the open door.
Transferring his gaze to Edward, he said, "et
in my office tomorrow at eleven and bring all the files with you. I know who murdered Alvin Thompson. And while we are still at this, look into that informant who kept sending us information."
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