Jasper clamped his molars together. He was smart enough to listen to his lawyer.
Instead of a direct question, Matt circled around. “What kind of reptiles did your brother like?”
But Jasper didn’t fall for it. He crossed his arms and kept quiet.
“Did Spencer keep any venomous snakes?” Matt asked.
Jasper dropped his hands to the table. “Venomous snakes aren’t evil or even aggressive. You just have to know how to handle them.”
Matt deserved a medal for not rolling his eyes or yelling bullshit. Exotic—and deadly—animals should be cared for by professionals. But he wanted to keep Jasper talking, so he agreed. “Lots of animals can be dangerous if you don’t know how to handle them.”
“Right?” Jasper rapped his knuckles on the table.
“Did Spencer have any other pets?” Bree asked.
“Hell no,” Jasper protested. “A dog or cat would mess up his fancy house. Spencer could never tolerate fur balls or muddy footprints. Plus, he’s too in love with himself. Not much left over for other creatures. He liked snakes because they’re clean and low maintenance. They don’t get attached.”
“Do you know anyone who is close to your brother?” Matt asked.
“Nope,” Jasper said. “Spencer never had friends.”
“Never?” Bree’s voice rang with skepticism.
“Nope. Not even as a kid.” Jasper’s brows knit, as if he were recalling a memory. “He could fake it around other people, but he never got close to anybody that I saw.”
“Fake what?” Bree pressed.
“Caring? Connection. I don’t know the terms, but Spencer really didn’t give a fuck about anyone but himself.” Jasper’s voice left no room for doubt.
Matt tried another approach. “Were you close as kids?”
“Not really.” Jasper shook his head. “We’re ten years apart, and neither one of us is the warm-and-fuzzy type.”
“How about girlfriends?” Bree tapped her pen on the table.
“He dated, but Spencer wasn’t a one-woman man,” Jasper said. “He kept them around long enough to get some sex, but not long enough for them to develop any attachment.”
Silence hovered for a couple of seconds. Then the lawyer shifted forward. “My client has answered all of your questions. You have nothing to link him to his brother’s death.”
Bree sat back. “We’re charging him with illegal weapons possession. The sawed-off shotgun is under the legal limit. Also, your client doesn’t have a permit for the handgun.”
The lawyer referred to his notes. “You can’t prove it’s his handgun. The kid could have brought it with him. In fact, maybe the kid brought all of the weapons.”
Bree’s gaze never left the lawyer’s. “Nice try, but we’ll prove it.”
“You’ll need to,” the lawyer said, his voice matter of fact rather than cocky. His gaze moved from Matt to Bree and back again, studying them. No, he was sizing them up.
Definitely shifty.
“The kid didn’t bring seventy-seven snakes with him,” Matt added. “Including illegal constrictors and rattlesnakes.”
“Don’t forget the endangered species,” Bree said. “And all the equipment in that basement.”
“We’re done here.” The lawyer didn’t blink. “Jasper, don’t say anything else.”
And that was that.
The lawyer left. Bree handcuffed Jasper and handed him over to a deputy to be transported to the jail and processed.
Matt stood and stretched. “The lawyer is right about our lack of evidence to tie Jasper to his brother’s murder, other than the shared interest in snakes.”
“The phone calls will show on his cell provider records.”
“He volunteered that information. He didn’t try to hide them.” Matt thought Jasper was pretty damned smart. “And there’s no way to prove the subject of the phone calls was anything other than what he stated.”
Bree collected her notes. “We have him on a weapons violation for the sawed-off and not having a license, illegal possession of wildlife, and illegal possession of venomous reptiles. If Ricky’s statement holds, we can add illegal sale of wildlife. Considering the dead animals, we’ll try to make animal-cruelty charges stick too.”
“We can try for reckless endangerment as well.”
Bree agreed with a nod. “I was hoping we’d be able to hold on to him for a day or so, but that slick lawyer will have him bailed out tomorrow. He has no priors. You know the drill.” They left the interview room. Stopping in the break room, she took two bottles of water from the fridge and handed one to Matt. Twisting off the cap, she took a deep swallow, her expression thoughtful. “He seemed surprised about his brother’s murder—and disturbed about the method. Could that have been an act?”
They headed to Bree’s office. Matt followed her example and drank some water. His eyes felt dry and gritty. “I wouldn’t rule him out. Some of his reactions seemed genuine, but at other times, he was clearly toying with us. Plus, he sells venomous snakes to minors, so I doubt ethics are an issue for him.”
“No kidding.” Behind her desk, Bree rapped a palm on her desktop. “Who sells a rattlesnake to a kid?”
“A psychopath.”
“Exactly. There are few lines a man like Jasper won’t cross,” Bree exclaimed. “We’ll have to wait for more evidence. On that note, Todd applied for warrants before he went home to grab a couple hours of sleep.”
Matt checked the time on his phone. Nearly four a.m. “Something we should both do.”
The first hours of an investigation were critical, but a catnap could keep them functioning better than no rest at all.
Bree nodded. “You’re right.” She shut down her computer, then they walked out of the station together. Their vehicles were parked side by side in the employee lot behind the building.
“Coming over?” Matt paused, one hand on the door of his Suburban.
“Yes. If that’s OK.”
“Of course it is.”
She’d taken to sleeping over when work kept her out late. She didn’t like to wake the kids or Dana by coming home in the middle of the night. Matt understood her struggle to balance work and family, but he wished she’d stay over occasionally when they weren’t preoccupied with a murder.
“You have a standing invitation,” he said. “You don’t need to ask.” He searched her eyes. “In fact, I’d love to have a weekend alone with you. Maybe we could go somewhere?”
“I’d love that.” But her smile was apologetic. “But I can’t even think about leaving the kids right now.”
“Maybe we can revisit the idea after this case.”
“It’s not just the case.” Pain slid across her face. “This will be their first Christmas without their mother. I don’t know how they’re going to cope.”
Guilt stabbed Matt in the heart. “I’m sorry. I should have thought of that. Of course you can’t leave them right now.”
Her eyes warmed. “You know I would love to take a trip with you.” She touched her own chest. “There’s nothing personally that’s holding me back.” She touched his forearm. “I’m committed to you—to us.”