“Because I can,” she answered, like it was simple. “Because it’s fun. Because watching y’all spin around chasing your tails all day has been the most entertainment I’ve had in ages.” She gave a rascally chuckle. “If that’s a crime, then arrest me.”
“Okay.” Will stood up. He pulled a set of handcuffs out of his back pocket. “Please stand.”
“What are you doing?”
“Samantha Lewis, I’m placing you under arrest.”
“What the hell for?” She was talking tough, but there was genuine concern in her eyes. “You can’t prove I had anything to do with that robbery. You can’t prove what happened with Billie was anything but self-defense.”
“You’re probably right,” Will allowed. “But I’m absolutely certain I can prove you lied to the police. That’s a felony, Mrs. Lewis. Each instance carries a five-year prison sentence. By my count, you just admitted to it four times, plus copped to willfully obstructing an investigation.” He matched her hillbilly cadence. “Did you not know all that’s illegal?”
“What the—” She tried to stand, nearly knocking over the chair in the process. “I didn’t—”
“You did.” Will reached into his shirt and pulled out the microphone that was clipped to the inside of his collar. “And you admitted to doing all of it on tape.” He hoped there was a twinkle in his eye when he smiled. “Thanks for waiving your rights, by the way.”
“I turned that off!” she screamed. The effort nearly knocked the wind out of her. She gripped the counter for support. “You bastard! I’ll cut off your balls and feed them to the pigs!”
Will opened the kitchen door. Faith was standing there. He had done a lot of outlandish things today—wasted twelve minutes waiting on an Icee, chased after a murderer without a gun or backup, jumped from a speeding motorcycle—but he didn’t have it in him to handcuff an eighty-four-year-old woman, no matter how detestable her crimes. Besides, her wrists were too thin for the cuffs.
Faith said, “Samantha Lewis, you have the right to remain silent.”
“Go to hell.”
“Please exercise your right to remain silent.” Faith tried to grab the old woman’s hands. “You have a right to an attorney.”
Maw-Maw slapped her away like she was swatting flies. Faith was not deterred. She held both of the woman’s wrists in one hand. With her free hand, she pulled out a plastic zip tie. Will saw Faith wince as the plastic cut against the woman’s thin skin.
“Idiots!” Maw-Maw said. “They won’t convict me! I’m just an old woman! I won’t spend a day behind bars!”
“Our boss is with the state prosecutor right now,” Faith told her. “You know we’re with the state, right? The jury for your trial won’t be from Forest Park.”
Maw-Maw’s mouth opened as she sucked air.
Faith continued, “Believe it or not, Georgia is cracking down on people who lie to the police. The attorney general plans on making an example of you.”
“That’s not true!” Maw-Maw’s voice had a pleading tone to it. “You watch. There’s not a jury alive who’ll convict me. I was protecting my family! Anybody would do that!”
“We’ll see in a year or so,” Faith said. “That’s about how long this will take to come to trial. Unless you have somebody who’ll bail you out? Maybe a family member?”
Maw-Maw’s mouth gaped open and closed. Will could almost see the wheels turning in her head. She mistook his attention for an opening, telling him, “What I said before—I told you, sonny, I got dementia. I can’t remember things. I was under the influence of drugs. I got Alzheimer’s.”
“Keep practicing for the trial.” Faith pressed her hand to Maw-Maw’s shoulder to get her moving. “Maybe some of the girls at the jail can help you.”
Will smiled as warmly as he could. “I hear they love meeting new people.”
“No!” Maw-Maw lunged for Will. She grabbed his shirt in her fists. “You fucking bastard! You can’t send me to jail! I can’t live out my life with a bunch of dykes!”
Will carefully pried her bony fingers from his shirt. “Don’t worry,” he told the old woman. “I hear they taste just like peanut butter.”
The Will Trent Series 7-Book Bundle Page 300
