“I want the truth, which is what I assume you want too, Detective.” Izzy could feel Piper’s glare about to cut through her, but she wanted to stand up for herself.

The detective nodded. “Of course.”

Izzy leaned forward. “Then you need to look beyond me and the people in my life to find out the identity of the true killer.”

“Agent Cole, we have hard evidence against one person so far in this case, and that person is you. You, by your own admission, wanted to kill the sergeant and sent him threatening text messages to that effect. He was clearly obsessed with you. Maybe he came after you again, and you snapped.”

The scary part was that the scenario the detective laid out could have been true—except that it wasn’t. “I’m telling you again, I didn’t do this. You need to talk to others who could have critical information and stop solely focusing on me because I’m the most convenient target.”

Detective Stewart opened a folder. “Well, we have actually spoken to one of the women you found.”

“Who?” Izzy asked.

“Ann Marie Martinez.”

That was surprising, given their conversation.

“You look stunned, Agent Cole,” Detective Bryant said.

“I got the distinct impression from my conversation with her that she didn’t want anything to do with this.”

“You aren’t the only one investigating here, Agent Cole. We tracked Ann Marie down ourselves, and she didn’t have a lot of nice things to say about you. According to Ms. Martinez, you were harassing her about her relationship with the sergeant.”

Izzy shook her head. “I handled her with kid gloves, and it was pretty clear from the start that she didn’t want to talk about any of this. I did not push her in any way.”

“Then why would she make that accusation?” Detective Bryant asked.

“Because I think she knows something and doesn’t want to talk about it. I believe digging deeper into everyone you’re talking to is worthwhile.”

Detective Stewart crossed her arms. “Does that include you too, Agent Cole?”

“Certainly. I don’t have anything to hide.”

“You have strong motive to have killed Sergeant Tybee,” Detective Stewart said. “After everything he did to you, it would be natural to be struggling, and maybe one day it all became too much.”

Piper lifted her hand. “I let you level that accusation once already, but a second time is too much. Now you’re just badgering my client, and I won’t allow it.”

Piper’s fiery response put Izzy more at ease. Piper was fighting for her. Izzy wasn’t used to being in this position, but to know that Piper believed in her meant so much. Could she be a Piper one day? Could she advocate so passionately? She wasn’t sure if she had it in her, but she certainly wanted to try.

“This interview is over.” Piper stood.