“That’s why you wanted to know if I’d show an officer my upper chest when I arrived?”

“Um.” Very non-committal.

“You think I’m the guy who attacked him? You think I stabbed Ben?” He swung back to face the one-way mirror. “Is that what you think, Piper? You think I would do this?”

Piper pressed her lips together. A cop was in the room with her, and she could feel his stare on her.

“It’s easy enough to clear up,” Layla told Mark in a clear, crisp voice. “Just take off your shirt. Totally voluntary, of course. I don’t have any sort of official power right now to demand that you remove your clothing. It’s just, you know, a way to speed along the investigation. You want to help, don’t you? I’m sure you do. If you don’t want to show me, I can get a male officer in here to—”

He shrugged out of his coat. Stalked across the room and shoved it down on the table top. Then he reached for the bottom of his t-shirt. He yanked it up.

There was a white bandage on his chest.

Piper lost her breath.

“Want to explain?” Layla rose to her feet. Her body was tense, her gaze cold.

He slowly peeled off the bandage. “I got new ink. Fresh as can fucking be.” A blood-red rose was circled by angry thorns. “I kept it covered for a bit. No one stabbed me. I didn’t attack Ben. I didn’t kill Grady. And I don’t like being a suspect.” His gaze didn’t return to the one-way mirror. Piper could practically feel his rage. “I’m done here. I thought I was at the station to help, not to be your lead suspect.” He hauled his shirt back on. Shoved the bandage into the pocket of his coat before he scooped up the coat and headed for—

“You are helping,” Layla assured him. “Now you’re one less name on my list. I can move on with my investigation. Not waste time on leads that don’t pan out. I have a victim down in the morgue. I want to give him justice. Justice is important, don’t you think?”

His hold tightened on the jacket. “Damn straight. People should always get what they deserve.”

She nodded. “Your sister didn’t get justice.”

He fired a furious glance her way. “What do you know about my sister? Did Piper tell you—”

Layla held up her hand. “I know your sister was murdered and that her killer was never caught. I know it must have been incredibly painful for you, and I’m very sorry for your loss.”