Jaded Read Online Free

another from the box and lit it in an irritated gesture. “Home. Here with my children. Ingrid will vouch for me.”
    “I’d like your husband’s cell phone number.”
    “Which one?”
    “All of them.”
    She took a piece of paper from the desk drawer, along with a pen, and wrote them down. She handed Jase the paper.
    “Mrs. Townsend, if you have immediate plans for travel outside of the state, please cancel them.”
    “Am I a suspect, Detective?”
    Jase smiled. “You are a person of interest in that you have intimate knowledge of the deceased.” He looked around. “I’d like to speak to Ingrid.”
    “She only speaks Spanish.”
    Jase smiled again. “No problem.”
    She frowned, but went to the intercom on the wall and pressed a button to call Ingrid.
    Several minutes later the chubby maid walked into the room, her eyes downcast. She gave her employer a quick nervous glance, but Natalie nodded.
    “Por favor, Ingrid el detective wishes to speak with you. Tell him I—”
    “Thank you, Mrs. Townsend, I can speak for myself,” he interrupted. Then added, “Please, leave us alone.” Natalie scowled, shot Ingrid a glare, then exited the room.
    Jase gestured to the chair. “Siéntese, por favor.” Wide-eyed, Ingrid sat on the edge of the chair. He wondered if it was because she was nervous or because she’d get drilled for sitting on the missus’s furniture. Probably both.
    “Where were you last night?”
    “Aqui.”
    Jase smiled. “Now that I know you understand English, señora, let’s stop playing ignorant illegal. Okay?”
    Ingrid gasped, putting both of her hands to her mouth. Her big brown eyes widened and instantly tears welled. Jase fought the urge to roll his eyes.
    “I’m not la migra, I’m a detective investigating Mr. Townsend’s death. Help me; I help you.”
    Ingrid stared down at her shoes.
    “Señora?” he prodded.
    Hesitantly, Ingrid looked up at Jase and nodded. “Okay, Señor Detective.”
    Jase gave her a reassuring smile. “Where were you last night?”
    “I am here.”
    “All night?”
    She bobbed her head. “Si, con las —with the little girls.”
    “And where was Señora Townsend?”
    “Here also.”
    “For how long?”
    “I think she here all night.”
    “Do you live here?”
    “Sí, Detective.”
    “Does Señora Townsend ever leave the house at night when everyone is asleep?”
    Ingrid looked up, and Jase saw the fear in her eyes. “The truth, Ingrid.”
    “I do not know. At eleben, la señora likes to watch the news in her room. Ebery night, I say good night to her and go to my room.”
    “Where is your room in proximity to hers?”
    “She is upstairs. I am downstairs and in de back. I hab two rooms. A bedroom and my own little libing room.”
    “Did she leave after you went to bed?”
    “I don’t know. I watch las dibas. I fall asleep.”
    “So if she left the house, you wouldn’t know it?”
    Ingrid nodded, and he knew it cost her to admit the truth.
    “Pero, Señor Detective, la señora? She would neber leave las hijas. Neber! She would wake me up if she leabes the house.”
    “Maybe, Ingrid.” But what if she were out to kill? Natalie Townsend didn’t strike him as dumb. Knowing her kids were safely tucked in and their nanny only one floor down, even the most ardent of mothers could leave the house feeling confident their children were in good hands. Especially if one were only going to be gone for an hour or two in the middle of the night.
    It was almost a half-hour drive from the Townsends’ front door to the crime scene. Take twenty minutes or so to whack the old man, jump back into the car, and presto, you’re home and in bed before one of the kids has a chance to wake up.
    Jase nodded to himself and made notes.
    Satisfied, for now, he didn’t push. If he needed more info he had his trump card, and Ingrid knew it.
    As the nanny exited the room, Natalie Townsend breezed in but not before she bestowed a huge smile on Ingrid. Completely