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that never worked with his “bad penny” anyway.
    “Can you keep it to five minutes? Because that’s about all the time I have right now.”
    “I’m outside the station. Can I come in?”
    Sam ran a hand through his hair. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but no. Just ask what you have to and I’ll do my best to tell you”— get off my case— “what you need to know.”
    “It’s about Rob Chesney.”
    Well, duh. No surprise there. “I figured. Go ahead.”
    “Where is he right now?”
    “Probably in a holding cell.”
    “Has he had a bail hearing?”
    “And you need to know that because . . .”
    Ellie blew out a breath. “Because I have his dog. I want to know if I should keep her with me or drop her at his apartment.”
    “I believe Mr. Chesney’s attorney is in the process of amassing the funds needed to set him free.”
    “How much did the DA ask for?”
    He drummed his fingers on the desk. “I fail to see what the amount of Mr. Chesney’s bail has to do with his dog.”
    “Come on, Sam. Bend a little. Rob’s a friend and I want to help him if I can.”
    “Why? Did he ask you for the money?” He’d heard Chesney was a trust fund baby and didn’t need a cent from anyone.
    She waited a beat before saying, “You’re being difficult.”
    He shrugged. “Unless you’re an attorney or an eyewitness to the murder, you don’t need to know anything about his finances or the state of his stay here.” Of course, he knew darn well that wouldn’t stop her from prying. After a long silence, he said, “Bail was set at half a million. I believe he’s made arrangements with a bondsman, but there’s paperwork to finish. With luck, he could be home by the end of the afternoon.”
    “Okay, fine.” She exhaled another breath. “Would it be possible for me to see him?”
    Sam gazed at the ceiling. “You’re kidding, right?”
    “I would never kid about such a serious matter. I’d like to see him, and I know you can get me in.”
    Okay, he could, but that would be a bad move for a couple of reasons. First off, just about everyone in the station knew he and Ellie were dating, and they’d consider it extending special privileges if he did what she asked. Second, they also knew she continually horned in on police business, which didn’t endear her to the cops. Third, she wasn’t a relative of the perp and therefore had no credible reason for a visit, which would steer them back to reason two. Fourth—well, hell—the list went on and on.
    “Can’t it wait until he’s home?”
    “I guess.” Another pause, then, “The papers are calling it a crime of passion. Any idea where they’d get that idea?”
    That was his girl. If one direction took her nowhere, she’d head off in another. “Not from here. Must have been someone in the DA’s office.”
    “And those scissors were the murder weapon?”
    “We’re waiting for confirmation from forensics and the ME, but I’m guessing so.”
    “Is there any other evidence?”
    “Not much. The crowd that tromped in and out of the room obliterated any footprints, but forensics might come up with something.”
    “What about—”
    “Sorry, Nancy Drew, but that’s all I can say for now.”
    Ellie’s tsk shot across the phone line. “But you have an opinion. I know you do.”
    “All I have right now are the facts. Until the entire story comes to light, and that’s up to the evidence Vince and I gather, I don’t know anything for sure.”
    “Okay. Be that way.”
    The huge sigh she dropped onto the end of the sentence made him want to bang his head against a wall. “Are you really going to make me recite the list of reasons why I can’t discuss this with you?”
    “You could discuss it if he was innocent.”
    “You know better than to say that, and as far as I’m concerned, he isn’t.” Neither he nor Vince had bought Chesney’s story of walking into the dressing room, seeing the victim, and falling to his knees to offer assistance. Only