Page 6 of Donovan's Men

If I’d felt this room was tiny with the previous pair, as well as Mariah and myself, things felt doubly so now—which made no sense. We had one less person, and yet clearly, Donovan took up much of the space.

While Michael and Caressa had been contained and trying to make themselves disappear, Donovan splayed himself and tried to look…butch? Strong? Confident?

Yet I didn’t miss the flicker in his eyes. Two white cops. A Black man. I wasn’t naïve enough to not know how this might look.

I smiled. “How are you?”

He glanced at his arm. “Okay. I mean, a little out of it. I don’t remember them giving me something, but they must have.”

That statement concerned me greatly—if he was on medication, this interview might be disregarded. Tossed out. “We can do this another—”

“How well did you know Meggibeth Smythe? Apparently, you were cozy at the gala.” Mariah pursed her lips.

I sighed at her insistence we just drop right into the interview. My style tended to be more nuanced—I wanted to make the victim feel comfortable. She was more of thelet’s get this over withschool of thought. The idea held merit, as it minimized the time victims had to spend recounting their trauma.

Donovan offered a tight smile. “I’ve known Meggibeth for five years. We’ve worked together onVJfor that entire time. I’ve done other projects with her as well. She’s an excellent caterer and a good first aid person. Keeps her head in a crisis, you know?”

“How about Saturday night? Why did you guide her away from Cole?” Something Michael had recounted in his interview.

He furrowed his brow. “Well, I’d observed her…” He cleared his throat. “I always had the sense she had a crush on Cole. I mean, who wouldn’t? The guy’s gorgeous, funny, and one of the most down-to-earth people I know. Everyone loves him because he treats each person equally. He takes the time to get to know all the actors, extras, and the crew—both production and technical. He’s just as friendly as he seems to people on the outside.”

“Yet he’s also in a relationship with two other people.” Mariah tapped her fingers on the desk that separated us from him.

I took the notes. I always took the notes.

Donovan’s gaze narrowed. “I cannot see how this could possibly be your—”

“If Ms. Smythe found his lifestyle deviant—”

Our victim slashed his hand through the air. Then winced since he’d used his right arm.

Shouldn’t that be in a sling or something?Far be it for me to question the medical professionals. Maybe he’d refused it. He seemed like the type of guy who didn’t want to show weakness. Somehow, I sensed, with him in the green scrub shirt, he wasn’t as in control as he’d normally have liked.

“I don’t know if Meggibeth even figured out Cole, Michael, and Caressa are together. Cole only attended with Caressa. If he was making a statement, that was it.”

“Why do you think Meggibeth shot him? Shot you?” I hesitated. “Let me take a step back. What happened?”

We should’ve asked this question initially, but Mariah had started right in with the personal aspects.

Donovan pressed his left hand to his forehead. “I was talking with Cole and Julie about drink preferences. They do coffee while I prefer a spinach smoothie.”

Mariah made a small gagging sound.

I ignored her. “You were talking.”

“Yeah, I mean, Julie likes her sugar bomb, which I know isn’t good for her, but she works out and…” He pressed his hand again to his forehead. “You don’t need to know that.” He closed his eyes. “Cole raised his cup—I assumed in salute—and I caught sight of Meggibeth. She pulled a gun and…” He cleared his throat and, after a moment, opened his eyes.

Our gazes locked.

“Everything happened so damn fast. She fired. At Cole. It happened in, like, the blink of an eye. That’s a saying, right? Well, that’s how fast it happened. Cole went down, and I rushed her. Meggibeth. She got off a shot before I tackled her to the ground. I…she hit her head pretty hard. And the gun skittered away and—”

“She shot you.” Mariah tapped her finger again.

“Yeah.” He waved her off. “Like, a scratch.” He took in a deep breath. “Then Larry and Tanya, our production assistant, were there, and they took over, and…I went to Cole. Julie was pinned beneath him, and then she rolled Cole onto his back.” His eyes turned bleak. “There was so much blood. Like, I’ve seen wounds in my time—years in the business means things happen, right? But this…”

“What is it that you do on the show?” Again, another question I should’ve asked earlier.

“I’m the stunt coordinator forVJ. I’ve done other productions as well. If Cole’s got any kind of action sequence—be it a simple slap through to a fully orchestrated fancy routine—he asks for me. I owe him everything.”