{"id":1864,"date":"2013-08-14T00:13:43","date_gmt":"2013-08-14T04:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.167.168.176\/~phillips\/kerriansnotebook\/kerriansnotebook\/?p=1864"},"modified":"2025-03-14T20:08:43","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T00:08:43","slug":"visiting-detectives-lexi-sobado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pattiphillipsbooks.com\/kerriansnotebook\/2013\/08\/visiting-detectives-lexi-sobado\/","title":{"rendered":"Visiting Detectives – Lexi Sobado"},"content":{"rendered":"

Detectives from other towns in the county cross paths all the time when they have cases in common or are chasing after a suspect in another jurisdiction. But Lexi is a different breed of detective. She’s not working for a local town at all.\u00a0 She has more of a national – even international – interest. Years ago I met her while picking up a suspect in D.C. and we clicked right away. She tries to visit whenever a case brings her to New Jersey.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just to give you a little background, Lexi Sobado grew up in Washington D.C. as a homeschooler. Her mentors set Lexi on an unusual path where her out-of-the-box thinking both solves and creates problems for her, and often \u2013 too often \u2013 saves her life. Lexi, known on the job as Lynx, works as a Puzzler for Iniquus. There, it is her duty to solve the crimes that put American interests at risk. Orphaned at 19 and widowed at twenty, Lexi has made her team at Iniquus, Strike Force, into her family. Led by the ‘handsome and enigmatic’ (Lexi’s words) Striker Rheas, there is always something afoot challenging Lexi – not the least of which is her relationship with Striker.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Here’s how she tells the story of what happened the last time she stopped in<\/span>:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re wrong \u2013 dead wrong.\u201d I curled myself into Charlie\u2019s comfortably overstuffed chair, not feeling comfortable at all. \u201cWhat should I have done? Let them take her to jail?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I had dropped by Charlie Kerrian\u2019s house uninvited. Staying at a nearby hotel while on assignment, I wanted to run this whole darned fiasco past his detective\u2019s ears. Would he agree with me? Or had I just made a monumental mistake?<\/span><\/p>\n

Charlie and I have been friends for a long time, from back before I worked for Iniquus as their Puzzler and used the call name Lynx. I was Iniquus\u2019s go-to girl for solving crimes. Now, I was in trouble with Command for disagreeing with their capture. Poor Charlie sat, listening to me vent.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe FBI used Mason as their interrogator. He was absolutely the wrong person to question this woman.\u201d I wrapped my arms around my bent legs, resting my chin on my knees. \u201cHe walked in with his power strides, wearing his expensive suit. When he introduced himself, he used the required solid eye contact and firm handshake. The problem? He tilted his hand so his palm faced downward, making him the dominant. He glared at her – his eyes cold…aggressive. Polly, the woman they\u2019re accusing, is a little bitty thing.\u201d I stared down at my jeans, visualizing the scene, trying to get the details right.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe shriveled – folded into her body as if she were a piece of origami. She immediately twisted in her \"\"<\/a>seat, making her feet and her bellybutton face the door — away from Mason — and she refused to look him in the eye. Polly huddled there, tapping her foot like a woodpecker; her hands fidgeted constantly \u2013 shifting around her clothes and her hair. Textbook guilt-response.\u201d I peeked up to find Charlie nodding agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMason would ask her a question, and every single time Polly glanced down to the left.\u201d I imitated her actions so Charlie could see what I was talking about. \u201cMason beamed. He knew he was about to get his confession, which made him posture and bluster.\u201d I wrinkled my nose. What an idiot. All that machismo.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf Polly answered the questions at all,\u201d I continued, \u201cshe answered in odd patterns \u2013 passive language, her verbs weren\u2019t in the right tense. \u2018I loved him,\u2019 she said.\u201d I jumped up to pace. \u201cNo one had told her that her husband was dead at that point. Why would she use past tense unless she also knew he was dead?\u201d I paused then shook my head. \u201cI can\u2019t explain it\u2026 yet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Reaching back to gather my hair into a ponytail so I could think better, I resumed walking from one end to the other. Charlie followed me with his patient gaze. \u201cYup,\u201d I said. \u201cShe had all the guilty indicators. But I don\u2019t believe she killed her husband \u2013 I\u2019m staking my job on this one.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I stopped to reach for the glass of lemonade Charlie\u2019s wife Sheila brought in to me. \u201cThank you, ma\u2019am.\u201d I took a sip as she left again. It was tart enough to make my mouth pucker.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have good reasons why I don\u2019t believe she lied.\u201d I swiped the back of my wrist over my lips. \u201cFor instance, Mason asked her the same question three times: \u2018You bought a gun two days ago, did you mean to shoot your husband with it?\u2019 Her first response, \u2018I wouldn\u2019t hurt anyone.\u2019 Vague. Her verb choice indicated the future. She failed to answer the question. Again, Mason asked using the same words, same tone. This time he leaned forward \u2013 got right in her face. Polly cringed away from him \u2013 put her hand up to block him from coming any closer. She panted when she said, \u2018The gun is for self-defense.\u201d The third time Mason asked, Polly said, \u2018No.\u2019 Just that plainly. \u2018No.\u2019 In three tries of asking a direct question there is statistically an 85% chance someone is not lying if she can answer \u2018no\u2019 clearly at least once. Too bad Polly said it while stroking her throat \u2013 a liar\u2019s \u2018tell.\u2019\u201d I reached down and set my glass on the floor.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow, did Mason prepare with due diligence before the interview by watching video feeds of Polly\u2019s body language in different circumstances?\u201d I asked. Charlie raised his eyebrows and waited.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d I said. \u201cAnd did he believe he had a good baseline for making assumptions about her body language tells? Yes. I can\u2019t fault him on that. So, why do I think she\u2019s innocent? Mainly, it\u2019s because I\u2019ve seen baseline video Mason hadn\u2019t. A different detective questioned Polly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I sat back down on the edge of my chair and looked Charlie straight in the eye. \u201cThe last time though, she wasn\u2019t the accused. She was the victim. A guy from her office, high on meth, attacked her. I pulled up the guy\u2019s mug shot. He\u2019s a dead ringer for Mason. Between Mason\u2019s business suit, his facial features, and his dominating stance, Polly wasn\u2019t responding to this interrogation. I really believe she was reliving the last one. She acted like a victim, needing to run away \u2013 get safe. I know she\u2019s innocent. Now I just need to find the real perp and prove I\u2019m right.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Fiona Quinn is a Canadian born romantic-thriller writer, who has rooted herself in the Old Dominion. Living outside of D.C. with her husband of twenty years, Fiona homeschools their four children, pops chocolates, and types on her laptop all day long. Learn more about Fiona Quinn on her website www.FionaQuinnBooks.com<\/span><\/a><\/span> and stop by her blog\u00a0http:\/\/thrillwriting.blogspot.com\/<\/span><\/a><\/span>\u00a0where writers learn to write it right.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Detectives from other towns in the county cross paths all the time when they have cases in common or are chasing after a suspect in another jurisdiction. But Lexi is a different breed of detective. She’s not working for a local town at all.\u00a0 She has more of a national – even international – interest. 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