Da Vinci's Inquest

Silences

Sometimes the best way to question a suspect, Mick knew, was to not question them. Instead, you listen, to the words and the silences.

He knew some suspects couldn't bear silences. Like a teenager on a first date, a silence caused them to panic a little and compelled them to say -- something. When they did, they inevitably gave him something to work with. A provable lie. An inadvertent truth. A name. There was always something.

Mick shifted in the hard interrogation room chair. He got comfortable and said nothing. When necessary he had the patience of a kindergarten teacher.