Forgiving Lies (Forgiving Lies #1)(38)

When I got home, Mason was standing there waiting for me.

“About damn time. I know Rachel put you in the friend zone so I know you weren’t getting any. What took you so long? Painting each other’s nails and gossiping? We’re gonna be late and I really don’t feel like hearing any crap from Detective Ryder today. That guy scares the shit out of me.”

Once I had my wallet, phone, and keys, I turned and faced him. “I’ll make sure to let him know, I’m sure that will make his day.” Lowering my voice once we were outside, I glanced over at the girls’ door and whispered, “Rachel was telling me about what happened.”

Mason stopped walking and turned toward their door. “Ah, shit . . . Rach.”

“Yeah.” Pushing him toward the parking lot, I kept talking. “Sorry, I didn’t feel like rushing that.”

“She okay?”

He and I both knew that was a dumb question; of course she wasn’t. But he was just as worried about her as I was. He loved her too, just in a completely different way.

“She will be. She got it all out for the first time, so eventually. I gave her some things to think about while we were gone today. Hopefully she’ll take them into consideration.” Cranking the engine, I pulled out of the parking lot and switched gears. “Read me the e-mail from Ryder again. I want to know what new things they have on Camden and what we have.”

“They’re thinking he may be getting close to another murder, but at least he’s getting sloppier. The two times he slipped up with using his card last week, it was double what he normally spends. And I checked the receipts—I doubt he’s eating two meals by himself.”

“And those were at the restaurant you work at?”

“Yeah, both nights I wasn’t working though. I reviewed all the cameras we have set up in there and checked them against everyone who came in. The only people who didn’t match up with cards paid in cash. I don’t know how he’s doing this.”

“Waitress or waiter remember anything?”

“Ryder told me we couldn’t question her. She’d served too many people that night, and it’d raise flags if we started questioning staff. What about your bar?”

“I check things when I get there early to see if his card was used and we just missed it. He hasn’t been at my bar in weeks. There’ve been three times we’ve had people leave without paying. First was a homeless guy I see all the time. Next was this ancient woman who comes in almost every day. I don’t think she even realized she hadn’t paid when she left, because she always does. Last was a man in a business suit who took off running out of the bar when he got a phone call. But he came in the next day and paid what was owed. Other than that, I keep a record of the table, date, and time when people pay cash. Every Wednesday I check them on our cameras. Never seen Camden.”

“Shit. This whole two-meals thing is something to worry about, though. And I think that’s why Ryder is calling us in today. Now that Camden might be closing in on someone, I’m sure he’ll want all of us working a lot more.”

“Good, we need to until he’s found.”

Mason lifted his left hand, curled into a fist. “Anything to bring the f*ckers down, right?”

We’d been saying that since our first undercover assignment. I smiled and pounded his fist. “Always.”



Rachel

“SO WE NEED to go out and celebrate.”

I rolled over on Candice’s bed and watched as she held up different shirts and studied herself in her full-length mirror. “Oh really? And what is it we’re celebrating?”

“You getting a job. Duh.”

“Candice.” I laughed softly. “Is it really so exciting that I got a job that we need to go out and celebrate? It’s waitressing. It isn’t like I made partner at a firm or—” I broke off quickly when I realized what I’d just said.

Candice was quiet for a second and her eyes lifted to look at me through the mirror. “Are we going to go back to California for the anniversary?”

“I don’t—I don’t think so.” Every year Candice’s family went to my parents’ graves on the anniversary of their death. But I hadn’t. I couldn’t. I wasn’t even there when they were lowered into the ground. I couldn’t stand the thought of watching them go six feet into the earth. And by staying away from the grave, it kept it not as real for me.

“Are you ever going to go, Rach?”

Swallowing audibly, I dropped my head and studied the details of Candice’s comforter instead. “Someday, maybe. I just can’t yet . . . can we not talk about this?”

“Yeah,” she said softly, then more resolutely, “Yeah! Waitress or not, we need to celebrate!”

I loved Candice so much for being able to get us out of uncomfortable conversations so easily. “Candice, we can go out for drinks anytime. We don’t need a reason, especially not this one.”

“Don’t be lame, Rach. I want to celebrate you getting a job. So we’re going to do it. Are the boys home?”

I grunted what I thought sounded like an affirmation.

“Maybe they can—” She cut herself off when her phone rang beside me on the bed.

“It’s Eli.” I answered it for her and put it on speaker.