Her Last Day (Jessie Cole #1)(6)

Twelve months ago, the last time the killer had struck, every detective in investigations had been pulled in to work the case. Whenever that happened, they worked twelve-hour shifts until the leads dried up, which was where they were right now. Although he’d gotten six hours of sleep last night, the longest in a while, Colin was surviving on fumes.

The second reason he shouldn’t be running after Olivia was because he’d vowed to stay away from Jessie after he’d made the mistake of suggesting they turn things up a notch and start dating. Jessie had not hesitated to tell him she wasn’t ready to be anything more than friends.

He knew dating a cop wasn’t easy, since cops tended to be inquisitive, worked long hours, and always had a target on their backs, but Jessie came with her own set of difficulties. She was a complicated woman who could be stubborn and much too serious.

And yet, despite it all, he loved her.

She was compassionate to a fault. She was patient and understanding, and his daughter, Piper, adored her. Jessie was everything he wanted in a relationship. And yet the moment she’d told him she wasn’t ready for anything more, he’d walked out of her life. He’d thought it would be easier for both of them, but now he knew better. He missed her.

He used his key fob to hit the “Unlock” button from a few feet away. Then he pulled out his cell phone and called Olivia. No answer.

As he pulled out of the parking lot, his phone rang. It was his sister, Emma. He hit the “Talk” button on the console. “Hey, sis. What’s going on?”

“Where are you?”

“On my way to pick up Olivia from school.”

“Olivia Cole? I thought you and Jessie were finished.”

“It’s a long story.”

“I bet.”

He said nothing. Merely waited for her to state the reason for her call.

“Kimberly is getting married,” she finally blurted.

“Interesting.”

“Why is that?”

“I saw her two days ago when I was picking up Piper, and she didn’t say a word. But good for her. I hope she and Nate are very happy.”

“His name is Niles.”

“And you called me to tell me this, why?”

“Because she asked me to be her maid of honor.”

The news shouldn’t have surprised him or bothered him in any way, but it did. It didn’t matter that he and Kimberly had been divorced longer than they’d been married. His ex-wife had a way of making sure he always knew what she was up to, always finding a way to update him with every detail of her life, making sure he knew she was doing just fine without him. Asking his sister to be in her wedding would only help her cause. It wasn’t enough that his nine-year-old daughter rattled off a long list of Nate’s glowing attributes every time Colin had her for the weekend. “I didn’t know the two of you were that close,” Colin said. “Isn’t Nate the guy she met at Starbucks?”

“His name is Niles, but what’s your point?”

“They’ve known each other for what, a couple of months?”

“Two years this Friday.”

Wow. Time really did fly. The truth was he didn’t like Nate. There was something about the guy that hit every nerve. He didn’t like the idea of Nate being a father figure to Piper.

“Are you still there?”

“Yeah, still here.”

“So, do you mind?”

Before he could figure out what Emma was talking about, his phone buzzed. “I’ve got another call coming in. Sorry. Gotta go.”

“Call me later,” she said.

“Will do.” He picked up the incoming call from Levi Hooper, forensics, and said, “Detective Grayson.”

“More bad news,” Levi said. “Blood and hair samples from the homicide in Citrus Heights came back. We have nothing to tie this murder to the Heartless Killer.”

While Colin let that sink in, Levi asked, “What’s next?”

“Briefing first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, I’ll make sure everyone’s there. See you then.”

Colin drove up to the curb in front of C. K. McClatchy High School, climbed out of the car, and took a look around. Then he called Olivia’s number for the second time. Still no answer.

A few kids lingered here and there, mostly stragglers waiting to be picked up. Inside the front office, there was an elderly woman wrapping things up for the day. The school day had ended twenty-five minutes ago, and she hadn’t seen Olivia. Colin figured Olivia had either gotten a ride home or had decided to walk.

But since he was at the school, he made the rounds and checked the library, the cafeteria, and the football field before he headed back to his car.

By the time he merged onto Freeport Boulevard, he was concerned. Where the hell was Olivia, and why wasn’t she answering her phone? Olivia was fourteen, responsible for a kid her age, but that wasn’t making him feel better.

And what about Jessie? He didn’t like the idea of her being locked up. Although she was proud of her by-the-book methodology of investigative work, she had a tendency to act too quickly, seldom taking enough time to think things through. She’d looked pale sitting in the holding room. She’d looked hollow-cheeked, too, as if she hadn’t been eating enough or getting much sleep. Seeing her worn down like that made his heart ache.