Unspoken (Shadow Falls: After Dark #3)(62)

Leaning forward, Burnett cupped his knees in his palms. “Holiday told me she brought you the DA’s file. I still haven’t had the opportunity to read it. Did you find anything that might help us?”

Della’s heart raced at his question. She hated saying it aloud. “Help us, no. Hurt him, yes.” She took a deep breath. “My dad’s the one who called 911. The DA had made notes that his story changed, because now he claims he was unconscious the whole time.”

Burnett frowned. “At least his lawyer knows now.”

Chase leaned in. “It was a very traumatic experience. People block things out. I think it will be understandable to any judge that the situation could have affected his memory.”

Della’s emotions pushed back her ability to hear the positive. “But that’s not the picture they are going to paint. They’re going to say he killed his sister and then lost his mind.” Making it harder was that his own sister believed it.

Burnett seemed to read her mind, or at least the direction of her thoughts. “Holiday’s worried the ghost is—”

“No,” Della said. “I’m not letting Holiday send her away or chase her off.” She stared at Chase, praying he wouldn’t jump in and add fuel to the fire. He didn’t, but his gaze said he wanted to.

She swallowed the need to give in to tears and faced Burnett. “Have you gotten a judge on board yet?”

“Not yet,” Burnett said. “We’re still working on it. But giving up hope isn’t going to help.”

“I’m not giving up; I’m worried.”

“We’ve got the Douglas Stone lead. And now we have this cousin of Perry’s,” Chase said, as if to comfort her.

Della glanced at Burnett. “Has Sam given us anything?”

“I was pulled away to go to the murder scene. I’m letting him stew for a while.” Burnett cupped his hands and glanced down. She knew that look. He had something else to tell her and it probably wasn’t good.

“What else?” Her stomach muscles hardened to the point it hurt.





Chapter Twenty-seven

“I got a call from our guy in the DA’s office,” Burnett said. “They got the trial date. Two weeks.”

“We’ve got two weeks to prove him innocent?” Della’s voice shook. “We’ll never do that.”

“Yes, we will,” Chase said.

“Listen to him,” Burnett said. “All it takes is one lead.”

Burnett took out his phone to check the time. “Why don’t you two go over the vision? In about an hour…”—he glanced at Chase—“if you feel up to it, you two can come down and help me interrogate Sam.”

“I’m up to it,” Chase said. “Tomorrow, in addition to looking for Stone’s girlfriend, I’d also like to start revisiting the Douglas Stone suspects, concentrating on the ones I’ve already visited.”

“But I thought you didn’t get anything from them,” Burnett said.

“I didn’t, but as Pope pointed out, Stone said I was poking around in the wrong places.”

“Were any of these people you spoke to vampires or supernaturals?” Burnett asked.

“No.”

“Then how would Stone have known it was you asking questions?”

“I don’t know, but my guts say he did.”

Burnett sighed. “Then I guess follow your gut.”

Della sat up a little straighter. “I’d like to go with him.”

“You have school,” Burnett said.

“I could miss a day or two. Hell, I could miss two weeks.”

Burnett frowned. “You can’t—”

“What am I gonna miss? Lessons about Russian politics, finding what friggin’ x is to y, and trying to decipher the theme of Pride and Prejudice? We’re running out of time. This could mean my dad’s life!” This time tears filled her eyes.

Burnett glanced at Chase, almost as if seeking his okay. What the hell? She sure as heck didn’t need his permission.

“I’ve got her back,” Chase said.

“Oh, please,” Della said. “Excuse me while I go and grow a penis so the sausage-and-meatball-toting gender will stop thinking I need a man to protect me.”

Both Chase and Burnett looked taken aback by her rebuttal, or perhaps it was her description of their genitals, but what the heck did they expect?

Burnett cleared his throat. “What matters is that both of you are safe. If either of you sense danger, I want you to pull back and call me.”

Chase nodded.

Burnett stood up. “You two go over the vision and meet me at the office in an hour.” Burnett left, and after about a minute, Chase started laughing. “Sausage and meatballs?”

*

They spent thirty minutes recounting the vision. It led nowhere. Chase offered nothing that Della didn’t recall. Frustrated, and feeling as if time were running out, she got up and started for the door.

“Della?” Chase said, trying to stop her.

“I’ll meet you at the office.”

“Where are you going?” he asked and came to stand beside her.

“I need to think,” she spouted out.