Her Last Word(39)

He’d thought about her a lot. She wasn’t anything like his ex-wife or the women he’d dated since. Intense with a fierce drive, she wasn’t afraid to shake up the status quo to get what she wanted. She also had a tight ass he thought about too damn much. “Her name came up in this murder investigation.”

“I remember her now. And Gina Mason. How do the Mason case and the Ralston case relate?”

“I’m not sure yet. My priority has been Thursday night’s stabbing. I spent the better part of the night going through the victim’s financials and background. Bottom line is, Quinn and I don’t have time to read the full Gina Mason case file.”

“Keep talking.”

“I need someone to go through it. How about you?”

“Me?” He laughed, but his eyes sharpened with interest.

“You were a good cop, Detective, and you still are.”

“I don’t know.”

“Is that a no? Are you saying you’re too busy chasing university skirt and doing homework to help?”

“Screw you.”

“Detective Logan, I could use the help.”

“What’s the rush?”

“That stabbing I mentioned. She was one of Kaitlin’s interview subjects. And a former witness in the Gina Mason case. There is also a prisoner, Randy Hayward, in the city jail who says he’ll trade what he knows about Gina for a reduced sentence on a murder charge he’s facing.”

Logan’s shoulders relaxed. “I can do this.”

Adler reached in his pocket and pulled out his keys. He removed a second house key and handed it to Logan. “Pack your stuff and move in. The case file is at our house.”

Logan reached for the key and fisted his fingers around it. “You sure about this?”

“The room on the first floor is yours. And if you ever thank me, I’ll punch you.”

“Take your best shot.”

Adler clamped his hand on Logan’s shoulder. “Get your ass in gear.”

Logan grinned like a schoolboy. “I’m not going to cramp your style when you make a move on Kaitlin Roe, am I?”

“Doubt that’ll happen.” Adler laughed. “And no one gets in my way when I make a move.”



As Kaitlin walked around the classroom and listened in on the student interviews, her phone vibrated.

She pulled it from her pocket and spotted Erika Crowley’s name.

I’m ready to be interviewed, but it has to be today. Come to my house. Now before I lose my nerve.

Kaitlin was surprised to see the text from Erika. The way they’d left it, she hadn’t thought she had a chance at another interview. If Erika knew something, Kaitlin needed to hear it. Given that Randy might tell his own version of what happened, it felt more important than ever to talk to Erika. The more facts she had, the easier it would be to sort Randy’s facts from fiction.

Kaitlin glanced toward the clock on the wall and then to the students. She read Erika’s text again.

With a sense of urgency, she moved to her desk and grabbed her knapsack, already calculating the time and distance between here and Erika’s house. This time of day, she’d miss any traffic and make the trip in twenty minutes.

“Guys, I’ve had an emergency come up,” she said. “We’re going to have to end the session now.”

“But we aren’t finished,” one student said.

“He was starting to crack,” another joked.

“Sometimes a reporter or public relations professional has no control over the time.” Which was true. Sometimes a reporter had time to warm up to the interviewee, and other times it all changed on a dime.

Groans rumbled over the class. “But I was getting to the good stuff,” one young woman said.

“Send me your midterms by tomorrow at noon.”

More grunts followed, but the students gathered their belongings and left the room. She locked up, hurried down the side stairs, and hustled across Main Street to her car.

As she wove in and out of traffic, the sense of urgency built inside her. The GPS on her phone noted her exit approaching, forcing her thoughts back to the moment. She decelerated off the exit ramp and headed toward the exclusive neighborhood. Her GPS guided her past manicured lawns until she arrived at the familiar white colonial. There were no cars in the driveway, but a light was on in the house.

Kaitlin texted Erika’s number. I’m here.

A new text popped. Come inside.

The hairs on Kaitlin’s neck rose as they had the night Gina was taken. She opened her glove box and fished out a personal alarm, which when pressed was loud enough to wake the dead. In a fight, a weapon could be turned against you, whereas an alarm disoriented an attacker with much less risk.

She slid the cylinder into her coat pocket and climbed out of the car. A woman a half block away walking a small dog was staring. Kaitlin waved, and the woman nodded.

Kaitlin hesitated at the base of the stairs and glanced at her phone before she climbed the stairs to the front door. She eyed the security camera mounted on the porch and then she pressed on the front door latch. She moved into the marbled hallway and looked up at the dark chandelier and then toward the light in the side room.

“Erika,” she said.

She listened for a response but heard only the faint tick of a clock and her heart beating against her chest. None of this felt right.