Don't Make a Sound (Sawyer Brooks #1)(79)

She also felt so damn naive. How had she not seen Mom and Dad for what they were? How do you live with people like that and hardly glimpse what’s hiding inside them?

Sawyer felt scared one moment, and ashamed and angry the next.

But she kept on writing, one word, one sentence, one paragraph.

It was noon when Sawyer’s phone buzzed. It was Aria. She asked Sawyer to meet her at the coffee shop where she worked. There was something she’d forgotten to tell her. She said it was important.

Sawyer packed up her notebooks and pens along with her computer and headed off.

When Sawyer arrived, Aria was behind the counter. She took off her apron, grabbed two to-go cups from the counter, and ushered Sawyer outside.

They both took a seat.

“I have a fifteen-minute break,” Aria said, “so I’m going to get right to it.”

Sawyer said, “Okay.”

“Remember when you talked to me about the Kylie Hartford murder and you said you wished you could talk to the guy you saw in the truck?”

Sawyer nodded.

“I talked to him.”

“What?”

“Just listen. His name is Zach Jordan. He used to volunteer at the animal shelter where I work. He taught me a lot about how to handle animals that were scared and needed special attention.”

Aria swished her hands through the air as if to clear the slate and start over. “None of that is important. Anyway, I went to his house over in the Curtis Park area. He didn’t kill Kylie Hartford.”

Sawyer appreciated her sister’s attempt to help her out, but Aria had no experience with this sort of thing. There was no way she would have asked all the right questions, let alone be able to come to a conclusion as to whether or not he was innocent. “Why do Kylie’s neighbors think otherwise?” Sawyer asked.

Aria’s eyes widened. “Because the night before she was murdered, Zach and Kylie had an argument. They both raised their voices. He slammed the door on his way out.”

“What were they fighting about?”

Aria snapped her fingers. “That guy who reports shit on Good Day Sacramento. You know—the one who thinks he’s all that?”

“Matthew Westover?”

“Yes, that’s him! I guess Kylie went out with her coworkers and hooked up with Westover. It wasn’t the first time that has happened.”

“Zach said that?”

Aria nodded. “He said something about Westover not being the first guy, and probably wouldn’t have been the last.”

Sawyer straightened in her seat, interested. “What else?”

“He’s not proud of it, but the next day Zach followed Kylie after work. He said he watched her disappear inside the Convention Center right around the corner . . . She was attending a book signing or something.”

“Waylan Gage,” Sawyer said. “That’s the author’s name. I saw his book on the floor of Kylie’s apartment when I was there.”

“Oh, wow. Creepy.”

Sawyer nodded.

Aria slumped forward. “I guess that’s it. I thought you would be a little more excited.”

“I am excited. It’s just been a little crazy, trying to write the River Rock story.”

“I can imagine. Or maybe I can’t.”

“So did Zach have an alibi?”

“Yes and no.”

Sawyer made a face.

“It depends on Kylie’s time of death, but he told me that after watching Kylie walk into the Convention Center, he drove around for a while before ending up at Device Brewery, which isn’t too far from here. He said he was there until closing. Someone helped him to his car, where he passed out. They left his keys under the seat.”

Sawyer jumped up. That was it! The missing link—time of death. If she could prove that Zach was at the brewery when Kylie was murdered, then he was innocent.

“What is it?” Aria asked.

“You are amazing.”

Aria looked confused. “Me?”

“Yeah. You. I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you tonight.” Sawyer grabbed her coffee. “Thanks for this.”

Aria was already putting on her apron. “You’re welcome.”





CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Sweat pooled under Sawyer’s arms by the time she locked up her bike and entered the brewery on R Street in Midtown. Although she wanted to work on her story about River Rock, the information Aria had gathered was too good to push aside.

When she’d talked to Palmer on her way home, she’d felt deflated to learn of Zach Jordan’s arrest. Palmer was adamant that she let it be. It wasn’t her place to get in the way of their investigation.

But how could she ever live with herself if she didn’t do due diligence and at least talk to a few people? She asked the guy behind the counter if the manager was in. Ace, according to his name tag, was friendly and didn’t ask her what this was all about. He just disappeared for a minute and returned with a big, burly guy.

“I’m Travis. What can I do for you?”

Sawyer had already pulled up a picture of Zach. Because of his connection to Kylie’s murder, his face was all over the media outlets at the moment. “My name is Sawyer Brooks. I work for the Sacramento Independent, and I was hoping you could answer a few questions.”