won't I? Maybe Burl will let me grab her toothbrush or something.''
''Since we have her body, we've got more than enough to spare. Tell me where to send a sample.''
''Thanks. I think I'll like working with you.'' I gave him the name of the lab, and he jotted it on his calendar blotter. He always has about a hundred notes and numbers scribbled all over the place, and I wondered how he kept them straight.
''We probably won't see much of each other in the near future, Abby. I'm following a gang angle on this murder, and getting a gang lead is about as tedious as it gets.''
''Gang angle?''
''We found the Olsen woman's car in the lot— thanks for the tip on that. The bad guy probably climbed right in while she was waiting for you, made her drive around behind the coffee place. Drove back after he killed her, got in his own car and took off. Crime scene people are processing it now, looking for a trace that could lead us to the killer.''
''What does that have to do with gangs?''
''We've had some carjackings in the past few months, elderly women beaten and robbed. Previous tips indicate a gang connection in those cases. Doesn't exactly fit the M.O., since the Olsen woman was younger than the other victims and her car wasn't stolen, but it's close enough to follow up on.''
''Why not take her car? It was expensive.''
''Maybe too expensive, too flashy. The bad guy figured we'd find him easily. The thing had GPS, the whole nine yards.''
''Any witnesses?'' I asked.
''Crowded busy place, that lot. Believe it or not, the busier the place, the less likely people are to notice a snatch. We'll be interviewing plenty of people anyway, and that's not something you need to be involved in. If you don't know about witnesses, you won't have much to tell reporters should they come calling.''
''Oh. Because of Will's being a collegiate star athlete?''
''Yup.''
''Are you hedging? Do you have a witness who says Verna Mae was carjacked in the lot and driven around back?''
Jeff sighed. ''You don't quit, do you?''
''Never. Is that what happened?''
He sighed. ''No witnesses so far. We can only hope we find something the killer might have left behind besides coffee grounds on the floorboard. Fingerprints would be a bonus.''
''I don't know, Jeff. Don't you think a struggle, even in a busy lot, would have been noticed? He must have had a gun or—''
''Or she knew him. Anyway, solving the murder is my job. You have plenty to do on your end.''
''Yeah, but think about this. What if someone knew Verna Mae planned to meet me? What if that person didn't want the meeting to happen? Could that be why she ended up dead?''
Jeff grinned. ''I think your daddy would say you have a total lack of ignorance. If you find out anything supporting your theory, come see me. Meanwhile, I have to look in more obvious places. Like gangland. But only after I slog through paperwork hell. Time for you to go.''
''I'm out of here.'' I came around his desk and took his face in my hands before he could protest. I planted one on him and found his mouth sticky-sweet with gum, just how I liked it.
''Go before one of the nosy jerks I work with sees us. We now have a professional relationship, remember?''
''No sleepovers?''
''Well . . . we will have to discuss the case,'' he replied, his eyes glinting.
''Glad we're on the same page.'' I smiled and left.
Unlike Jeff, who seemed to go days without sleep, I went home and crashed. I awoke hours later to find my sister, Kate, standing over me.
''Are you okay?'' she whispered.
''I'm fine. Unless there's a reason you're whispering.'' I sat up and rubbed at my eyes. Diva stuck her head out from under the quilt and blinked a few times, then ran out of the bedroom. She was ticked. Her visit to cat heaven had ended too soon.
''I was whispering so I wouldn't startle you,'' Kate said.
''What are you doing
''Since we have her body, we've got more than enough to spare. Tell me where to send a sample.''
''Thanks. I think I'll like working with you.'' I gave him the name of the lab, and he jotted it on his calendar blotter. He always has about a hundred notes and numbers scribbled all over the place, and I wondered how he kept them straight.
''We probably won't see much of each other in the near future, Abby. I'm following a gang angle on this murder, and getting a gang lead is about as tedious as it gets.''
''Gang angle?''
''We found the Olsen woman's car in the lot— thanks for the tip on that. The bad guy probably climbed right in while she was waiting for you, made her drive around behind the coffee place. Drove back after he killed her, got in his own car and took off. Crime scene people are processing it now, looking for a trace that could lead us to the killer.''
''What does that have to do with gangs?''
''We've had some carjackings in the past few months, elderly women beaten and robbed. Previous tips indicate a gang connection in those cases. Doesn't exactly fit the M.O., since the Olsen woman was younger than the other victims and her car wasn't stolen, but it's close enough to follow up on.''
''Why not take her car? It was expensive.''
''Maybe too expensive, too flashy. The bad guy figured we'd find him easily. The thing had GPS, the whole nine yards.''
''Any witnesses?'' I asked.
''Crowded busy place, that lot. Believe it or not, the busier the place, the less likely people are to notice a snatch. We'll be interviewing plenty of people anyway, and that's not something you need to be involved in. If you don't know about witnesses, you won't have much to tell reporters should they come calling.''
''Oh. Because of Will's being a collegiate star athlete?''
''Yup.''
''Are you hedging? Do you have a witness who says Verna Mae was carjacked in the lot and driven around back?''
Jeff sighed. ''You don't quit, do you?''
''Never. Is that what happened?''
He sighed. ''No witnesses so far. We can only hope we find something the killer might have left behind besides coffee grounds on the floorboard. Fingerprints would be a bonus.''
''I don't know, Jeff. Don't you think a struggle, even in a busy lot, would have been noticed? He must have had a gun or—''
''Or she knew him. Anyway, solving the murder is my job. You have plenty to do on your end.''
''Yeah, but think about this. What if someone knew Verna Mae planned to meet me? What if that person didn't want the meeting to happen? Could that be why she ended up dead?''
Jeff grinned. ''I think your daddy would say you have a total lack of ignorance. If you find out anything supporting your theory, come see me. Meanwhile, I have to look in more obvious places. Like gangland. But only after I slog through paperwork hell. Time for you to go.''
''I'm out of here.'' I came around his desk and took his face in my hands before he could protest. I planted one on him and found his mouth sticky-sweet with gum, just how I liked it.
''Go before one of the nosy jerks I work with sees us. We now have a professional relationship, remember?''
''No sleepovers?''
''Well . . . we will have to discuss the case,'' he replied, his eyes glinting.
''Glad we're on the same page.'' I smiled and left.
Unlike Jeff, who seemed to go days without sleep, I went home and crashed. I awoke hours later to find my sister, Kate, standing over me.
''Are you okay?'' she whispered.
''I'm fine. Unless there's a reason you're whispering.'' I sat up and rubbed at my eyes. Diva stuck her head out from under the quilt and blinked a few times, then ran out of the bedroom. She was ticked. Her visit to cat heaven had ended too soon.
''I was whispering so I wouldn't startle you,'' Kate said.
''What are you doing
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