Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
She walked hurriedly away. She couldn’t read the tone in his voice, or maybe she just didn’t want to try.
CHAPTER SIX
An email from Gavin appeared on her phone the next morning just as she was sitting down at her desk.
It was brief and to the point, listing the name and phone number of the woman who’d run his fan club and hand drawn the design that was on the back of the playing cards from the crime scene.
He’d signed it: Best, Gavin. And why that irritated the crap out of her, she couldn’t exactly say and decided not to ponder.
Much.
It was still early. Kat wouldn’t be in for another hour or so, but Sienna had woken at the crack of dawn, and even though that topsy-turvy feeling she’d experienced the night before had diminished after she’d gotten home and talked to Brandon, it was still there, not allowing her to fall back to sleep. She’d gotten up rather than lie in bed and let her thoughts run rampant, then gone on a run, which had helped clear her mind. Despite the early hour, she had decided to head to the office.
Was seven thirty too early to call—she glanced at her phone screen, where the email was still open—Lucia Pechero, Gavin Decker’s number one fan? She copied the phone number, then closed the email and pasted the number into her keypad. If the woman was sleeping, she’d leave a voice mail.
But apparently Lucia Pechero was an early bird, as she answered on the first ring, sounding wide awake and exceedingly chipper.
“Hi, Ms. Pechero, my name is Sienna Walker, and I’m a detective with the Reno Police Department.”
There was a long pause before Lucia said, in a much less chipper tone, “You’re kidding me.”
“Uh, no. There’s nothing to be concerned about. I just have a question about some artwork you did a number of years ago that was printed on the back of playing cards that are part of an ongoing investigation.”
“Sienna, you said?”
“Yes. Detective Sienna Walker.”
Lucia Pechero expelled a long breath. “Okay, now I’m spooked. Last night when I got home, there was an envelope in my mailbox. Inside was another envelope, and on the front, it said, ‘Sienna will call you. Give this to her, and only her.’”
A chill wound down Sienna’s spine. “Did you open it?”
“I did, but only because I thought it was some prank or had been left at the wrong address. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, and I had no idea who ‘Sienna’ was. Until now.”
“What was inside?”
“Just a weird journal entry or something—pretty dark, actually. It’s handwritten and sounds like a confession. I thought about calling the police, but again, I thought it was a prank or something.”
Her pulse jumped. “Did you keep it?”
“I did, yes.”
“That’s great, Ms. Pechero. I need to pick it up. I’d also like to ask you a few questions about that drawing. Are you available now?”
“Um . . . I can be. I teach a spin class that just ended, so I was heading home to shower. But the letter’s actually in my car, where I left it after picking it up from my mailbox. There’s a coffee bar up the street that makes an amazing iced honeydew-mint tea.”
“Sounds great. I can be there in twenty minutes.”
Lucia gave her the name of the coffee bar, and then Sienna grabbed her purse and headed for the door she’d just walked through half an hour before. She shot Kat a text letting her know where she was going before she programmed her GPS and drove out of the parking lot.
The coffee shop smelled strongly of roasting brew and fresh baked goods. It was buzzing with rush hour activity, sleepy-eyed customers taking large gulps of coffee as they hurried past her, reminding Sienna that it was still only eight in the morning.
The woman named Lucia had obviously been watching for her, because she stood, raising her arm in a wave as Sienna stepped into the shop. Lucia was lithe and slim with wide-set eyes and a high forehead, and she gave Sienna a smile that held both warmth and a measure of concern.
“Thank you for meeting me, Ms. Pechero,” Sienna said, hooking her purse onto the back of the chair and taking a seat across from her.
“Call me Lucia,” she said. “And it’s no problem.” She nodded to two pale-green iced drinks with red-and-white-striped straws on the side of the table. “I took the liberty of ordering you a tea. They’re seriously the best. But if you want something else . . .”
“No, this is great. Thank you.” She took a sip of the drink. Sienna wasn’t a big tea drinker, but she had to admit it was delicious, and she told Lucia so.
Lucia smiled distractedly, her expression melting into worry. “I don’t need to be concerned for my safety, do I?” As she spoke, she reached into a gym bag on the floor and removed a manila envelope before sliding it across the table to Sienna.