Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
“No one has seen Harvey since he left here.” Pam echoed Janice.
Sally and Cindy nodded in agreement. Rory nodded as well without looking at the cops. She kept her eyes on Ellen. She wasn’t about to look at them when she lied. She was certain they would see right through her.
Lydia caught her daughter’s hand. “I saw him once.”
All the women gasped, including Rory. Lydia hadn’t said a word. Rory stared at her in utter astonishment.
“You didn’t say anything. Not a single word,” Rory said.
“Lydia.” Detective Larrsen sounded both disappointed and worried. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d seen him?”
“You didn’t tell us you were looking for him. You didn’t ask about him. You didn’t say he was a suspect in Detective Ramsey’s death. You still haven’t said that he is. Is he? Or are you concerned that whoever murdered the other men—Dustin, Jarrod and Ret—might want to kill him? We aren’t told anything at all. We’re just asked a lot of questions.”
“He’s a person of interest,” Detective Abbott explained. “When did you last see him?”
“Rory, it was the night you had a date with Gideon to go to his house. You were going to meet Gideon after work. You came home, showered, changed and then left. I was excited for you, so I walked out the front door with you and stood outside watching as you went down the block. Just as I started back inside, I saw him on the opposite side of the street. He was kind of hidden in the shadows, but he was walking the same way as Rory was. He was a good distance behind her and acting strange.”
“Did he look like he was following her?” Detective Wilson asked.
Rory thought it was telling that he asked Lydia the question instead of asking her if she’d been aware of Harvey tailing her.
Lydia shook her head. “I didn’t think he was. I didn’t keep watching because there were police cars going up and down the street, and I thought she would be safe. Not only that, but Gideon’s building is only a couple of blocks up from us.”
“Did Harvey approach you?” Abbott asked Rory.
She shook her head. “No, he didn’t. I went to Gideon’s home and let myself in. He’d given me the code to get in. It was fairly foggy that night, and I was anxious to see him. I never saw Harvey, or for that matter any cops. I guess I should have been paying more attention to my surroundings.”
Every single word she said was the absolute truth, and if the cops were adept at hearing truth, her tone rang with sincerity. She nuzzled Ellen’s neck.
“I like birds,” the child confided in a whisper. “ ’Specially blue ones.”
“If any of you see Harvey again, don’t approach him or talk to him. Consider him dangerous. Immediately contact the number we give you. Speak only to one of us,” Larrsen cautioned. “If you think of anything else you remember about the day Detective Ramsey was shot, again, call the number we give you and speak only to one of us.”
Rory took the card Larrsen handed to her. She glanced down at it. Unlike the card with only a single number on it that Harvey had given her, this one had several names under the number, each belonging to one of the detectives. She couldn’t help but notice Westlake and Carver weren’t listed, not that she would ask for either of them even if she did have to call the number.
The women waited until the detectives had filed out before they exchanged another long round of looks, this time with a hint of despair.
“I don’t think this nightmare is ever going to end,” Sally whispered. “Do you think they suspect we had something to do with killing that detective?”
“How could we?” Lydia asked. “We didn’t know him. I barely saw him. The minute I heard gunfire, I picked up Ellen and ran out of here. And Warren wouldn’t be able to talk to me the way he does on an active investigation, at least I don’t think so.”
“You haven’t had a real date,” Pam pointed out. “He’s made it very clear he’d like to go out with you, but he hasn’t taken you to dinner or anything like that. I don’t think he can if you’re considered a suspect.”
“Or maybe even a witness,” Janice speculated.
“Can’t she just ask him?” Sally said. “That way, we’d all know if we’re considered suspects. They did use that kit on our hands that first day to rule out any of us firing a gun. Wouldn’t that have ruled us out altogether?”
“We wouldn’t have to pull the trigger to be an accessory,” Cindy said. “I should have taken the boys and moved.”
“That might have made you look even guiltier,” Pam pointed out.
They sat together in silence, looking glum.