Page 7 of Liar's Point

CHAPTER

TWO

Emmet pulled into the parking lot and scanned the rows. No black Nissan Pathfinder, thank hell. He glanced up at the second apartment from the end. Her light was on.

He got out and climbed the stairs. As he reached the top, his phone vibrated with a text from his brother.

Buck’s is dead tonight. We’re headed to Finn’s. U coming?

Be there in 20, Emmet responded.

He walked down the open breezeway to Nicole’s door and gave a few sharp raps. A shadow moved in front of the peephole. Several seconds ticked by and then the door swung open, and she sighed.

“Expecting someone else?”

“No,” she said, moving back to let him in.

He stepped inside, and she glanced out at the parking lot before closing the door and turning to face him. The minidress and heels were gone, but he could still smell her perfume. She’d changed into an oversized sweatshirt and leggings.

“Want a beer?” she asked.

“Sure.”

He followed her into the kitchen, on alert for her skinny cat, who hated him.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“I came by to update you.”

The phone on the counter chimed, and Nicole grabbed it. Her brow furrowed as she read a text.

Emmet scooted around her and opened the fridge. He grabbed a Corona and watched as she tapped out a message to someone, probably David. He took a bottle opener from the drawer by the oven and popped off the top.

“So what’s going on?” she asked, setting her phone aside. Her long auburn hair was back in a ponytail now, and she looked like herself again, except for all the eyeliner.

“I talked to my DPS contact,” he said. “The prints match the ones on file from her driver’s license. Aubrey Lambert, twenty-four years old. Houston address. Her parents live at the same location.”

Nicole leaned back against the counter. “I thought she was local.”

“Guess she didn’t get around to changing her driver’s license.” He took another sip. “We called Houston PD. They’re going to send someone first thing in the morning to notify next of kin.”

“Why not tonight?”

“It’s Houston.” He shrugged. “They’re slammed. I’m guessing conducting a death knock for us isn’t high on their list.”

Nicole rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, once the family’s notified, I’ll get in touch with them about logistics. We figured you’d want to handle the autopsy. The chief wants a rush on the lab work. If someone sold her some bad shit, maybe something laced with fentanyl, we want to know that sooner rather than later.”

“Brady said it was prescription pills.”

“Yeah, but you know how that goes. Could be from one of the pharmacies over the border.”

She folded her arms over her chest. “Who is ‘we’?”

“What?”

“Who decided I should handle the autopsy?”

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