Page 47 of Petty Deadly Gorgeous

She waved her hands around like some women do to stop crying. “Ha…” She shook her head, and I saw her husband come up and he placed his hands on her shoulders.

“I got this, Liz.”

She patted his hands and jogged away while he stepped outside with me and closed the door.

He patted his chest a couple times and instead of the firm voice I remembered; a choked one took its place. “Hollie…” His chest shuddered. “She killed herself three months ago.”

“Mister Callahan, there are no words…” I swallowed hard. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.”

“I didn’t know.” I took a step back.

“No. There’s no way you could’ve.” He held out his hand, and I accepted the shaking with him.

What do you say to people who’ve just lost their child? I had no clue, and being at such a loss, so I backed away and headed back to my car.

He lifted his hand in a wave and I stuck my key in the ignition and turned. My engine roared to life, and I pulled away from the curb.

The Russell’s also had a case with a young girl a couple of blocks over. Same burglary and between both houses, we caught the boys who were doing it.

This place stood out to me for how perfect all the lawns were. I remembered being called in on the case because they had stumped the police chief. There were no cameras on residential houses, only the parks had some.

I turned the corner and drove to the and of the block. There were two girls outside playing basketball. When they noticed my car, they walked up into the yard.

Pulling over to the curb, I parked in front of the house with the kids, killed the engine and got out.

“Hey! Detective Moody!” A girl jogged over, and I recognized Nina right away.

“Hey yourself, Nina.” I smiled. “Are your parents’ home?”

“Nope.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s date night.”

I laughed, and she dribbled the basketball. “Whatcha need?”

“Well, I had a question for you, but I need to wait for your parents.”

She shrugged her shoulders and took a shot at the hoop. “You can ask me.” She caught the rebound and went for a lay-up. “You remember Naomi, my older sister. She’s legal.”

The older sister walked over. “She’s right. I’m here.”

I nodded and looked down at the ground. “I should come back.”

“Tell him.” I heard Naomi whisper harshly.

“Tell me what?” I walked closed and partially sat on my hood.

Nina’s eyes shifted around, and she puffed her cheeks out with the breath she blew out. “Can you keep this between us?”

“As long as you’re not in danger.” I nodded. “I can do that.”

“Okay, look. The other dude?”

“My partner? Riley?” I tilted my head and watched her nervously sway.

She nodded. “He’s creepy. Like. Really creepy.”

I folded my bottom lip into my mouth and let my tongue wet it. “Did he do something to you?”

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