Page 10 of The First Hunt

“That’s good,” Holly coaxed. “Do you remember how tall he was?”

Callie shook her head. “I never saw him get out of the car.” Her eyes lit up. “Oh, but he had a mustache. I remember that.”

“What kind of car did he drive?”

Callie cast a sideways glance toward the window as if straining to remember. Holly’s stomach sank.How can any of this be reliable if she doesn’t even remember what kind of car they were in?

Callie met Holly’s gaze. “A white pickup.”

“Are you sure?”

Callie nodded. “I’m sure.”

“Do you remember the make?”

Callie pressed her chapped lips together. “No.”

“That’s okay.” Holly patted her hand. “This is really helpful. Thank you.”

Callie stared at the table. “I read your theory that Meg might’ve been killed by the Green River Killer. You don’t think that could’ve been him, do you?”

Holly gazed out the window at the cars driving by. “I think anything is possible.” Except, like Sally Hickman, Meg was last seen getting into a blue car, not a white pickup. Although, this mystery man could’ve had two vehicles, Holly supposed. Or bought a new car before he—

A bell chimed as the diner door opened. Holly looked toward the sound, surprised to see her fiancé striding toward them, wearing a scowl.

“Jared,” she said when he approached their booth. “What are you doing here?”

He put his hands on his hips, ignoring Callie sitting across from her. “I could ask you the same thing. I went to your house, and when you weren’t there, I went to theTribune. Sarah told me she saw you go across the street. Do you even know what time it is?”

“Jared, this is Callie.” Holly motioned to the woman across the table. “She knew Meg. And the father of Meg’s child. Possibly even her killer.”

Holly expected Jared to be amazed at this news like she’d been. Instead, his scowl deepened. He shot Callie a wary glance before turning back to Holly.

“Sweetheart, no offense, but if this woman had pertinent information related to your sister’s murder, she would’ve come forward five years ago. I warned you this kind of thing might happen after your article came out, remember?”

Holly remembered. “But she was Meg’s roommate. I tried tracking her down before—”

“Honey.” The hardness in Jared’s expression eased. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re not a detective. You need to give it a rest. If the Green River Killer Task Force can’t solveMeg’s murder, then neither can you. Meg’s murder was likely a random act of violence from someone she didn’t know. If this woman—”

“Her name’s Callie,” Holly said.

Jared pursed his lips. “Callie. If what she knows is relevant then she should be telling Andy, the detective assigned to Meg’s case, not you.” He looked at his watch. “If we leave now, I can take you home to get changed and we might still make our reservation.”

Holly’s mouth fell open at how heartless Jared was being. Did he really think their dinner was more important than solving her sister’s murder?

Holly dug a hand into her purse. Jared was right about one thing. Holly pulled out a business card and extended it to Callie. “You need to tell all of this to the detective who’s handling Meg’s case. His name is Andy Harris, and he works at King County Major Crimes. His office is on the second floor of the courthouse, less than a mile from here. You could also describe this man Meg was seeing to their sketch artist. Do you want me to go with you?”

Jared groaned. “Holly, what are you doing? We have to go. You can’t go to Vito’s like that.” He motioned to Holly’s sweatshirt.

Holly ignored him and locked eyes with Callie. “I’d be more than happy to if you don’t want to go alone.”

Callie shook her head. “No, that’s okay.”

“Are you sure?” Holly asked.

Callie nodded.

“But you’ll still go see him, right?”

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