Page 10 of Investigate Away
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. We could go on like this forever,” he said.
She laughed. “We sure did hurt each other, didn’t we?”
He leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. “That we did, but it’s the past, and it’s time to let it stay there and move forward.”
“Now you sound like Kara. She’s doesn’t even want to stay on as my researcher for any other true crime books or pieces I do for the network.”
He dropped his hands to the desk. “That’s shocking. She was more passionate about the Trinket Killer in the beginning than you were.”
“Her wife was the first victim,” Callie said. “She made it her life’s work, but now she’s found love again and wants to put this behind her. That said, I often wonder if the case hadn’t gone so cold would she be singing a different tune.”
He’d always liked Kara. She stayed in the background, never inserting herself into the thick of the investigation, and when she had an opinion about something, the way she presented it was always professional and in a way that never stepped on anyone’s toes.
But she always took Callie’s side in any argument, and even more so the moment she found out Callie and Jag were a couple. He thought Kara believed Callie could do better.
Perhaps she could.
“Or maybe you used her to the point she has nothing left to give.”
“Wow. You just want to keep on hurting me, don’t you?”
“Sorry,” he said. “Old habits die hard. But have you ever thought that Stephanie wasn’t killed by the Trinket Killer, but a copycat, who also killed Adam?” It was a weak theory but one that had legs.
When Adam had been released from county lockup, he’d disappeared. On the same day, a male body had been found. A few days later, the same day that Stephanie was killed, the male body turned out to be Adam.
Too many coincidences and in his line of work, those didn’t exist.
However, that theory was a stretch, and he knew it.
“Of course, I’ve thought about it,” Callie said. “Stephanie had called me a half dozen times the night she was murdered, but you and I were in the middle of getting engaged, so I ignored her calls. Her last message was that she had something important that she had to tell me and you. She sounded desperate and scared.”
“I know. I listened to the message a few times. Something definitely had her spooked, and the fact she wanted me there has always made me wonder what upset her.”
“Or what she knew. She was desperate to talk to me, but I blew her off.” Callie dabbed the corner of her right eye with her shirt, which showed off a little bit of her taut abs.
He shouldn’t notice, much less stare. He shifted his gaze upward.
“And then we both got called to a murder, only it was hers,” Callie said.
Jag stood and made his way around to the other side of the desk. He sat in the chair next to Callie and took her hands in his. A sizzle crawled across his skin in a blaze of glory. All of his muscles twitched and tightened in preparation for what they remembered having her in his arms meant.
Only it wasn’t going to happen.
Not like that.
He was only going to comfort her for a second.
“The one thing I’ve never actually gotten to say to you without us slinging mud at each other is how truly sorry I am about Stephanie.”
“Thank you for that.” She gave his hand a good squeeze and pulled away, leaning back in the chair. “I wasn’t thinking straight that night. Nor for days after. Hell, I’m not sure my head’s been on right since. Even Kara is tired of me and my obsession, but I can’t let it go. Stephanie was all the family I had left, and I let her down. I let her down big-time.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long puff of air. His heart hammered against his ribs. “No. You didn’t. But I did,” he admitted. “You were right. I fucked up, and I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since. But for fuck’s sake, why do you have to write about it?” He slammed his fist on the desk. Two files jumped right off the surface and landed on the floor.
“I know you’ve read some of it, or you wouldn’t be this mad.”
“The title pissed me off enough that I didn’t have to open it.” He pushed back the chair and gripped the door handle. “I don’t know why I thought we could be nice to each other. But we can’t. So, I think it’s best if you go.”
“I can also tell you didn’t read the last chapter.” She gathered up her things and shoved them in her backpack. “I’ll save you the effort.” She stood and closed the gap between them. She stood so close he could feel the heat rising off her skin, coating his like a weighted blanket meant to protect, only he felt stifled and unable to move. “Stephanie knew the Trinket Killer.”
