Speak No Evil_ A Novel - Allison Brennan [64]
Carina would have given her right arm to protect the Vance family from the media onslaught, but there was nothing to be done. The media seemed to think freedom of the press meant freedom to be callous.
Angie’s mother blinked, then jumped up and wrapped her arms around the man who’d approached.
“Friend, relative of the family?” Nick asked, almost to himself.
“Probably, but it was a good call; solitary male under thirty watching the crowd.”
Carina’s radio beeped and she spoke into it. “I need to check with the team outside. I’ll be back in ten.”
Nick watched Carina briskly exit the room. She was an interesting woman. Full of confidence, drive, intelligence. Driven by her nephew’s death, though it didn’t consume her. She had allowed his sympathy when offered, accepting it without bristling or complaint.
He admired that. It took a strong woman to accept sincere condolences and not go on the attack.
If he was in a better place in his life, if he knew where he was going, what he was doing with his career, Carina would be the type of woman he’d like to get to know. Intimately.
Lord knew he needed a woman who didn’t have baggage that weighed more than his.
Nick watched Steve’s neighbor Ava enter the room, glance around, and make a beeline toward Steve when she spotted him in the corner, surrounded by a large group of girls. Steve’s face lit up when he saw her, and they hugged. Platonic? No. They may not have had sex, but there was an affair of the heart going on.
What did these girls see in Steve? Sure, he was attractive and in shape, he was obviously attentive and liked to have fun. But wouldn’t they be more interested in boys their own age? Nick had been around college students most of his career and had never wanted to date any of them.
But he’d pretty much spent most of the last ten years in love with one woman. A woman who couldn’t return his feelings. A woman he had voluntarily walked away from, hoping she’d follow him.
She hadn’t.
He approached the group, standing aloof, not wanting to become involved, but Ava motioned for him to come over and made a space for him. “We were just talking about who could have done something like this to Angie.”
“We know Steve didn’t do it,” one of the girls said. “I can’t believe the police even talked to him like he was a criminal.”
Another girl squeezed Steve’s arm. “You’re okay, right? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
“No, no, nothing like that. The police really want to find Angie’s killer. Since I’m her ex-boyfriend, it’s logical they would look at me first. I understand that. But now that they know I didn’t do it, they can focus on finding the real killer.”
Nick watched the interaction, his complex feelings about Steve and his behavior weighing heavily. Steve glared at him, the accusation of distrust in his expression hitting Nick hard.
He said “Excuse me” and went to find Carina.
He needed fresh air.
NINETEEN
CARINA FIDGETED as she drove with Nick from the police station to her parents’ house twenty minutes east in an older, established San Diego neighborhood. It was nine o’clock, and the memorial service had been a bust—at least as far as learning anything about Angie’s killer was concerned.
All the guests had arrived safely and left unharmed; between herself, Nick, and the undercover cops, they’d matched up every guest with a friend or relative in the room. No one looked out of place, no one lurked in the bushes, no one wrote slut on the bathroom wall.
She felt like it had been a complete waste of time. She slammed her fist against the steering wheel.
“What are you frustrated about?” Nick asked.
“Nothing happened!”
“You wanted someone to be abducted?”
“No. I just wanted him to show up so I could nail the bastard to the wall.” She glanced at him, saw the bemused expression on his face, and lost some of her anger. “I’m good at that, you know. Apprehension.”
“Yeah, women cops have all the tricks.