Speak No Evil_ A Novel - Allison Brennan [93]
“He told me.”
“Be careful. He’s not Will.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Will has your back, and he’s capable of covering it. Sheriff Thomas isn’t even officially involved in the case, and he’s not your partner.”
“I think you’re worrying about nothing.”
“I hope.”
“What’s all this dumping on Nick?” She put her own mug in the sink. “I get a call from Jim and he’s all uppity about him.”
“Jim’s jealous.”
“He has nothing to be jealous about. We broke up over a year ago.”
“It’s a guy thing.”
“Guy thing. Right.” She took a brush from her purse and pulled it through her hair. “Nick has been an asset on this case. You said so yourself.”
“I agree. He has a sharp mind. He has a theory about the killer that I think is right on the money.”
“Why’d he share it with you and not me?”
“Because I was there and we were bouncing ideas back and forth. I hadn’t intended to talk about the case. He thinks the killer planned to kidnap Jodi on Wednesday night, after he planted the webcam in her kitchen, but she didn’t drink the drugged beverages. He grew angry and grabbed someone else.”
“Becca. Wrong place wrong time?”
“More like he knew her or had seen her and she was easy to subdue.”
“But that makes a connection between him and Becca, if they were in proximity.”
“Exactly. The library. And thinking about it, I think Nick is right.”
“Why?” But already Carina was putting together the pieces.
“Because the killer is immature. He was angry that Jodi messed up his plan. Ruined his fantasy. He had to take a woman that night. He had it all thought out. Probably had all the supplies on hand. Becca was there, she was nice to him, he waited for her.”
“It makes sense. Doesn’t help with figuring out who’s next.”
“Chief Causey said you have a twenty-four/seven watch on Abby and Kayla.”
“If his plan was Jodi all along, and Becca was just convenient, then Abby and Kayla could very well be in danger.”
“I agree. I also think he has other women he’s stalking. Probably connected with where he goes to school or where he works.”
“I have an undercover cop at the library during the hours he is most likely to be there, but now I’ll put one on-site full-time.”
“Good.”
Carina glanced at her watch. “Jodi Carmichael’s autopsy is in an hour. I have to pick up Nick and head over there. Do you want to observe?”
“At the beginning, then I need to meet Andrew at the courthouse. By the way, I like him,” said Dillon.
“Him who? Andrew?” She scrunched up her nose. Though she respected her former brother-in-law as the district attorney, she and her brothers had never liked him.
“The sheriff.”
“You were just lecturing me about what he was doing hanging around the case.”
“Hmm, not quite. I was just curious, mostly.”
Carina playfully hit him.
“Seriously, I like him. He’s one of the good guys.”
Carina shook her head. “Get out of here so I can lock up. I’ll meet you at the morgue.” She didn’t know what to make of Dillon’s pronouncement, but decided not to look too deeply at it. It made her feel, well, like a teenager again when Dillon put his stamp of approval on her boyfriends.
But she was secretly pleased. Dillon’s instincts about the men in her life were usually accurate.
It took less than two minutes to back out of her garage and drive the block to her parents’ house. She ran up the stairs to the garage apartment and pounded on the door. “Hey Nick! You decent?”
No answer.
She ran back down the stairs and through the side door into the kitchen. Nick was standing at the sink rinsing dishes and loading the dishwasher. Nick was a big guy, broader than her dad, built more like her brother Connor, the PI. He looked strange in her mother’s kitchen, but at the same time oddly domestic, almost like he fit.
She shook her head. It was all Dillon’s fault, coming into her house telling her he liked Nick. What was with that? She knew better than to get involved with cops. No matter how sexy they looked doing dishes. Especially since he would be going back to Montana, and that would be that.
But it wasn’t like he worked in the San