Page 44 of Death Raiser

“Hit and run.”

I swore.

“I know. It gets worse. She was waiting on the corner for her boyfriend Mason to pick her up. He never showed. But witnesses claim to have seen a black Honda Civic leave the scene.”

“Common enough car.”

“Same make, model and colour as the boyfriend’s car. The investigators suspected either the boyfriend or one of his parents, but they couldn’t prove it. The car had been reported stolen the night before and they never recovered it.”

“Wow.”

“She was four months pregnant.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. I’d been in the business long enough to know life was unfair and cruel, but stories like this still stabbed at my heart.

“If it’s her, it certainly explains the rage and the power she demonstrated.”

“She’s buried at Royal Oak Burial Park under her Chinese name,” Kang said. “Zheng Mei Hua.”

His phone buzzed and he glanced at the scene. “The team is here. Do you want to wait outside? An independent investigator will have to take your statement before you can leave.”

I nodded and turned to leave.

“I can come with you,” Kang offered.

“And hold my hand?”

“If you want.”

“I’ll be okay,” I lied.

Kang hesitated.

“You have a job to do,” I told him. “I’m fine and if that changes, I’ll call.”

Kang clamped his mouth shut and jerked his head up and down in a tense nod that told me two things—he didn’t believe me when I said I was fine, and he didn’t like leaving me alone.

I gave him what I hoped would be a reassuring smile and tried to walk calmly out of the apartment.

Kang growled behind me.

“Let her go,” Jacobs said. “You heard her…”

I closed the door on the rest of the conversation and backtracked my way through the building while first responders rushed past me.

Taking a deep breath, filled with old apartment air, I focused on placing one foot in front of the other down the hallway and stairs. With my breathing under control, I paused in the lobby and pulled out my phone. I found Cathy’s contact information and dialled her number. I could at least knock one thing from my list while I waited to give my statement. It would help keep my mind distracted. My hands still shook, but focusing on a simple, normal task helped.

“Hello?” Cathy answered.

“Hi, Cathy, this is Lark Morgan.”

“Oh…oh, hello.”

“Does the name Lily Zheng mean anything to you?”

Silence answered me.

I waited.

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