Page 18 of The Perfect Accomplice

He might be right. Kat had been through enough therapy after her near-death experience in Afghanistan to know that sometimes the body reacted independent of the brain and vice versa. What she should be ashamed of was how she’d kept these hospital visits a secret from her fiancé for months now. It wasn’t fair that he only learned of them when she called him in a near meltdown while standing on the curb outside the hospital.

But of course, Mitch had rushed here immediately. And since his arrival, he hadn’t mentioned a word about her deception. That didn’t mean she shouldn’t.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t have snuck around like that. It was crazy. I should have told you what I was doing, coming here all the time.”

"Yes, you should have," he chided gently. "If only so you didn't have to carry this burden alone. I get it. This woman messed you up, and you want to keep tabs on her. You don't want her springing any more surprises on you. You want some measure of control. That's not crazy. It's human nature."

“But we’re getting married. I should have trusted you with this.”

Mitch lightly placed his index finger under her chin and delicately lifted it so that she was looking in his warm, gray eyes. His sandy hair glistened in the late morning sun. With his kind smile and jolly tan giant of a body, he looked like he’d been placed here by the gods.

“We all make mistakes, Kat,” he said. “You’ve been through a lot. It would be weird if all of your decisions were completely logical. But we don’t have to fixate on that. Let’s focus on the future.”

“What future?” she asked, embarrassed at how pouty she sounded.

"A future where we deal with this together," he told her. "Now we can be open about how Ash Pierce waking up from her coma has impacted you. Maybe you can talk to a professional about it too. But the one thing we're not going to do is let this define us, Okay? You're back at work full-time now. I'm starting with the LAPD next month. We've got a nice new place together. And our friends are throwing us a party tomorrow night because we're getting married in a few months. Things aren't as dire as they seem. We just have to have the right perspective, okay?"

Kat fought off a giggle. Despite the fear she’d felt earlier and the mortification she felt now, somehow this tree trunk of a human being still had the capacity to make it all seem alright.

“Okay,” she said. “I’m really lucky to have you.”

“Yes, you are,” he agreed.

She strained her neck to reach up and give him a kiss. Because of the people walking by, he returned it a little shyly.

“You can do better than that,” she scolded.

He tried again, this time with much more enthusiasm. It was almost enough to make Kat forget about Ash Pierce, awake and alert in the hospital behind her. Almost.

CHAPTER TEN

Jessie stewed quietly.

She was still annoyed about how the Elaine Podemski interview had gone off the rails so quickly. It was all the more frustrating, considering that the woman was never the most likely suspect. Would she have been more forthcoming with helpful information if Ryan hadn’t attacked her right out of the gate? Maybe not, but it sure didn’t help.

Her phone buzzed, and she looked down to find a text from Beth Ryerson.

"Beth says that Elaine's alibi looks like it's going to hold up," she told him, paraphrasing the message. "They've already confirmed her attendance at that event with three bigwigs from the Pasadena Women's Society. And the hotel will have video footage for them to review within the hour. Also, she says Jamil reviewed the messages that Erin Podemski received on social media. He couldn't find anything that leaped out as threatening."

Ryan didn’t respond as they made their way through the winding Hollywood Hills streets leading up to Sydney Ashe’s home, which was only a few minutes from Erin Podemski’s. Jessie noted that Ryan drove much slower this time.

“Maybe I pushed a little hard,” he muttered, as if replying to an accusation she’d made only moments ago, instead of as they were leaving Elaine’s Pasadena mansion thirty-five minutes earlier.

Jessie was tempted to agree but worried that it would seem like she was rubbing salt in the wound. Instead, she merely nodded in appreciation at his concession. Any further comment was interrupted by their shared ringing phones.

“It’s Sergeant Cutter,” she said. “I’ll answer it.”

“Hello Sergeant, she said. “You’re on speaker with me and Detective Hernandez. What’s up?”

“I just spoke with the coroner, and he gave me an update that you might find valuable.”

“We’re all ears,” Ryan told him.

“He thinks that the weapon used to strangle Erin Podemski was made of leather,” Cutter said. “There were fibers found in her neck tissue that suggest as much. He’s guessing a belt, though it’s too early to confirm that.”

“That’s interesting,” Ryan said. “Did he find similar fibers when he looked at Sydney Ashe’s injuries?”

"Unfortunately, she was wearing a turtleneck when she was attacked," Cutter explained. "Dr. Roone said that the only fibers embedded in her skin were from the material of her sweater. He's going back and testing the exterior of the sweater, though, to see if he can find leather fibers there."

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