Page 138 of Say Yes to the Death

Claire walked out of the debriefing with her head spinning and her father two steps behind. She would give her right kidney to be out of these poorly lit hallways. She was ready to be done with this dark world of serial killers and get back to her happily ever afters. But there was something left on her To Do list before she could hang up her sleuthing hat for good. ESA had to be brought down.

“You did a good job,” Jack said as they walked toward the entrance. “It was smart to let him think someone else was claiming his kills. I’m surprised he gave up as much as he did.”

Apparently, he wasn’t going to scold her for bringing up ESA. Did that mean he believed her now? “Thanks. Let’s hope it was the truth.”

Jack turned to her just before the doors. “I really appreciate everything you did. It can’t have been easy. You’re going to be bringing some much needed closure to Kayley’s family if his intel was good. But it’s time to leave things to the professionals, Claire. No more investigating.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” she said. He didn’t need to know that there was already a binder dedicated to infiltrating the meeting the Bowling Ball guy had mentioned.

“Until next time,” Jack said, holding the door open for her. Next time? If he thought she was going to come back here and show off her scar again so that a psychopath could manipulate her, he was sorely misinformed. She walked outside and took a deep breath. Someone had definitely just spread manure nearby, but any fresh air was better than the stink of the prison. She paused at the corner of the building and bent over, waiting for the wave of nausea to pass.

“Are you okay?” Luke’s familiar voice soothed.

“I’m doing great. Like a charged crystal in a tranquility garden.”

“You were amazing in there.” He sounded genuinely impressed as he pulled her in for a quick hug and squeezed her tight. “I don’t know how you held it together. I would have jumped over that table and dropkicked him.”

“I probably would have if I could have gotten away with it,” Claire said, then pulled back and continued her yoga breaths.

“Do you think he’s telling the truth? About the body?”

“I really hope so.”

He put a hand on her cheek. “Let me make you dinner.” As usual, it wasn’t a request.

“Sure. Your place?” She was too tired to argue. Wide open country spaces and a kitchen that was hopefully filled with food and not just out-of-date coffee creamer? Sign her up. The four walls of Luke’s house had come to feel more like home than she’d care to admit. Even if they were owned by a pathological liar.

She retrieved her purse from the trunk and immediately checked her messages. No proposal emergencies. Thank god.

Luke started up the car and rolled out of the prison gates. He turned Claire’s favorite metal album on without asking. The passenger seat was still angled exactly where she liked it, and a strand of her hair clung fast to the glove box. The familiarity brought a sense of peace, and she reached across the console to lay her hand on his leg.

Something had been bothering her since Luke had addressed walking out in the middle of an argument. “I’m sorry for running away in Paris,” she told the windshield. “Instead of talking to you. That’s something I need to work on.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” he said, gripping her hand tightly. “I was being an idiot and letting my vision of the perfect documentary compromise everything. And letting the pressure from Pete get to me. He dropped out. I didn’t want someone like that trying to tell me how to produce my project anyway.”

“I’m so sorry, Luke. I know how important this documentary is to you.”

“Nothing is more important than you.”

A thrill ran through her belly.

“And there will be others, if I still decide to go through with it,” he continued.

“You have to. Their stories need to be told.”

Luke smiled and squeezed her hand. Butterflies tickled her stomach.

“Do we need to pick up Rosie?”

“She’s having a sleepover at Nicole’s.”

“Perfect. Let me just make a quick call.” He pulled over into a gas station and got out of the car to talk to someone before topping off his gas tank.

“All set,” he said, climbing back into the driver’s seat and buckling his seat belt.

“What exactly do you have planned?”

“You’ll see.” He smirked at the frown on her face. “I know how much you love surprises.”

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