Page 66 of Innocent Intent

“I mean, it’s possible. You have the body for it. Definitely not bad on the eyes. Just don’t have the diva personality. That’s the only noticeable contradiction.”

“What type of personality do I have, Sam?”

“One of a man who punches his coworkers for asking the wrong questions.”

He grinned behind the neck of his beer before the rim met his lips. “It wasn’t unprovoked. He was being a dick.”

“Didn’t say it wasn’t. I don’t take you as the type to go around punching people unprovoked.”

He chuckled lightly.

“How have you been, Nate? Haven’t heard from you in a little while. I texted, but you didn’t respond.”

“Yeah, been a little busy with a case. Sorry, I—”

She shook her head. “Don’t explain. That’s not us. I get it. You busy tonight?”

Davis considered the offer on the table and found his mind drifting to the reason why he wouldn’t accept.

Cassidy.

“Maybe another time.” It wasn’t a lie. For now, anyway. “Got some work to catch up on.”

Sam smiled softly and stood. “Maybe another time then,” she repeated and stared at him. When he lifted his eyes, hers offered concern.

“You okay? Seem a little distant.”

“According to you, I’m always distant.”

“Yeah, you are, but this feels different.”

It was because of her . . .

Cassidy.

“I’m good, Sam. Just work stuff.”

“Well, take care, and I’m around, you know. For whatever. Even just to talk.” She stepped around the table and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Before she could walk off, he caught her hand and gave a gentle squeeze.

“Thanks, Sam. I appreciate you.”

He let her go, and she left. They both knew there wouldn’t be another time or anything more than what they’d already shared. Sam wasn’t privy to why, while Davis couldn’t get the woman who’d completely changed the direction of his life out of his head.

Sitting in his living room reviewing the names on the list, Davis managed to exclude most of them with a gut feeling and simple internet searches. He then focused on those who were local and came up empty. He’d circled back to those that were out of state when one name, in particular, stood out in a way that he couldn’t seem to bypass. Something about it felt eerily familiar and had Davis flipping through the case flies to find the list of people who had immediate access to Cassidy when he realized why the name felt familiar.

Laura T. Murphy.

Tia Murphy.

“Cassidy’s assistant.” The partial print matched a school identification print of a child in San Diego. It was possible that Cassidy’s assistant having a fingerprint on record that matched the partial on the gun was merely coincidental, but those types of coincidences rarely ever existed. Davis’s gut told him that he needed to dig a little deeper.

He found social media for Tia Murphy and began navigating through her page. There hadn’t been any posts prior to her freshman year of college, and only a handful back then. She sporadically posted typical pictures of food, vacations, and selfies, hardly anything personal. The most important thing that stood out to Davis was that her life before working with Cassidy was pretty mundane. She was a typical college kid, but there wasn’t anything significant about her life. Not one post of friends or family. The year she began working with Cassidy, everything about the young woman’s world shifted. She started wearing expensive clothing, carrying high-end bags, and posting pictures of herself at chic restaurants and hotels.

Davis remembered Cassidy mentioning how Tia traveled with her and was at all of the speaking engagements, so he referenced the photos and locations Tia posted with the ones that Cassidy posted on her own social media sites. Although Cassidy’s page was more on the professional side, with very little about her personal life, he realized that many of the travel dates that Tia posted matched those Cassidy had posted. The two spent quite a bit of time together, but Cassidy had already mentioned that.

“Tia Murphy. Who are you?” Davis mumbled to himself.

It was late, and his eyes felt the strain from all the hours of staring at his laptop, so he decided to call it and start fresh the next day. His first task would be contacting Tia to ask her questions about her life with Cassidy. There was something there, and he needed to figure out what that something was. Cassidy seemed to be trusting of the young woman, but Davis had no personal connection, allowing him to view things from all angles. At this point, he needed a win.

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