Page 25 of Remember Her Name

The last major case they’d worked had involved a child’s drawing. Josie had spent days trying to figure out what it meant. Turner thought it was useless but, in the end, it had proven crucial to solving the case.

“You have a better idea?” asked Josie.

Turner stopped at her desk and dropped two dollars into her jar. “Real evidence. Like fingerprints or something.”

“You still owe me fifty cents, Turner,” she reminded him.

He huffed and searched his pockets, coming up with some change, dropping it into her jar. “All I’ve got is thirty-five cents. That’s what you’re getting.”

She was inclined to forgive him the fifteen cents he still owed her because of what he’d done for Amber last night. Instead, she said, “Hummel couldn’t pull prints from the photo. He got a bunch of prints from the car but most of them did not come up in AFIS. There was one set that matched a guy named Edgar Garcia. He’s twenty-eight, has a conviction for simple assault. Second-degree misdemeanor. Served almost two years.”

Turner sat in his desk chair and picked up the tiny foam basketball next to his computer. He squeezed it in his hand. “Anyone interview this guy yet?”

Josie shook her head. “Hummel just called with the results. I looked him up. He works at an auto repair shop near the university. Schock’s Auto Repair.”

Turner threw the ball at the tiny net by his blotter. As usual, it missed. “Any chance Sheila Hampton has used Schock’s?”

Josie went back around to her desk and took another sip of her latte. “Yes. I already asked Mrs. Hampton. Actually, Hummel and Chan are over at her house now getting elimination prints from her and her husband. But I still think someone should talk with Edgar Garcia.”

Turner flipped the tab on his energy drink. “You volunteering me?”

Josie braced her hands on her desk and leaned toward him. “Maybe.”

“You don’t want to go with me?”

“Not particularly. How do you know Trinity?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he sucked down his drink, watching her the entire time. When he was done, he crushed the can in his hand and tossed it into his garbage bin. Pushing some papers around on his desk, he said, “She didn’t tell you?”

“I didn’t have time to ask.”

Turner stood up and went to the corkboard. “This guy left us a photo for a reason.”

Now that Josie wanted to know something, he was suddenly interested in the polaroid. “No shit.”

He tapped a finger over the blue object in the polaroid. “What’s this?”

Josie joined him. “I’ve been trying to figure it out since I saw this damn thing. You didn’t answer my question.”

He leaned in closer, squinting. “This looks like maybe it’s made of wood.”

“I thought so, too.”

“Part of a building? A step? A shed? What?”

“I don’t know.” Josie traced her finger over the edge of the blue object. “See the bottom? It looks almost curved. Stop avoiding my question. How do you know my sister?”

With a sigh, he dropped his hand, thrumming his fingers against his thigh. “That’s for her to tell you.”

The lattes in Josie’s stomach sloshed around. “Oh my God. You didn’t—you and Trinity weren’t?—”

He shot her a look, one eyebrow raised. “Relax, swee— Quinn. It was nothing like that. Although, if it had been, could you blame her? I mean, look at me.”

Josie rolled her eyes. “You know, if someone has a really annoying personality, that tends to make them unattractive. When did you meet her?”

He chuckled. “You know, you’re like one of those little ankle-biting, yappy dogs. It was right after your episodes ofDatelineaired.”

Which meant it was pre-Drake. After Lila was arrested and Josie was reunited with the Payne family, Trinity had talked her into giving interviews toDatelineabout their unique situation. Josie still kind of hated that those were out there. “You saw those?”

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