Page 26 of Edge

Before I could think of a solution, Byte called.

“I don’t have great news,” he said without preamble. “She’s been named as a person of interest.”

“Fucking hell,” I grumbled.

“There’s more. They issued an APB for her. It has her picture, physical description, the make and model of her car, and her tag number.”

“Thanks, man.”

“No problem. I’ll let you know if I find anything else.”

After Byte’s phone call, one thing was certain—her car had to disappear. Even though I would have advised her against it, repairing the engine and trading it was no longer an option.

Exhaling slowly, I leaned against the hood of her car and tried to think of a solution that would work for her, as well as one she would agree to. After two more cups of coffee and a solid hour of brainstorming, I finally came up with something that might work.

Evie smiledwhen she opened the door for me. “Hey, Edge,” she said and gestured for me to come inside. “I’m almost ready to go.”

“Take your time.” I struggled to keep my face neutral, knowing I was about to wipe the smile off her pretty face. Figuring it was best to get it over with, I cleared my throat and said, “I need to talk to you about your car.”

“That doesn’t sound like good news.”

“I’m afraid it’s not.”

“What’s wrong with it?” she asked hesitantly.

“The engine needs to be replaced.”

“Are you serious?”

I nodded. “It looked like the oil hadn’t been changed in a while and that caused the engine to seize. Once that happens, it can’t be repaired.”

She closed her eyes and used one hand to rub her forehead. “Damn it. Whenever my car needed something done, I gave Randall the money and he took care of it. It never occurred to me he was lying to me and keeping the money for himself.”

“There’s sort of a silver lining,” I said. “Well, it’s more of a tarnished silver lining.”

“I’m not sure I want to know.”

“Maybe not, but you need to know,” I said and paused to choose my words carefully. “I was thinking about your situation and asked Byte to see what else he could find regarding Randall’s death.” There was no easy way to break the news, so I just told her like it was told to me. “You’re listed as a person of interest. An APB was issued with your picture and a description of you and your car, including your license plate number.”

Her mouth dropped open in shock. “A person of interest? What does that even mean?”

“In this case, it probably means they think you’re a suspect, but they don’t have enough evidence to prove it yet. They want to bring you in for questioning to see what they can get out of you.”

“Great. That’s just fucking great,” she said and began to pace. “What am I going to do now?”

“You don’t have to do anything. They can’t question you if they can’t find you.”

Exhaling heavily, she said, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She stopped pacing and turned to face me. “Wait. What’s the silver lining you mentioned?”

“You might have been found if your car hadn’t crapped out on you.”

“I see what you mean about it being tarnished,” she sighed. “I can’t afford to buy a new car right now, even if it’s a bottom of the barrel used one. And since I can’t get a loan for one, I guess it’s back to the bike.”

“About that,” I said and held up one finger to stop her protest. “Hear me out first. What if Irene put the loan for the car in her name and you made the payments?”

“I couldn’t ask her to do that,” she said. “She’s already gone above and beyond to help me.”

“What if she offered without you asking? What would you say then?”

---