Page 106 of Over the Edge

“I do have a busy—” Her phone began to vibrate, and she pulled it out.

Madeleine.

The woman’s timing was impeccable.

“Give me a minute.”

“No rush.” Jack strolled a few feet away and began scrolling through messages.

“Hi, Madeleine.”

“Back at you. I just wanted to check in and make certain you didn’t run into any glitches at the church because of the change in day for the class.”

“No glitches with the church. A little glitch afterward.” She explained what had happened.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I wish I was. I called the case detective, and he’s going to have one of their crime scene people come down to go over the car. Maybe the blood he found will give them a lead.”

“We can hope. If your car is stuck there, do you need a ride home?”

“The detective offered to line one up for me.”

“Why don’t I pick you up instead?”

Tempting as it was to accept her offer instead of hitching a lift with a stranger in a patrol car, it wouldn’t be fair to drag Madeleine out on a cold night like this when an alternative was available.

“I don’t want to bother you again.”

“It’s the least I can do, considering all the hours you’ve donated to teaching classes for me.”

“I appreciate it, but the church isn’t exactly in your backyard.”

“It is tonight. I was at a gallery opening for a showing by a friend of mine not too far from the church, so I’m in the neighborhood. Watch for me soon.” She ended the call without waiting for a response.

Lindsey slid her phone back into her pocket and swiveled toward Jack. “My friend Madeleine is in the area and will pick me up.”

“That works.” He rejoined her. “I can give you a lift back here in the morning.”

“I’d appreciate that. How long will it take to run the DNA?”

“In general, best case is twenty-four hours. I’ll push hard for a rapid test, though. As soon as I have it, I’ll run it through our databases and see if we can find a match.”

“What if you don’t?”

“We hang on to it. My gut tells me that whoever the bloodon your car belongs to is either Robertson’s killer or has a close link to the killer.”

“Your colleague’s theory about someone trying to discredit me as a witness by pulling bizarre stunts is becoming more and more credible.”

“After tonight, I’d say it’s passed the theory stage. Whoever has been targeting you has done an excellent job covering their tracks—until tonight. Leaving blood behind was a big mistake. We’ll run your DNA too to rule out a match, but if you don’t have any cuts, it doesn’t belong to you. I’ll call you tomorrow to set that up.”

Headlights swung into the lot, and Lindsey picked up her satchel. “Madeleine’s here.”

“I’ll walk you out.” He pushed open the door, and a frigid blast of wind pummeled them. “Sorry.”

“Not your fault.” A shiver rippled through her. “Who expects winter this early?”

“Welcome to St. Louis. By tomorrow it may feel like spring again.” He angled his body to shield her while she pulled the door closed and double-checked the lock, then took her arm as they circled Madeleine’s car. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I know anything.”

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