Page 46 of Over the Edge

That call completed, he put the car in gear and set his cell on the seat beside him as it pinged with a text notification.

He picked it up again while he pulled out of his driveway.

A message from one of the undercover officers watching Pop, including a photo.

This guy doesn’t fit the homeless mold. He and the subject are at Al’s Diner.

Jack pulled over, enlarged the somewhat grainy photo that had been taken on the sly, and homed in on Pop’s companion.The man was in profile, a cap pulled down over his hair, but there was no mistaking his identity.

It was ex-homeless veteran Chad Allen.

Bingo.

And the link fit. Pop had been on the streets for years. It was very possible his path had crossed with Allen’s and the two had struck up a friendship.

If so—and in light of Allen’s connection to the Robertson murder—the obvious conclusion was that he’d given Pop the jewelry. Payback, friendship, concern for the man’s welfare ... there could be any number of motives for the gift.

Only Allen could provide that answer.

Whether he would cooperate remained to be seen, but that had to be the next order of business. Not a trip to Creve Coeur Lake.

He put his fingers in motion, returning the text.

Pop’s companion still there?

No. They talked for a couple of minutes and he took off. Seemed upset.

No doubt after Pop told him he’d been questioned and passed on the message that law enforcement wanted the name of his generous friend.

Jack pulled away from the curb and stepped on the gas.

It was possible Allen would run, but with a new wife at home, odds were he wouldn’t bail.

In fact, he could be headed home now to warn her there were storm clouds ahead.

After thanking the undercover officer, Jack punched in Lindsey’s number.

She answered on the first ring, and after explaining that officers were en route, he got to the real reason for his call.

“I’m going to have to bail on the lake reconnaissance. Asolid tip came in on the Robertson case, and I have to follow up on it. I’ll stay in the loop with the officers at the scene, though, and touch base with you later to take a statement.”

“Okay.”

But it wasn’t. As they signed off, her inflection suggested she thought he was humoring her, had dismissed her story as one of those reports that had to be investigated even though everyone knew from the outset nothing substantive would be found.

That wasn’t true. Well ... not exactly. While he might have a few doubts about what had transpired this morning, it was clear Lindsey didn’t. And nothing in their encounters to date suggested she was less than stable.

Nevertheless, it might be prudent to do a bit of research on the previous traumatic incident she’d alluded to. Anyone subjected to too much stress could end up having emotional and mental issues. It would be foolish to discount that possibility.

Or the possibility she could have deeper psychological issues with no relation to recent or past incidents.

Like the kind that had plagued his mother.

Gut twisting, Jack mashed his lips together and pressed harder on the accelerator.

That was ancient history. He should let it go once and for all. Allowing those memories to color his perceptions of others was a mistake. Not everyone who had mental lapses was sick.

On the other hand, there was nothing wrong with a healthy dose of caution based on experience. It was called self-preservation.

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