Page 99 of False Evidence

She covered her mouth to stifle her laughter as Grace—the oldest of the three—intervened when Colin got frustrated with dinosaur destruction. At six weeks shy of three years old, Grace sounded just like her mom as she attempted to settle the squabble in a toddler version of a maternal tone.

“I think I’m going to melt,” Alexandra whispered as she gripped JT’s hand.

Erica approached, a petite blonde woman—Curt’s wife, Mara—at her side.

Mara pulled Alexandra into a hug. “Sorry. I realize we’ve only met once briefly, but I’m skipping the handshake because we’ve been so worried!”

Alexandra hugged the small woman back, feeling like a giant. Her mind reeled at the acceptance by this community she hadn’t known she had.

From there she was introduced around the room to Raptor employees who lived in the compound and others who’d joined the holiday celebration with their significant others.

Some shared knowing looks as they glanced between her and JT. Most had entered JT’s life after she had left it, but they all appeared to know at least some of their history.

Through all the introductions, Lee was in the back corner, head down as he stared at a laptop. His posture was so familiar, it could be fourteen years ago, except his previously boyish face finally showed his age.

She crossed the room and dropped down on the couch by his side. “Anything interesting?”

He nodded. “Very.” He waved to JT. “You both need to hear this.”

JT had picked up Gemma to redirect her from destroying Colin’s trains, but catching Lee’s summons, he passed her off to Isabel, wife of Raptor owner Senator Alec Ravissant.

Seeing JT make a beeline for Lee, Alec, Curt, and Keith followed him to Lee’s corner.

“What’s up?” JT asked.

Lee removed his headset. “There’s an audio file on here you need to hear.” He faced Alexandra. “A week before Kendall died, she recorded a conversation.”

“Should we do this now?” JT asked, glancing back at the kids.

“Yeah, you don’t want to wait. Plus, I’d like Tricia’s thoughts as a former police officer and Curt’s as a prosecutor.”

Isabel had introduced Alexandra to Tricia a few minutes ago. She was glad to learn the Black operative was a former cop. Her take on the situation would be invaluable.

“I’ll make sure the kids don’t fuss,” Mara said. “So Erica can listen too.”

“Maybe put them in front of the TV,” Lee said. “I don’t want Grace learning any new words. I’m already in trouble for her delight in saying dammit.”

They waited for Mara to get the kids settled on the far side of the room withHow the Grinch Stole Christmasbefore listening. While Mara juggled toddlers, snacks, and sippy cups, Lee shared what he knew about the digital recording. “This was buried in a directory of very old files—grad school research notes of yours, Alexandra. It was nested three layers deep. But the date on the recording itself is from October of this year—a week before her death—so it was easy to find. Well, that and the file name gave it away.”

“What was it?”

“GHB.”

That came as a blow. She and Kendall never talked about that night, even though it undermined the rest of their friendship.

“How did Kendall die?” Tricia asked.

“It was ruled a suicide,” Alexandra said. “She’d battled depression for more than a decade, so that part wasn’t shocking. But according to her sister, she’d been in a good place the last few years. I hadn’t seen her in the year since I returned from Switzerland, so I don’t have firsthand knowledge of her general mental state, but Tanya said she was doing well.”

“What was the method?”

Alexandra cleared her throat. She hated to think about Kendall’s last moments, and it was worse now, with the knowledge her friend might have been murdered. “She died in her garage of carbon monoxide poisoning. She was leaning against the wall on the steps going into the house, not in the car. The Jetta’s engine was running. The button to open the garage door was above her, next to the door.”

Erica shuddered, and Alexandra remembered how close she’d come to dying from carbon monoxide nine years ago. That had been Drake’s doing. But Edward Drake was dead and couldn’t have anything to do with this.

Lee had also seen Erica’s reaction. He patted the seat next to him, and she sat down and leaned against her husband as he wrapped an arm around her.

Alexandra glanced toward the kids. Grace giggled as the lyrics to “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” played.

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