Page 20 of Wild Justice

The dogs were gathered protectively around Carole and Lulu, a few whining that their mistress was distraught. Gary flew across the room and sat on Carole’s other side, gathering her in his arms.

“What’s going on? What’s happened? You’re acting like someone died.”

Shit, this wasn’t going well. Or was there ever a good way to do this? It was a question she’d never asked her father or any of his cop friends.

Note to self - ask Dare or Griffin or one of the others.

“It’s Dana,” Carole’s voice cracked with emotion. “She’s gone, Gary. She’s gone.”

Carole broke down into sobs while Gary appeared shocked and disbelieving. He kept shaking his head as Lulu gently explained what had happened this morning. She had to say it several times before the truth began to sink in and reality to take hold.

“We just talked to her,” Carole said. “Yesterday morning. She stopped by, and we sat down and had coffee together.”

“What did you talk about?” Lulu queried. “Did she seem out of sorts? Angry? Sad? Did she have anything stressful going on?”

“She was tired of her job,” Gary growled. “And I don’t blame her. She was talking about getting a new one, but she didn’t know what she wanted to do. We’ve been encouraging her to go back to school. Maybe become a dental hygienist or a paralegal. Something with a future. She was never going to get ahead as a waitress at that bar.”

“Gary,” Carole said with a shake of her head. “It’s a good, honest job. There’s nothing shameful in work.”

“There isn’t, but she could have done better.”

“We talked about how the hours were getting to her,” Carole replied to Lulu. “The late nights and so forth. Dana was a morning person, so it was tough on her. We talked about her sister’s upcoming birthday, and how her car was making a strange noise. That’s pretty much it.”

“Did she have a boyfriend? Anyone she was seeing?”

“I don’t think so,” Carole said. “At least, she didn’t mention anyone, but then, we’re her parents. She might not. Her friends or sisters might know more.”

“She had terrible taste in men,” Gary said with a roll of his eyes. “Jay was a loser and so were all her other boyfriends. Not a winner in the bunch.”

“There was that nice young man from Springwood,” Carole interjected. “He was…an attorney, I think. We liked him.”

“And that was the kiss of death for the poor guy,” Gary griped. “Once we thought he was good for her, she dumped him. She only wanted men who we hated.”

A roomful of psychologists would have a field day with that behavior, but Lulu wasn’t one of them. Maybe Colt might have something to say, though. He was a professional, after all. Maybe she’d give him a call later to get his thoughts.

“She was just searching for her place in life,” Carole said, giving her husband a quelling look. “She was just a late bloomer. She would have figured it all out eventually. I think she was getting close. She had a look in her eye the last few times I saw her. She acted genuinely happy and satisfied.”

Happy and satisfied? Had Dana been…in love? Lulu made a mental note to dig into Dana’s love life. Sadly, the most dangerous person in a woman’s life was her significant other. Unless there was a serial killer in Harper - and the chances were low - strangers didn’t usually kill strangers. People killed for love or money or revenge.

Which was it for Dana?

“Can you give me the names of Dana’s friends?” Lulu asked. “I’d like to talk to them, too. It’s sometimes the smallest detail that breaks a case. I want to assure you that finding out who did this is my top priority.”

“We know you’re a good girl,” Carole said. “Your parents are such wonderful people. If your dad were here… Did you call him?”

Lulu had a feeling that she was going to hear that question a great deal over the next few days. Probably until the case was solved.

“He and Mom got on a cruise ship this morning,” Lulu replied, noting the disappointment in Carole’s eyes. “However, I can always call in one of my uncles if I need any help.”

The Cartwrights instantly seemed to perk up at the statement. Their shaky confidence in Lulu’s ability to find a killer restored at the mention of assistance.

“Of course, your father knew many well-qualified lawmen,” Gary said. “They can share their wisdom.”

Was this Gary’s way of saying she wasn’t well-qualified?

Well…I’m not. I’ve never worked a murder case in my life. They should have doubts. They’d be crazy not to. This was their daughter, and I’m a rookie. But I’m going to do it. I will get the job done.

“As I said, this is my number one priority. I will be asking lots of questions around town about Dana and the people around her. I feel like I need to warn you that often families find this disturbing and intrusive. I will try and be discreet, but I need to dig into Dana’s life. Sometimes that can get ugly, especially when it comes to finances and relationships.”

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