Page 53 of Every Deadly Suspicion

Nathan sipped his coffee and let his gaze wander. He had a seat in the back of the shop with a view of the front door and the service counter. It was a long shot to hope the perpetrator would be here now, scoping out another victim, but Nathan wanted toget a feel for the place and its customers. If the killer kept to his timeline, they likely had a month before he killed again. Nathan would not bet anyone’s life on that. From what Edda’s scene looked like, the guy was escalating.

The customers in the shop were a mix, a nice cross section of humanity. Old, young, and in between. In one corner four senior ladies sipped coffee and chatted. Along the back wall, three singles, each at their own table, were deeply involved in their laptops. Two of them had earbuds and they seemed to be scanning websites, from what Nathan could see. The third was typing fast sometimes and slowly at others.

At another table a man and woman sat, each with a cup of coffee and intently concentrating on their own phones. At another an older gentleman read the newspaper and munched on a bagel. In the front of the shop at an outside table, three young moms with small children were having an animated, happy conversation. There was an endless stream of customers purchasing coffee and food and then leaving. No one in the place looked like a loner trying to hook up online. Of course, a weekday morning might be the wrong time of day to be in the shop.

Nathan watched the door, hoping someone would come in and activate his cop sense. He wished Hanna were here. She had great intuition and was one of the best people readers he’d ever known. And she was good company. Nathan enjoyed every moment he’d spent with her.

Marcus Marshall came in with his laptop. He picked up a large coffee, took a look around the place as if he were searching for someone, and then saw Nathan. He walked over to his table.

“Detective, something happening here I should know about?”

“Just good coffee.” Nathan held up his cup. “You come here to work?” He pointed at the laptop.

“Writing my story about Chief Keyes bringing that murderer back to our town. Just spoke with the parole officer.” Marshall made a face. “What a bunch of hogwash about Joe not being a threat. How does that sit with the sheriff’s department?”

“Pretty much that it’s her decision. Hanna needs to do what’s right for Hanna.” Nathan hoped the visit from parole was positive for her.

“It sets a bad precedent, letting a killer out like this.”

“The state needs to reduce the prison population. Seems the ones who are the least threatening should be the ones to be let go.”

“It’s still wrong. I have to write about this travesty. People care about the safety of their communities. The book will be a guaranteed bestseller.” He saluted Nathan with his coffee cup and walked off to a table in the back.

A few minutes later, Nathan saw another familiar face. In through the door walked Jude Carver. Nathan’s gaze hardened on the man. He’d been a thorn in Hanna’s side and that made Nathan angry.

The guy still walked like a cop, as if he wore a gun belt and was looking for a suspect. He surveyed the shop, sweeping the room with his gaze. His eyes rested on Nathan, and surprise registered briefly before Carver caught himself and his features went blank. He ordered coffee, and after he paid and grabbed the cup, he strolled over to where Nathan sat.

“Waiting for your girlfriend there, Nate?” Carver sipped his coffee, the smirk on his face making him look like a three-year-old who just stole a cookie.

“I’m working, Jude.Ihave a job.” He couldn’t resist the juvenile taunt.

Carver’s features darkened. “Yeah, about that. I’ll win in court, my job and back pay. I don’t need to litigate it here. Just that youneed to watch that gal of yours. She’s two-timing you for sure. Seems she prefers firefighters to cops now.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Just that women are fickle. Any man in uniform is a catch. Especially when old friends are involved.” Carver grinned and left the shop.

Nathan frowned. What was that jab about? Two-timing? Jude meant Jared Hodges. He knew Hanna still had feelings for Hodges, even though she wouldn’t admit it. It bothered him more than he liked to admit. He had no idea how to broach the subject with her.

He sat back in his seat. Jude’s jab had done what he had intended—and that made Nathan even angrier at the guy. Before he could let his mind run too far down that rabbit trail, Manny arrived. He saw Nathan right away.

“You look like week-old roadkill,” Manny said when he sat at Nathan’s table.

“I didn’t get much sleep last night.” Nathan finished his double-shot espresso and hoped the caffeine would jolt him awake. He put Jude Carver out of his mind. “I keep praying for a smoking gun, a surprise ID, something.”

“That would be nice,” Manny said. “I spoke to the lab supervisor about the fingernail scrapings. She’s confident we have enough to get a full profile. Edda might have caught her own killer.”

“How long do we have to wait?”

Manny gazed down at the ground. “Yeah, that’s the bad part. It could take a couple of months. They’re backlogged.”

Nathan threw his hands up. “We could have two more victims by then.”

“They know there’s an urgency. The downside is just because we get a profile doesn’t mean the guy is in the system.”

“True. I’m hoping something will point to a guy we can startwatching. With a profile already in hand, we’d just have to find a way to get a sample from the guy.”

Manny looked around. “Anyone catch your eye here?”

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