Page 73 of Be Very Quiet

“O-okay. Which one?”

Reese recited the number. She typed into the computer in front of her. “Georgia Perkins. Let me call her first.” She dialed the number, but as it had when Rex called earlier, it kicked to voicemail.

Ruth pushed her chair back and stood. “I’ll get the key.” She disappeared into a room behind the desk and returned. They followed her outside and to the second floor.

“After you unlock the door, step back, and don’t come inside,” Reese cautioned.

With eyes as wide as saucers, Ruth nodded. “Okay.”

Though they had never worked together before, Reese and Luca synced perfectly. With hand signals, Reese motioned he would go in high, with Luca taking the lower quadrant. They pulled their weapons and waited for Ruth to insert the key with shaking fingers. As soon as the lock turned, she dashed away.

Reese nodded at Luca, and they burst inside. Reese disappeared down the hallway while Luca checked the other rooms. The apartment was small, so it took no time to clear it. Georgia wasn’t home.

“Luggage in the closet on a shelf,” Reese noted.

“Milk in the fridge with two days left before expiration,” Luca said.

“Meow.”

Luca glanced down to see a gray cat winding around his legs. The empty bowl in the kitchen told him the cat was hungry. He checked the cabinets and found one stocked with a variety of canned food. He chose salmon and opened it, trying not to gag. The stuff looked and smelled nasty. The cat disagreed, trying its best to climb his leg.

He dumped the contents into the bowl, and the cat pounced.

“He was hungry,” Reese noted.

“Look around,” Luca instructed. Everything was cat-related, from the clock on the wall with the tail that acted as a pendulum, to the dishtowels plentifully bestrewn with kittens, to the gigantic carpet-covered cat tree with deluxe scratching posts.

“She wouldn’t leave the cat to its own devices,” Luca insisted.

“You’re right. Nothing looks out of order or as if a struggle has taken place. She either left in a hurry . . .”

“Or she didn’t leave willingly,” Luca finished.

The cat had polished off its meal and began rubbing against Luca again.

“Aw, it likes you,” Reese observed.

Luca bent down and picked it up. He’d never had one as a pet, only dogs growing up. This one was very affectionate and rather cute. He scratched its head, and its green eyes went to half-mast as he purred. He checked the tag. Smoke.

“What do we do with him?” Luca didn’t want to leave it to fend for itself.

“Take it with us until we contact family,” Reese suggested.

Luca was afraid he’d say that. He placed the cat on the floor and grabbed several cans of food. Reese found a canvas carrier, and Smoke crawled inside. A check in the closet produced a tub of litter. Luca added a couple of the toys lying around, and they were on their way.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Liliana watched the scenery as Christian drove home. Luca, Detective Torres, and Reese Reneau were cautiously optimistic that Douglas had been the killer, but Liliana wasn’t convinced at all. Finding items that belonged to the victims was a giant neon sign flashing he was guilty. How else would he have them? As Luca said, Douglas was originally from Minnesota. Maybe he’d known Ted Rader, and the killer had revealed the location of his earlier mementos.

Nope. She still didn’t believe it. When she’d questioned him point blank, he’d had no idea what she was talking about. She didn’t think he was faking, either. His confusion had been genuine.

While she would be ecstatic if the killer had been caught, she didn’t know how she would say goodbye to Luca when he left. She’d walked away once, and it was the hardest thing she’d ever done. She wasn’t sure she could lose him a second time, though she’d never really had him ten years ago. Her fault.

When they were inside her condo, Liliana watched as Christian cooked dinner. She offered to help, but he waved her away. She wasn’t the least bit hungry but didn’t want to offend him. He let Audria help, and they whipped up a tasty stir fry with fresh vegetables she had on hand and some frozen chicken over brown rice. As soon as dinner was finished and cleaned up, she headed across the hall to the bedroom in the rented condo. Audria followed but stayed in the living room and flicked on the television.

Liliana wanted to soak in a bath to erase Douglas Speke from her memory. A glass of wine would be nice too, but she was more interested in washing the stink of the last few hours off her body.

Liliana was happy to find bath bombs under the sink. She added a gardenia-scented one and waited until the tub filled before she stripped and slid inside, groaning as she sank into the scented water.

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