Page 72 of Deadly Designs

The captain shook his head. “They were adamant thatthey didn’t kill him. The same with Cecil Grubb, the man who triedto kidnap Ms. LaLonde. They swore they had never heard of himeither.”

“But Pastor Chet could’ve done it himself.”

“There is that possibility.”

“Did you question him about it?”

Captain Parsa sighed deeply. “I would’ve liked to,but he lawyered up and bailed out quickly, before I knew it’dhappened. Once the two bodyguards turned on him, we went to arresthim, but he wasn’t there.”

“What are you saying?”

“Pastor Chet is in the wind.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Aja Blue glanced around the policestation. If she never had to step inside one again, she’d begrateful. It was a buzz of activity, and she knew they were doinggood work, but she’d rather be elsewhere, like her desk, creatingthe new line of Christmas décor she’d planned. It would includeknitted trees, bejeweled felt stockings, and plush winter animalslike penguins, polar bears, and reindeer. Ideas were alreadyfloating around in her head, and she couldn’t wait to put them onpaper and watch them come alive.

With a sigh, she refocused on her surroundings. Kayneand Presley spoke to a man in a uniform while other officers movedaround, shuffling from one place to another. Phones rang, andchatter filled the air. Every so often, the faint wail of a sirenwould sound from outside.

What was the captain telling Christian? Had theycaught Jay’s killer? That caused a wave of sorrow to crash overher. How could he be gone? He was a force of nature. Maybe if shehadn’t taken off on a wild goose chase to Arizona, she’d have beenaround to stop him from being murdered.

Another thought crept into her head. If she hadn’tjumped on a plane to search for Polly, Aja Blue never would’ve metChristian. She hadn’t known him for long but couldn’t imagine herlife without him. Aja Blue had always subscribed to the theory ofeverything happening for a reason, and her impromptu trip hadintroduced her to him. He was the only thing holding her togetherthrough Jay’s death and the destruction of her office. Christianwas her rock.

Panic struck, and her lungs heaved. If Jay’s killerswere caught, Christian would leave. He would go back to his life,leaving her to pick up the pieces of hers alone. How would she lethim walk away?

“Aja Blue, are you okay?” Presley asked.

She shook her head and glanced at Christian’scoworkers. They were looking at her with undisguised concern. “Uh,yeah. Just thinking about my assistant.”And your friend,but she didn’t add that part.

“We will find out what happened to him,” Kaynepromised, and she believed him.

“I want to thank you two for helping Christian. Itmeans the world to me.”

“No thanks necessary,” Presley insisted with a waveof a hand. “Catching the bad guys is what we do.”

“We live for it,” Kayne added.

She smiled, loving Christian’s coworkers. They wereincredible people. Kayne was so sweet and caring, and she could seebecoming good friends with Presley. Knowing they would leave withChristian added an additional layer to her depression.

Aja Blue’s senses sharpened. Christian was nearby.Sure enough, he appeared and smiled at her. “Ready to go?”

“Yes.” She leaped to her feet.

They exited the building and piled into the SUV.

“So?” Kayne asked.

“They were able to trace a payment from Pastor Chet’slawyer to the man who ran into Presley and Detective Herbert.Pastor Chet’s two bodyguards, Ricky Daniels and Rufus Ingram, bothconfessed to bombing Aja Blue’s office and murdering BryonZikes.”

“And Jay’s murder,” Aja Blue reminded him.

Christian shook his head. “They swore they hadnothing to do with it.”

“So?” Aja Blue said. “They’re psychotic killers.They’ll lie at the drop of a hat.”

“I agree,” Christian concurred. “But they’d alreadyadmitted to killing Zikes. They had no reason to deny it.”

“What are you saying?”

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