Page 534 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

Silas met her eyes. “No one can prove it, but…well, the father was found beaten, nearly to death, outside a bar in St. Paul. One witness said they saw a Camaro parked on the street, but retracted it later.”

“A Camaro?”

“Black.” Silas’ eyes narrowed. “Stone drives a black Camaro.”

His words dropped through her like a stone. “You don’t think…”

“I absolutelydothink. Everyone knows he’s a fighter—works out with his partner all the time at a local boxing ring.”

She just stared at him. “He wouldn’t…” she said softly.

He shrugged. “IA did some investigation, but rumor was Burke confirmed his alibi. Of course.”

She made a non-committal noise. Then, “I might be on his side, just a little.”

Silas raised an eyebrow. “No doubt it strikes a nerve in all of us to think about that little girl…and…” He shook his head. “But he nearly killed the guy, Eve.”

“Supposedly.”

“Really?”

“You don’t know. And he was cleared.”

Silas held up his hands. “All I’m saying is that the guy has a dark side. Don’t get too close, okay?”

Huh. But she nodded.

He let her climb in her car, and stood there watching as she backed out. Waved before heading to his own car.

She pulled out, driving through the darkened streets toward Lake Street, then past Lake Calhoun, glistening under the moonlight in Technicolor with the lights of the city.

When she pulled up to her house, Samson’s truck was parked out front. Moths played kamikaze with her lit porch light as she opened her door.

Inside, the kitchen light beckoned her and she found Samson sprawled under her sink, in his stocking feet and grout-splattered jeans. But along her kitchen counter, below the cupboards and along the back splash of her new stove, ice-blue tiles lined the walls, grouted with a foamy blue. And shoot, but Sams was right.

“Nice,” she said, dropping her satchel on her countertop. Samson climbed out, knocking his hat sideways.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” she said.

“I have beer in the fridge.” He climbed to his feet.

“I just need a bath. Please, please?—”

“The water will be on in a jiffy. I need to finish connecting the new faucet.”

She noticed it now, a stainless goose neck. “The place looks good, Sams.”

He disappeared again under the sink. “Thanks. I know you had a rough day, so I wanted to finish it for you before you got home.”

Sweet. She opened the fridge, grabbed a couple beers and when he slid back out, handed him one. He opened it, then hers and tapped their beers together.

They drank in silence.

“Is it okay if I crash on your sofa?”

She grinned. “Yeah. Or in the second bedroom upstairs.”

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