Page 29 of Three for a Girl

Josh shrugged. “Marcy’s been in the news a lot, this hunt for a suitable donor, maybe they used it as a cover, make the killing about kidneys when it isn’t.”

“And if it wasn’t about her kidneys, what was it for, huh?” Ally said. “Her bikinis?”

“Could’ve been. Ellen was promoting Surfs-up swimwear. I’ll contact them, see if anyone’s been sniffing about, trying to promote their products.”

“Any excuse to look at women in bikinis.”

“There’s a men’s range, too.”

Ally’s quirked her eyebrows. “Maybe you’re on to something.”

“Bikini snaps,” Chad said, “What if the motive is sexual?”

“No sexual assault took place.” Faye said, “There’s plenty of comments under her photos though, and I quote, ‘I’d split you open in a heartbeat.’ That’s one of many from BigBoy11.”

Ally groaned. “Why can’t any of them use their real goddamn names?”

“Because that would make our job easier.” Chad snorted.

“Most of the comments are recent, an outcry after her death. They want justice served.”

“What about power gain?” he asked.

“It must be about control,” Ally said. “The killer took her, tied her up, then killed her, seemingly for her kidneys. Is that the power gain, the kidneys? Because they weren’t any use after five days.”

“Look at this.” Faye said, gesturing to the screen. She’d scrolled down from the photograph, and stopped at the hashtags.

“#PrayforMarcy. #WishIcouldhelp. #HopingandPraying.”

“Our killer has a sadistic streak, that’s for sure.” Josh said. “And poor taste in football teams.”

“The woolly hat.” Chad shook his head. “It has to be significant.”

“It might have been all the killer had on hand. We still don’t know where the murder took place. Scottsdale hat, awful team, he could’ve been at the local dump.”

Chad turned his attention to his computer, and watched Ellen’s workout session for the tenth time. Kerion slipped into the shot when she was almost done, and kissed her cheek.

Another video showed her pranking Kerion as he washed his sports car, dropping a cold bucket of water on him from an upstairs window. He retaliated by chasing her around their garden in another video. They giggled, and play fought, and gazed at each other.

“Makes you sick, doesn’t it?” Ally said.

“What?”

“Love.” She sighed. “To be young and in love.”

“Your husband chase you around the garden with a hose?”

“Like hell, I would’ve shoved it up his—”

The office door opened with a bang, and the DI stepped out. He lifted his chin towards Chad. “Kerion’s waiting in reception. I’ve brought him in to help with our investigation, shed some light on this sweetcheeks.”

Chad nodded, and he and Ally followed the DI out of the incident room. Chad wanted to see Kerion, wanted to see through his mask, but the man in reception, puffy eyed, with a balled-up tissue in his hand, sunk Chad’s stomach.

Ally elbowed his side. “Told you.”

Kerion’s black hair wasn’t styled like all of his pictures, he wasn’t wearing his diamond earring or his Rolex watch. He had his biker jacket on, zipped up to his chin despite it being a baking hot day.

“You’ve met me and Ally before.” The DI said.

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