Page 29 of The One for Forever

“Means you’re keeping him on his toes. Well done.”

She doesn’t acknowledge the compliment, but the extra color above her cheekbones suggests she’s pleased by it.

I’m talking about eyewitness evidence that Amber wasn’t where she claimed to be on the day of the murder.

Quinn sucks in a breath, while Lana sits up straighter. The tension in the room has just dialed up to eleven.

“I’m guessing that’s what you were hoping to hear?” Sylvie asks.

“And then some,” Quinn says. “On the day of the murder, Amber was at a hair salon and spa for most of the day. It’s her alibi. She posted on social about her appointment. Made sure that a dozen people saw her arrive that morning. But there was a stretch of time, about three hours, that she was entirely unaccounted for. She claimed to be in the sauna and locker room where there are, conveniently, no cameras. No witnesses either. Our theory is that she left the spa, killed her husband, and sneaked back into the locker room before her pedicure appointment. The physical evidence supports it.”

“But it’s one of the weaker aspects of our case,” Lana admits. “If we had an eyewitness putting Amber at the murder sceneduring the key time period, that would be the finishing touch on the case we’re building.”

I cross my arms. “All the more reason for suspicion. This supposed witness is dangling exactly what you need.”

“Exactly why we can’t afford to disregard it,” Quinn points out. Immediately, she starts typing again.

What’s this evidence? We need a proffer.

I don’t have it yet. But I can get it to you. If…

If you think the DA pays for evidence, you’d be wrong.

That’s not what I want. Not money or anything like that. But I will need assurances.

Such as?

I’ll let you know. I’ll be in touch.

Wait, what’s your name? I need to know this is legit. How do I know you’re not wasting my time?

Hello?

But the source doesn’t reply. Quinn curses, setting the phone roughly on the conference table.

Meanwhile, I raise an eyebrow at Sylvie in a silent question. She shakes her head.Nope. We got nothing on the source’s identity or location. At least not yet. I clench my hand into a fist, then release it. I’ve learned to be patient, but I wish I had more for Quinn right now. I hate that she’s disappointed.

Lana sits at the head of the conference table, tapping her nails on its surface. “The ball is in our witness’s court now.Probably just what he wanted. Unless this witness agrees to testify or leads us to verifiable evidence we can authenticate and use, it doesn’t matter anyway. All we can do is wait.”

Quinn gets up, as if she’s too full of nervous energy to sit still. It’s what I was feeling during that entire text exchange. Yet now that the witness has vanished, I don’t feel much better.What was that really about?My gut says the so-called “witness” is full of it. This person has some kind of agenda. I intend to find out what it is.

“Sylvie, your team will keep looking into the witness’s burner phone and location?” Quinn asks.

“Absolutely, hon. I’ll make it a priority. I’ll pass anything I find on to Foxy for you.” Sylvie gives me a wink.

Quinn’s frown turns into a soft smile as her gaze meets mine. “Sounds good.”

“We’ll sort this out,” I assure her and Lana. “I’ll coordinate with everyone here at Bennett and keep you both informed.”

“Just what I want to hear,” the district attorney says with a sigh. “This baby is demanding enough of my attention. I’ve got all I can handle as it is.” She gets up. “I’m going to find Max. Rex, you’ll see Quinn safely home?”

“Absolutely. My team is checking out her apartment building as we speak.”

Lana grips my shoulder on her way out. Sylvie is gathering up her computers and equipment. But Quinn is chewing her lower lip, as if she’s holding back something more that she wants to say. I’m sure she has a lot on her mind.

I just hope she’s not cooking up some kind of plan to find the witness on her own. The Quinn I knew before was cautious and practical. But this grownup version of her? I can’t quite predict what she might do.

And that idea is just as exciting as it is dismaying.

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