Page 8 of Whispers Left Behind

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

She didn’t have to give Alex a play-by-play of her actions over the next hour. He never notified the next of kin. Ever. He would remain behind with Wally, oversee the processing of the scene, and then stay on site until everyone was gone.

Their routine had been that way since the trial.

“And Alex?” Kinsley had already veered off toward her Jeep, but she stopped and waited for her partner to do the same. She wanted to hammer in one more nail to keep her partner on solid ground. “I’m confident that we’re dealing with a copycat.”

“And why is that?”

“Gantz never would have forgotten to close the barn door.”

Chapter Four

Alex Lanen

October

Friday — 8:12 am

The elevator's new-age melodylacked rhythm or soul, and the volume was too high for such a small space. The person in charge of choosing the music should be fired, effective immediately.

Alex hadn’t bothered to remove his sunglasses after entering the station. His head was pounding, his eyes burned, and it was as if someone had taken an ice pick to his right shoulder blade.He was basically suffering the effects of a hangover without the previous night’s enjoyable proclivities.

How was it that he couldn’t pull an all-nighter on a case at the age of thirty-nine? Every muscle in his aching body screamed in protest as he shifted the strap of his workout bag. Starting this afternoon, he was heading back to the gym.

The elevator doors parted, releasing him onto the fourth floor. The homicide division was in its usual morning chaos, and Alex didn’t need to be reminded it was a Friday morning. The rancid odor of tofu had him lifting his forearm to his nose in hopes of staving off the stench.

“Damn it, Haugen!” Alex regretted raising his voice immediately. He stifled a groan before walking around the glass partition separating the hallway from the main bullpen. “I thought your mother-in-law went back home.”

“Next week,” Detective Samuel Haugen replied after wiping his mouth with a napkin. He patted his slightly protruding stomach in satisfaction, reminding Alex that he wasn’t nearly in as rough shape as his colleague. “I might retire, pack my bags, and go with her.”

“Good riddance,” Alex muttered as he walked past the man’s desk.

Sam’s mother-in-law was from Taiwan and came to visit her daughter and grandchildren three months out of the year. It was impossible not to know when she arrived based on the smell of the office every single Friday. The woman was the absolute sweetest, but some of those dishes of hers could curl a man’s toenails.

“Morning, Lanen.”

Alex merely nodded a greeting toward Haugen’s partner, Laura Mitchell. She didn’t bother to take her attention away from her computer, but she had a sixth sense. She had caught hisgesture, which was confirmed when she placed one finger on a greeting card and slid it to the edge of her desk.

“It’s Wally’s birthday next week. You and Aspen need to sign the card and pitch in ten.” This time around, Laura stared right at him. “Each.”

Haugen’s laughter followed Alex through the open area after he grabbed the card and headed toward his desk. He and Kinsley had claimed the entire back area through some very clever wagering with two seasoned detectives last year—Dobbs and Crosby. There would be no more poker games until the other two retired from the force.

“You’re in earlier than I expected.” Kinsley didn’t hesitate to reach for the cupholder he carried in his left hand. Considering that she had an addiction to caramel creamer, he always made sure the cups were labeled correctly. “I told the captain you wouldn’t be here until noon.”

The nice thing about having their desks tucked in the back was not just the additional space, but the large whiteboard attached to the wall. With their desks facing one another, the whiteboard was centered perfectly. The position of their workstations also afforded them a side view of the bullpen.

“Looks like I’m not the only one who pulled an all-nighter.” Alex dropped his gym bag to the floor as he scanned the board’s information that she had spent most of the night collecting. “Catch me up, and then we’ll fill in the captain.”

“I drove home and got around five hours of sleep.” Kinsley paused to sip her coffee while raking her gaze over his face. “More than I can say for you. How is it possible to look like shit and not have a strand out of place on that big head of yours?”

Alex refrained from replying that Kinsley shouldn’t talk out of turn. The harsh fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, and the stark brightness wasn’t kind to anyone. The pallor of her face wasn’t as noticeable this morning, and the stress lines aroundher eyes were less pronounced than when she had shown up at last night’s crime scene. She had also changed into one of her usual blazers. The material was more durable than those usually worn in an office setting, yet she still managed to pull off a professional appearance.

Currently, her blazer was slung haphazardly over the back of her chair.

“It’s all in the product, Kin. You’d know that if you ever bothered to walk down that aisle. I also caught a nap in the car while Monica and Bobby separated the field into grids.” Alex’s gaze was once again drawn to the whiteboard. Rachel’s photograph was front and center, and Kinsley had managed to put together quite the timeline. There were also pictures of other people arranged in a horizontal line near the top of the board. “Any chance you figured out who killed Hanson? I wouldn’t mind taking the rest of the day off.”

Alex tossed the greeting card on his desk. He took his time studying the photographs as he shrugged out of his jacket. No one stood out.

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