Page 23 of Off the Hook

“I’m sure Coulter has plans,” Faith said quickly. “Are you here with friends?”

I could tell the last thing she wanted was for me to join them. “Yeah, well, my brothers.” I said, nodding across the bar. “They’re over there.”

“Wait,” Laura said, squinting at my brothers. “Are you guys triplets?”

“No,” I chuckled, “but they are actually twins.”

“You really do look alike,” Faith agreed.

“Yeah, we get that a lot.” I glanced at my brothers and back to the beautiful women I’d rather be hanging out with. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.”

“Come back and say hi later,” Laura said, slinging her arm around Faith’s shoulders. “This one here needs to socialize more!”

“Sure, see y’all later,” I said, trying to sound aloof. “In case I don’t, I hope you both have a wonderful New Year’s.”

Faith smiled, a genuine smile that reached her eyes. “You too, Coulter.”

“See, now was that so hard?” I could hear Laura ribbing her friend as I walked away.

A surge of unexpected warmth spread through me as I made my way through the thick crowd around the bar. Faith seemed different. It wasn’t just the dress and heels, or the bonus that she wasn’t accusing me of murder. I was pretty sure I felt a spark when she looked at me, and I could feel her eyes on me when I walked away. When I slipped back onto my stool beside my brothers at the bar, I couldn’t help but glance over at her.

“Who wasthat?” Kai’s elbow jabbed me in the ribs.

“That’s Faith.”

“The detective?” Kai’s mouth hung open. “Aw, hell, bro.”

“Jesus, dude, you have the worst damn luck.” Reef shook his head. “But par for the course. The prettiest girl in the bar always did terrify you.”

I picked up my beer and slammed the last warm swig. “Thanks for the reminder, asshole.”

CHAPTER 13

FAITH

Idrummed my fingers on my desk, staring at the computer screen, willing it to beep with incoming news. The DNA results from Kylie’s body were taking forever, and the waiting was driving me nuts. I pulled a fresh Bic pen from my drawer and gnawed on the top. When the familiar ping of an incoming email finally broke the silence, I threw the pen onto the desk beside another mangled one. The email was from the lab.

“Fingerprints!” I cheered as I clicked on the report with nervous anticipation. This had to give us some clues. But as I scanned through the results, my heart sank.

Oscar had received the same report. And from the cocky smirk on his face as he strode over to my desk, he’d already seen it. “What do you think about Coulter Rodman’s prints in her mother’s house?”

I studied the report again. “I think they’re in strange places. On the leg of the table behind the sofa, and on the mermaid statue on that same table. Nowhere else.”

“Puts him at the scene,” Oscar shrugged.

“But there were no strange prints on the drawers that were emptied out, or the lamp that was overturned, or anywhere else,” I said, squinting to scan the report.

“Maybe he wiped the place clean but missed a few,” Oscar suggested.

I blinked a couple of times, trying to formulate an answer that wouldn’t be inflammatory. “But the homeowners’ prints were intact, all over the place. Those would have been disturbed if anyone wiped the place clean. Besides, Coulter said they’re like family. Maybe there’s an explanation.”

“You really don’t want him to be guilty, do you?”

Refusing to let my partner put me on the defensive, I kept a calm tone. “I really don’t want to jump to conclusions over inconclusive evidence.”

Oscar brushed off the insinuation that he was being less than objective. “It’s time we talk to the only non-Rodman at that dinner on Christmas Eve.”

“His brother’s girlfriend?” I asked, nodding that I agreed to the suggestion I’d already made.

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