Page 11 of The Woman at the Funeral

“So, what I’m hearing is you haven’t done laundry.”

“Bingo,” Zeno said, making a gun with his fingers—black nails and all—and gestured shooting.

“So, what did you find for me?”

“Right. The… Matt thing.”

“His brutal murder? That thing? Yeah.”

“Wasn’t being insensitive. Easier to compartmentalize shit. Might want to try it yourself before I show you this.”

“You found the CCTV footage?”

“Yeah. I wouldn’t get your hopes up too much. Unless you see something I didn’t see—and I watched it about fifty times—there’s not much to go on.”

“Roll it,” I demanded.

I steeled my stomach as Zeno’s finger slipped to the space bar, clicking once.

The screen unfroze.

I recognized the street. I’d been there less than an hour after the news broke. Matt’s blood had still been staining the sidewalk. Cops were still standing about uselessly. Like no one was in any hurry to get to the bottom of the situation.

I knew from experience they likely wouldn’t ever figure it out.

Which meant it was on me to do it.

No, Matt wasn’t “Family.” But that didn’t matter. Someone had to find out who did this to him and make them pay.

I watched as a couple moved into the frame, walking arm-in-arm, heads leaned into each other.

Then there was Matt.

He had his phone pressed to his ear, his mouth moving quickly, his arms doing even more talking. Everything about him was agitated. No, not just agitated. He was pissed about something.

Then out of nowhere, his body jerked.

Once.

Twice.

Six times.

I didn’t need the sound to know what did that to a person.

Gunshots.

I knew from the way his body crumbled that he was dead before he hit the pavement. Even so, the way his head whacked off the sidewalk had my stomach lurching.

“Roll it back,” I said, realizing I’d been watching Matt, not looking for clues to the shooter.

But Zen was right; no matter how many times the footage played, there was nothing to see.

The very edge of a bumper. No plate. No person. No nothing.

“Anything on the ta—”

“Taillight,” Zeno finished for me. “I have it running. It’s only the corner of it. I don’t have a lot of hope. But you never know.”

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