Page 59 of Lust
“She got in a few good scratches, though. We’ve retrieved samples from beneath her fingernails.”
“Good. Let me know what you find out.”
“Will do.”
Joe put his notebook away and strode toward where Liza interviewed a woman wearing a blanket and a beanie. He was sure he’d already seen her speak to that person.
He cleared his throat to let her know he was there, but then stayed at a respectful distance until she finished.
With bleak eyes, Liza said, “It’s not safe out here.” She wrote something on a card and handed it to the woman. “Ask for this person at the shelter. She’ll look after you.”
The woman nodded but didn’t look like she’d do it. In Cardinal City, a dead body down here was something they saw every other day.
“What have you got?” Joe asked Liza.
She flipped through her spiral notebook. “We’re estimating the body was dumped sometime between two and five this morning. No one heard a scream.”
“Examiner thinks she was killed somewhere else. Lack of blood. She was either brought here after or killed quietly.”
Liza looked away. Her bottom lip quivered.
“You good?” he asked.
She nodded. Then shook her head. “It was the teenage runaway. Mirabelle.”
He let out a sigh. “I thought it might be. It’s not your fault. Don’t get attached.”
Thunder clouds clapped at her dark look. “Not my fault? I could have stopped it. Wyatt should have let me finish him.”
He’d seen the dried blood on the alley floor.
“Are you talking about that man you used excessive force on? Liza, listen to yourself.”
With a grinding of her teeth, she wrenched her gaze from his and scowled as Mirabelle’s body was zipped and bagged. Her fingers flexed, creaking her leather gloves.
“Come on,” he said, voice soft. “I’ll get you a coffee with a straw, and we’ll start going over the old case files Geoff and Briggs have been rounding up.”
But she wouldn’t leave. Her eyes had turned distant, as though she was still in that brutal world where Wyatt had interrupted her.
“Liza?”
Wide eyes locked on him and Joe felt her panic to his core. Something wasn’t right. A curl of yellow at her mouth revealed why.
Joe searched their surroundings, looking for cover. His thoughts tumbled through different scenarios, thinking of ways of keeping her secret hidden. They couldn’t use the car, the two of them locked inside would be deadly, unless he locked her inside on her own.
He curled his fingers around her neck, intending to guide her to the car, but she put her hand over his and stopped. He sent her a questioning look.
Are you okay?
Relief poured through her gaze. She gripped his hand tighter and nodded. “You relax me. Don’t let go.”
He nodded. “Can I do anything else?”
Her eyes fluttered closed. “Just this.” She squeezed his fingers. “No... say something. Distract me.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know.”
