Page 42 of T-Bone
She nodded. “I did. And I wasn’t. Besides, no cop was going to talk to me with a biker at my side. No offense,” she added and took a bite of the burger.
“None taken. Did you learn anything?”
“Yeah. The body of Ashley’s ex, the one whokilledher? He was dead in her backyard at least one full day before she was killed.”
“No shit?”
“I know, shocked me too. The detective I spoke to said the forensics confirmed it was at least twenty-four hours before Ashley was killed and the uniform who found them said the body looked less than fresh.” She took bites between the little bombs she continued to drop, completely unaware of the effect it was having on me. “Not that we needed the confirmation, but he definitely didn’t kill her.”
“He was a patsy.” Another senseless fucking murder. “Anything else?”
Faith had just taken a big bite of food when I asked the question and she froze, eyes wide and slightly embarrassed as she nodded.
Dammit, she was growing more appealing by the day which meant we needed to find her niece and end this shit sooner rather than later. When had I spent time with a woman who was so unabashedly real? She didn’t dress to impress, didn’t bother with too much make up or hair, but I found her as hot as any of those women.
She finished chewing just as my food arrived and stole a curly fry off my plate. “We didn’t order fries,” she said as an afterthought.
“Yeah, the chef said that your man here helped his girlfriend. You changed her tire on the side of the road a few weeks ago and followed her until she was back in town.”
I knew who she was talking about immediately. “Red glasses. Scared of me.”
The waitress smiled. “Yep. He says she wanted you to know that she was scared of you at first, but then she was thankful to you for looking out for her. Food’s on the house.”
“His food is on the house,” Faith amended. “I’m paying for mine.”
“Enjoy the food and call if you need anything,” she said breezily and bounced off to the next table.
We sat in silence for a few minutes while I ate and Faith was deep in thought. “Are you squeamish,” she asked out of the blue.
“What?”
She repeated the question and rolled her eyes. “Are you?”
“Not especially, why?”
She shrugged. “Just because you’re a big bad criminal doesn’t mean you’re used to crime scenes.”
“Tell me.”
She pulled out her phone and set it between us, scrolling from one image to the next. “These are the photos from Ashley’s case file, and these are the ones the responding officer took before anyone else arrived. Notice anything?”
“Yeah. What the fuck?”
“Exactly. He said the place was a mess and Ashley put up a hell of a fight. I didn’t know what he meant until he showed me his photos, which showed a much bloodier scene—and that skull right there. I wondered why someone had included a drawing of the symbol in the case file and now I know. Ashley painted it on the wall in her own blood before she died, telling us who killed her.”
“Shit.” My stomach dropped and I wondered how the fuck I would tell that to Pike.
She covered the screen with her hand. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, watching this woman so concerned with my sensibilities even though she was still struggling with trusting me. “Yeah, just, what a fucking way to go.”
“She was a fighter,” Ashley responded with a sad smile. “And I’m going to make sure he pays for everything he’s done to her. To Chloe. To everyone else.” She had that determined glint in her eyes that was part revenge and part something else.
“How you gonna do that?” She was so straight-laced, so black and white when it came to crime that I was genuinely curious.
“However I have to,” she replied with a serious expression. After a few seconds she literally shook as if that would help her shake off her negative thoughts. “Have youthought more about what you’re going to say to the parole board?”
Her question took me off guard. “Not yet. I have another two weeks before the hearing.”
