Page 34 of Nowhere to Hide
“My sister was killed by a drunk driver.”
I paused, then closed the file.
“It was a hit and run. We didn’t have any answers about the asshole that killed her. But the cop on the case—Jack Green. I’ll never forget his name. He worked that case even when it was cold as the ocean in February. It took six years, but he tracked down the guy. Took another drunk driving incident, this time the guy he hit lived. But Jack connected it to Katie’s case.”
I glanced over at him. Stone was staring out over the water, his hand gripped the railing as the boat undulated with a choppy wave. Suddenly he turned around and leaned back on the rail, crossing his arms. “I’ve closed six cold cases since I made detective.”
“Along with your other cases.”
He shrugged. “It’s the job. Miranda’s got her eyes on being a lieutenant. She’s way better at the politics of the force than I am, but she warned me I was getting obsessed.”
I slapped the top of the four inch thick stack of folders. “You’re onto something. Snap a pic of the grid we made. Maybe it’ll change her mind.”
I could see the indecision on his face, but the next move was his.
He pushed off and crossed to the table. He lifted his phone high over the table then another choppy wave hit and the file folder slid across the grid.
“How the hell do you live like this?”
I stood, instantly widening my stance to stabilize myself. “Should see a storm in the Caribbean. I actually almost slid off my deck.” I tucked the pictures back in, but paused on one. Shelooked way too much like Priscilla. In fact, the dress was eerily similar to hers.
I held the photo and stood over the grid.
All the women were wearing dresses. Not all that interesting until seeing them all together. I added Patty Sheldrake to the grid. “This looks like Priscilla’s dress.”
Stone frowned and picked up the photo. “Don’t most women have a dress or two in their closets?”
“Yeah, but every single one of these do. Well, except for two of the earlier ones but they were wearing skirts. Short ones, but still. I don’t know if that matters, but it’s another link.”
“Yeah, I missed that.” He used the double sided tape to tack Patty down then took a photo of the thirty-two women we’d finalized tonight. His fingers flew over the screen.
“Sending it to Diaz?”
“Yeah. Go big or get bumped down to traffic cop.”
I snorted.
His phone buzzed a moment later. Stone checked and his face went blank.
“What is it?”
“Priscilla had a setback. She went back into surgery. Had a nightmare and opened her wound.”
I paced out to the open air part of my deck, dragging in a gulping breath. I looked down at my hand and I could see the blood there again. “Is she okay?”
“I don’t know.”
“If she survives, I’ll take her. If she’ll go with me.”
“Are you sure?”
I wasn’t fucking sure of anything.
I closed my eyes at the bobbing boats in the distance. Even Milligan was fucking silent right then.
“She doesn’t deserve the nightmares.”
I lived them every goddamn night. If I could help keep her safe then maybe she wouldn’t get as fucked up as I was.
