Page 3 of Colton's Second Chance
Bad news. Police officers. Noelle gripped the doorknob and silently waved the officers in.
They both introduced themselves in grim tones, and with legs trembling, she showed them into her living room and took aseat on the couch. “All right, Eli. The policemen are here. What’s happened?”
He cleared his throat again, and she heard him take a deep breath. “There’s no easy way to tell you this, but…your sister, Allison, has been killed.”
Noelle replayed the words in her head, once…twice. Eli must have thought her silence meant she’d not heard or had hung up, because he repeated the stunning news.
“I heard you. I just… How? When? And why the hell are you calling to tell me instead of letting these officers you obviously sent deliver the news?”
“I’m with the Major Crimes Division of the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, and her murder is part of a bigger serial killer case I’m investigating. I thought I should be the one to break the news to you instead of a stranger, because of our history. But protocol calls for officers to be present in person, so…” He let his words trail off.
She angled a glance at the two Seattle officers who wore awkward expressions, as if expecting her to melt down any moment.
Except her brain felt numb. Overwhelmed. Eli… Allison… “I—d-does Aunt Jean know? I mean, she probably wouldn’t call me even if she did, but—”
“No. I haven’t informed your Aunt Jean yet. You are Allison’s next of kin and—”
“Next of kin?” She barked a humorless laugh. “What a joke.”
“I assure you this is no joke,” Eli said. “Surely you don’t think I’d do something that—”
“No. That’s not what I meant. It’s—” Noelle plowed one hand through her inky black hair, trying to process all the truth bombs Eli was dropping on her. Allison was dead.Murdered.He was an ABI agent. He was working aserial killercase.
She shoved off her sofa to pace. The explosion of adrenaline dumped into her system made her too restless to sit still. She felt the gazes of the officers following her. “Hang on. Back up. Allison was murdered by aserial killer?”
“I know. It’s a lot to take in.” Eli’s voice was calm and soothing. Kind. Warm. Damn it, she remembered his dulcet baritone voice all too well and how whispered intimacies could make her burn for him.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. That was not where her thoughts needed to go at the moment.Focus!
“And you’re in charge of the case to find the bastard who killed her?” She goggled as the pieces of the picture finally slotted into place.
“Me and my partner, Asher Rafferty, primarily. Although we have a large support team.” He hesitated. “Why?”
She scoffed. “Well, because…you know. Of all the gin joints in all the world…”
He grunted. “Yeah. That was kinda what I thought when the victim’s ID came across my desk.”
“The victim?” An eerie chill sank into her bones as the reality of what Eli was telling her sharpened into focus. Her sister had been murdered by a serial killer.Oh, Allison!She and her sister hadn’t been close for years, but no one deserved to be brutally killed—
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be so clinical. Family notification isn’t usually my job, but I wanted… I thought you should hear it from me first. I thought I owed you that much.”
Her gut roiled. He hadn’t said how her sister had been killed. Had it been quick? Had she been tortured? Acid climbed her throat as the questions mounted and the horrific possibilities spun out.
“Noelle? Are you still there?”
One of the officers stood and crossed to her. “Are you all right, ma’am? Would you like to sit down?” He touched her arm gently, but she shook her head and paced away.
“How did it happen?” she asked Eli, hearing her voice shake. “Wh-what did he do to her? Has her killer been caught?”
“No. He’s still at large, and we’re still working on the details surrounding the manner of death. Her autopsy results are pending.”
“Eli, don’t play games with me. I want the truth! I can take it. Did she suffer?”
“I’m being honest with you. I don’t have definitive answers yet, and I don’t want to speculate. In truth, I can’t reveal details of the investigation even if I had them. I only called because you are next of kin, and the medical examiner should be able to release the body for burial next week.” His sigh filtered through the connection. “So you can make funeral arrangements…”
“Funeral arrangements,” she whispered numbly. The shock of talking to Eli, the weight of this tragic news and the ramifications of her sister’s murder all hit her anew. Her knees buckled, and she slumped down on the closest chair.
One of the officers moved to sit close by, a look of compassion creasing his forehead.
