Page 42 of Listen to Me

“Did you ever go back to interview her again?”

“Didn’t really need to. And by then, we’d found the vehicle abandoned out in Worcester. Unfortunately, it had been stolen a few days earlier and we never identified the thief.”

“Fingerprints?”

“Lots of unidentifieds, but none of ’em had a match on AFIS.”

“And this vehicle, where was it stolen?”

“It was parked on the street outside the owner’s residence, in Roxbury. By the time the vehicle was recovered, it was pretty beat up, not just from the accident. Undercarriage looked likesomeone took it joyriding in the woods. Hey, what’s this got to do with Homicide?”

“Did I mention a homicide?”

“No, but you’re Detective Rizzoli. Everyone knows who you are.”

Is that a good thing?Jane’s cell phone beeped and she glanced at the screen to see she had a call waiting, from Sacramento, California.

“…that Chinatown case you cracked, that was, like,legendary,” said Packard. “How many cops get to chase down a ninja?”

“I’ve got another call coming in,” she said. “You remember anything else, call me.”

“You bet. Nice talking to you, Detective.”

Jane switched to the other caller. “Detective Rizzoli.”

“This is Katie Bouchard,” a woman said.

It took Jane a few seconds to remember the name.Sofia’s phone calls. The number in Sacramento.“You’re Sofia’s friend. In California.”

“My husband told me you called a few days ago. I’m sorry I couldn’t return your call earlier, but I just got home from Australia yesterday.”

“Did he tell you why I called?”

“Yes, and I couldn’t believe it. So it’s true, then. Sofia was murdered?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Have you caught him yet? The person who did it?”

“No. Which is why I need to talk to you.”

“I wish I could help you, but it’s been years since I saw her.”

“When was the last time?”

“It was at a nursing conference in Dallas, maybe five years ago. We hadn’t seen each other since her wedding to Tony, so we had a lot of catching up to do. We met for dinner, just the two ofus, and she seemed so happy. She talked about the cruise she and Tony went on to Alaska. How they planned to buy an RV someday and see the country. Then last December I got a card from her that Tony died. Oh, that was awful. And now this.” She sighed. “It’s so unfair, how anyone can be that unlucky, especially Sofia. She was such agoodperson.”

On that point, everyone agreed: Sofia Suarez did not deserve such a terrible fate. That could not be said for every victim; more than once in her career, Jane had caught herself thinking: This one had it coming.

“Do you have any idea why she reached out to you?” Jane asked.

“No. I work as a traveling nurse for a tour company and that month, I was with a group in Peru.”

“Sounds like a pretty cool job.”

“It is. Until you have to deal with octogenarians with high-altitude sickness puking on the bus.”

Oh. Never mind.

---