Page 37 of Special Agent Murphy

Chapter Twenty-four

Hours later, after the crime scene technicians had scoured the place for any kind of evidence, they found piss all. Murphy, Kayti and the team questioned the other bar customers.

With nothing to show for their efforts but a bunch of drunken grumps not impressed with being involved in a criminal investigation, they finally shut it down.

By this time, tempers were badly frayed, especially Murphy’s. Losing a suspect working with them sucked big time. The earlier reaming out he’d taken from Kale was only a preview of what he had coming.

Fed up, Murphy insisted he drive Kayti home. He led her to his SUV and helped her in as if he feared she might pull away.

Her arguments were ignored. “No need. My car’s outside.”

“And you’re exhausted. Having you in traffic isn’t great at the best of times, but right now, with you being so tired and all, you’d be a road hazard with a high possibility for disaster.”

“Don’t be silly. I wouldn’t hurt myself.” Weariness had her being slightly testy.

“I was thinking of the other drivers.”

“You’resonot funny.”

He grinned in her direction, and before he shut the door, he added, “Who’s joking?”

By the time he’d gotten behind the wheel, she came up with another reason for her to drive. “My car will be here overnight.”

“So, get it in the morning. Trust me, with all those dents and crushed fenders, nobody’s gonna steal it.”

“Ha. Ha. Still not funny. I’ll need it to get to work.”

“I’ll pick you up early and drop you off here so you can pick it up then.”

Before they pulled away, one of the uniformed policemen rushed up to Murphy’s window. “We were checking the bins and found this.”

His gloved hand held up the same cell phone the killer had shown Alex in the video. “It’s the one, right?”

“Yep. Tell me it’s functional.”

“Nope. Everything’s missing in the back.”

“Figured so. Okay, good job. Bag it for evidence. And, thanks.”

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