Page 46 of Special Agent Murphy

“Good, let’s go.”

Kayti walked beside Murphy and had the weirdest impulse to reach for his hand. Shaking off the ridiculousness, she stepped forward to knock at the door only to have him step in front of her.Dammit!The man was pushing her buttons.

Saying nothing, they waited until the door opened to a young woman who showed insolence, which meant she’d made them as cops.

“Yeah? You guys again? Tell the asshole I paid my child support yesterday and to leave me alone.”

Kayti spoke first. “Good for you. I’m sure it wasn’t easy with prices being what they are. We’re not here because of that situation. We just wanted to ask you some questions about Alex Traver and Gina Cummings, the couple who lived next door.”

“What about them? They kept to themselves, and so do we.”

“Did you hang out with them at all?”

“Nah. She’s a real douchebag, and he isn’t much better. At least, my boyfriend works.”

Murphy spoke up, “Who’s your boyfriend? Is he here?”

Suddenly, the blonde whose roots showed half-way down the straggly hair to her shoulders stiffened. “He’s out.”

Kayti knew that was crap. She’d seen the bearded bum in the driver’s seat and stepping out of the beat-up old truck when they pulled into their yard.

She argued, “I don’t think so. I saw him arrive with you a few seconds ago.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow in the door’s window and knew the creep was listening.

“You want to step outside, ma’am.” She reached for her gun just in case she’d be needing it.

Before she could release it, the blonde got brutally pushed at them, and it was all Kayti could do to step aside and let her fall onto Murphy. Hearing the brute running through the house, she took off and followed.

Heading for the back door, when he tore around the corner into the kitchen, she launched herself and caught him by the legs. Scrambling over him to control his flailing arms and stop his oncoming punch, she straddled him and pulled her gun. “Stop it, man. Don’t make me shoot you. I will if you keep acting like a dumbass.” Once he saw the gun pointing at his forehead, he stopped struggling.

Keeping the gun aimed at his beady eyes, she slowly stood up and made way for Murphy, who’d bolted in behind her.

His strained voice would scare anyone with a brain. And even though this maniac looked strung-out, he was no idiot.

Murphy took over manhandling him. He ground out words, showing no tolerance. “Turn onto your stomach, numbnuts, and put your arms behind your back.”

The creep did as he was told and yelled at the screaming blonde nattering in his defense.

“He’s high. But he didn’t do nothing. Leave him alone.”

“Stop it, Maggie. Keep your mouth shut.”

Kayti put her gun back into her holster and approached the plump twenty-year-old who’s agitation had gotten ridiculous. Watchful, she saw the girl’s intention before she acted and found it was easy to stop the swinging arm from making contact with a simple move that had the woman in a hold she couldn’t break. “Settle down, Maggie. We’re not here to hassle you about drugs or anything else. Our intentions were to simply ask a few questions. You really want to turn this meeting into a crime by attacking an FBI agent?”

She could see Murphy calling it in, and knew he wasn’t in any mood to be forgiving.

She led Maggie into the first room, a place surprisingly tidy, and let the other woman go. “Look, Maggie, I know you can’t afford to be in jail. You were just looking out for your boyfriend and lost it for a few minutes. I understand. I’m not here to arrest you. Just please, let me know if there’s anything you can tell us about your neighbors. Alex was killed last night, and Gina is missing. We’re trying to find her, and we need help.”

Crying now, Maggie nodded and rubbed the arm Kayti had locked in a hold behind her back. Obviously shocked by the news Kayti had shared, she stared straight ahead, her lip wriggling with emotion. Then she reached out, her hand trembling. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. They weren’t friends, but we sure as hell wouldn’t want them dead.”

Kayti took the hand and led Maggie to the sofa so she could sit next to her. “Can you tell me if you saw any strange people around their place, say in the last week or two?”

“No, but I sleep on and off during the day. I have insomnia so it’s a real struggle to get more than a few hours in total. I work nightshift at the Best Western Plus on 5th.”

“What about social media? Were you friends on Instagram or Facebook?”

“I did see her last Facebook comments about things looking up, and that they intended to blow the city. I just figured it was booze-talk. If the number of empties in the garbage every week was any indication, they drank a lot.”

“Would you know their friends? Anyone we can contact to get information about them?”

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