Page 51 of Last Seen Alive
“I’ll follow up with the lab if we don’t hear by tomorrow, but that’s probably pushing things.”
Trent took a left, looked back in his mirror. No silver sedan within sight. It could be behind other vehicles. Either that or he was on edge, seeing things that weren’t there. He’d blame the case—conspiracies around every corner. “Do you think the husband knows something he isn’t telling us?”
“Gut feeling? No, I didn’t get that from him. We can pull Rita’s background, but I bet it will be clean.”
“Think so too.” He pulled into the lot for Bernstein at Law.
A silver Toyota Camry drove on past. Trent swore it slowed down just a little. He couldn’t make out the plate, but reasoned he was just being paranoid.
NINETEEN
She loved him, and that’s exactly why she had to leave him. And right away. Before any more “accidents” could occur. She ran around the house, gathering as much as she could and stuffing it into her duffel bag. All the while Logan was asleep in the guest room, where he went because he didn’t want to keep her up. But she couldn’t let herself give in to feeling sorry for herself, or Logan. This was how it had to be. She should be happy for the time she’d had with him.
She should have known her past would catch up with her—despite her precautions. How he had found her didn’t even matter. He was here now—in Nebraska, breathing down her neck. All because she’d royally screwed up years ago. She had tipped her hand, her brilliant mind failing her when feelings for Logan had come into play. Well, now she was paying for being so stupid, for thinking she could drop the bomb she had and just walk away unscathed. Of course, he’d come after her—and just when she had given herself over to the fantasy that she might be free…
She pulled the door of the house shut behind her and threw the deadbolt. She tossed her bag onto the back seat of her BMW and gunned it down the road as fast as she could. She couldn’t be tempted to go back, to entertain doubts, to question whether she was making the right decision. She was making the only one she could. She had to let Logan go if she wanted him to live.
Gravel kicked up from under her wheels in plumes of dust, shrouding her escape. But she still felt like eyes were watching her even though there was no one for miles around. There were no lights shining in her rearview mirror and not another vehicle on the road. She was alone. Just as life had intended for her. Aloneandlooking over a shoulder. All because of one bad decision that had led to several.
And it wasn’t like she was a stranger to standing up for herself. She was all she really had in this world. That’s what she told herself repeatedly as the guilt burrowed into her soul. Logan didn’t deserve to be left this way, but she didn’t see a way around it. She was certain he wouldn’t walk away from the next accident.
The man stalking her would ensure that was the case. He’d use Logan as leverage to make her bend to his wishes without compunction. After all, he had proven himself a killer already. Don’t they say after you take your first life, it gets easier from there?
The thing is, she’d been feeling watched for a while, but she’d just dismissed it as paranoia. Not now. Not when Logan could have been killed!
She had to think ahead to her future and make wise choices based on logic, not emotion. It had caused her flawed thinking to start with. She’d reasoned if she started living a good life, a pure one, it would compensate for past sins. That’s how she had justified marrying Logan. Even if some of it was a lie. Not the “loving him” part. That was the real deal. And she could have had a future with him, if not for her past. The lie was the one where she told herself she was normal, like other people.
She pulled out a small brass key, thinking of the power it held. What it unlocked was what the man wanted, but it was also the only thing keeping her alive. With it, she had some leverage. How did her stalker not appreciate that?
She pushed harder on the gas.Never look back.That had to become her new motto if she were to survive. Once she got to wherever she ended up, she’d ditch the car too. Start fresh.
As long as she was on the move, that man couldn’t find her. She’d be safe. Logan would be safe.
But what if she got tired of running?
TWENTY
The woman at the front desk of Bernstein at Law had her hair pulled back so tightly, it looked like it tugged on her forehead.
Amanda held up her badge and gave a brief introduction. “We believe that Deb Smith may have been a client of the firm. Does that name sound familiar to you?” It made sense to roll with the alias to start. They still didn’t even know what Claire’s business might have been here.
“Not off the top of my head. One minute.” She clicked on the keyboard, then pressed her lips and shook her head. “No one by that name in our system.”
“Try Claire Hunter,” Trent said.
“Ah, sure.” More clacking of keys. “Yes, I show a Claire Hunter. May I ask what this is regarding?”
Claire had used her real name here. Did that mean anything? “We’re working an investigation,” Amanda began. “Do you know why Ms.Hunter hired your firm?” They’d looked up the firm before coming, and it appeared they had attorneys on staff with a variety of specialties.
“Looks like Ms.Hunter was interested in criminal defense.”
Criminal defense…What business did Claire have with defense lawyers? Was she about to hand herself over for something and needed representation? Was it linked with all that cash and the gun in her purse? “We need to speak to the lawyer Claire worked with. Are they in?”
The clerk consulted her screen. “That’s Duncan McGuire. He’s in. One moment.”
While she was on the phone, Trent leaned in toward Amanda’s ear. “He’s not going to talk to us. Attorney–client privilege survives death of a client.”
She stepped a few feet from the counter, guiding Trent with a hand on his elbow but let go when she realized it felt like she was disciplining a child. Not what she was going for. She said, “We need to give it a go. And if we deem it relevant to the case, we can request a court order that will make him talk.”
