Page 32 of What We May Be

“Things are tense between city hall and HPD.”

“You don’t say.” This was more than politics, though. Sean could see it in the grim set of Abel’s mouth and the thinly veiled hate in Charlie’s eyes. “They go back, Charlie and Craig? I heard vague rumblings, but our paths here never crossed.”

“One date in high school. Didn’t end well.”

Sean’s own hostility toward the mayor escalated. “Did he hurt her?”

“No, Trevor got to her in time,” Abel replied. “Doesn’t help that Craig’s younger brother, Adam, gets dragged in here routinely. He’s out within the hour, thanks to a judge in his daddy’s pocket. Zero consequences. Frustrates the hell out of Charlie.”

Sean glanced across the bullpen to where she was pacing in her office again. “Not the only thing that’s frustrating her at the moment.”

“No, it’s not.”

Abel’s phone rang an office over, and once it became clear the call was going to take a while, Abel throwing his feet up on the desk, Sean headed back to the conference room. Break over, and wouldn’t you know it, the case and crime scene photos were preferable to thinking about Charlie and Craig. Diego and Jaylen had set up a whiteboard, a black line drawn down the middle, separating it into two halves. One side was covered in notes and photos from Jeff’s crime scene. On the other side, they’d started to collect the same for Julian’s.

Sean rested against the end of the conference table, studying the photo of the note from Othello and the photo of where the note had been found.

“Desdemona, for sure,” Charlie said behind him. “Double-checked it.” She stood in the doorway, shoulder to the jamb.

“We used to have to drag you kicking and screaming to plays,” he said. “And you’d only go to the ones Trevor was in.”

“Trevor and Annie dragged me to this one.” She moved toward the whiteboard and flipped it over, blank side facing out so their investigation notes and photos weren’t visible. “Speaking of, Annie’s on her way.”

“Why’s Annie coming in?”

“She’s a librarian at HU. She overhears more about what goes on there than anyone.”

“Makes sense,” he said. “You said a couple reasons. Something else?”

Charlie’s high heels tapped a staccato rhythm against the floor. “She’s close to Tracy and Trevor. I need to tell her what’s going on. In person.”

Sean fought his traitorous eyebrow that threatened to lift, but before he could ask why Annie had remained close with Trevor’s ex-wife, the object of his curiosity appeared in the doorway. Sean smiled, waves of forgotten brotherly affection washing over him. The years had been kind to Annabelle Henby. Her long white-gold hair was held away from her face by a pair of oversized sunglasses atop her head, her big blue eyes shone bright, and dressed in a pink button-up, pressed black slacks, and black flats, she was the picture-perfect stylish librarian who could also pelt you with a wicked fastball.

Her fingers fidgeted with the strap of her messenger bag as her eyes zoomed between him and Charlie. As a teen, she’d been shy around him at first until he’d conspired with Trevor and Cal to make her laugh at every opportunity, which was why he couldn’t help contorting his face right then, crossing his eyes, wrinkling up his nose, and letting his tongue hang out the side of his mouth.

Annie tried to hide it, but the corner of her mouth twitched. “So it’s true, Odie, you’re back?”

He barked in jest, and Charlie backhanded him with a slap to his gut.

“That was fast,” Annie mumbled.

Charlie stepped ahead, hugging her sister. “What was fast?”

“Nothing.” Annie returned the embrace somewhat stiffly, her eyes staying locked on him over Charlie’s shoulder. “What’s going on? Abel didn’t give me any details over the phone. He just said I should come to the station ASAP.”

“Let’s have a seat.” Charlie led her sister toward the chair at the head of the table. Sean closed the conference room door and took the chair on Annie’s other side.

She glanced back and forth between them. “You two are making me nervous.”

Charlie scooted closer. “Something’s happened, and I wanted to tell you in person”

Annie instantly went from curious to concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“There was an incident this morning at Julian and Tracy Hirsch’s home.”

“Oh no, Trace.” Tears welled in her eyes as she covered her mouth with a hand.

Charlie slung an arm around her sister’s shoulder. “Tracy’s safe. She wasn’t home, but Julian’s dead.”

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