Page 41 of Sweet Sin

I can think of about a dozen, but I’m not saying them. “No. I haven’t done anything. I just started a new job as a parole officer for the county last week. I haven’t even lived here for two full weeks yet.”

“I see.” He makes notes on his tablet. “How close were you to the Shaws?”

“Not very. Like I said, I’ve only lived here for a short time. They’re my landlords.”

Or they were.

Mr. Shaw is gone, and Mrs. Shaw isn’t going to want to be anywhere near me after she finds out what went down.

“All right. Was your gun locked up?”

“Yes, sir. In a safe under my bed.”

“Who else had the combination?”

“Only me.”

Uh-oh. I probably shouldn’t have said that.

“You sure?”

“I think so. I don’t recall telling anyone else. I don’t have a roommate, so…”

“All right. Good enough. These home safes are easy to crack for someone who knows what he’s doing. We may want to speak to you again.” He hands me a card.

“Of course. Whatever you need”—I regard the card—“Officer Swanson.”

Falcon finishes up with Officer Denny, and the two of them appear in the Shaws’ kitchen.

“Can one of you wait for the coroner? And then forensics?”

“With all due respect,” Falcon says, “it’s late, and Ms. Gallo isn’t safe here.”

Officer Denny nods. “Mr. Bellamy here told me what happened earlier, and I agree with him. I don’t think Ms. Gallo should stay here. Once the coroner and forensics are done, we’ll need to rope all this off anyway. It’s a crime scene.”

“I’ll stay,” Falcon says.

“Oh, no you won’t.” I shake my head. “I can’t leave you. I’m frightened.”

Officer Denny nods. “We’ll get someone to stay. You two go…wherever you’re going.”

“Thank you,” Falcon says. “She’ll be at my place. You have my information.”

“I need to see if any of my personals are salvageable,” I say. “And then we’ll be on the way.”

Falcon and I leave the Shaws’ side of the duplex and head into mine.

Everything is ruined. Even the carpeting has been ripped up and shredded.

I gather some underwear and salvage what I can of my clothes, along with some personal items that are still in one piece, and then I leave with Falcon.

I say nothing on the drive back to his place. At least his house isn’t a crime scene. Only his backyard.

How did my life come to this?

How?

13

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