Page 118 of State of Bliss

“I don’t know what you guys think you’re doing, but I’ll have your badges for this.”

“That’s another one we never hear, right, Cruz?”

“Never.”

They stuffed him into the back seat of Gonzo’s car and headed back to HQ.

When they arrived, Freddie took Bryant to be processed.

Gonzo returned to the pit and stopped short at the sight of Gordon Reilly sitting in a chair outside Sam’s office.

He jumped up when he saw Gonzo. “They told me to wait for you here. Do you know who killed Rachel?”

The poor guy barely resembled the person they’d first met. His hair was a mess, his eyes red and swollen and his entire disposition one of utter devastation.

“We think we have an idea of what happened.”

“Was it Tori?” he asked warily.

“She was involved.”

“Oh God. That can’t be true. She didn’t even know Rachel.”

Gonzo unlocked the office. “Come in. Sit down.”

“She didn’t know her,” Gordon said again when he was seated in one of Sam’s visitor chairs.

“No, she didn’t, but she knewofher, and that was the problem. I’m sure Rachel must’ve mentioned that she was getting hostile texts from your ex.”

“What? No, she never said anything about that to me.”

“Really? Huh…”

“She knew that the situation with Tori was very difficult for me.” He rested his chin on his hands, elbows propped on his knees. “I’d been with Tori since we were kids. I was really upset about how hard she took our separation and breakup. I was sick with guilt over it, which is probably why Rachel never told me that Tori was bothering her. Why didn’t she tell me? I could’ve made it stop.”

“I don’t know that you could have, Gordon. Tori was relentless.”

“Wait. Is this why Rachel’s phone number changed?”

“Yes.”

“Oh my God. She never told me any of this.”

Gonzo showed him the photo from his friend Jeff’s social media. “This is when Tori realized you’d met someone else.”

Gordon’s face went flat with shock. “She… she saw that?”

“We believe so. Rachel’s problems with her began shortly after that.”

“This is all my fault. If I hadn’t gotten close to Rachel, she’d still be alive.” He looked at Gonzo with utter devastation. “How am I supposed to live with that?”

Taking pity on the guy, Gonzo got up and went around the desk to sit next to him. “This is a horrible thing. I’m sorry it happened to you. But you didn’t kill her.”

“Did Tori kill her when she left my room the other night?”

“We think she paid someone to do it for her. She might’ve met up with him when she left your room to take a walk.”

“What?Oh my God. It just gets worse. Who did she pay?”

---