picked it up and read another text. This time it was from Colin. Sweet dreams. I love you.
She texted back, I love you more.
~*~
Early the following morning, Colin phoned Emily as promised. He filled her in on all the details of the night before—as much as he legally could. The interview with the man who found the body basically stated that he was walking by and spotted it in the water. Colin’s conversation with the CSIs gave him little more than possible tire tracks and squishy footprints in the mud, for which they agreed to cast molds. They would have to wait for Dr. Walters’ autopsy and blood test results to know more.
As his first official day back, Colin explained he needed to head into the office early and meet with the Chief of Police. Even though it was Saturday, he was back on the job and wanted to get his office set up.
He chuckled. “I hope Ernie hasn’t changed it around too much since I left.” Then he promised to pick her up in time to take her to Camille and Jonathan’s football party.
After seeing Jethro at lunch the day before, Emily had been thinking about the gun Evan had hidden in the safe deposit box. She remembered their first meeting, along with Isabel, when Emily had asked Jethro a hypothetical question about what she should do if she found a gun. He suggested she give it to him to have the Feds run it through ballistics to see if it matched any open cases they had. If not, then they would turn it over to the local police.
Even though Emily and Isabel insisted they were only speaking hypothetically, they could tell Jethro wasn’t buying their story. He had asked Isabel several times after that if he could see the gun, and she had told Emily she could tell that excuse was wearing thin.
Her bank was open on Saturday mornings, so Emily decided to go and retrieve the not-so-hypothetical gun from the safe deposit box. It was time to turn the weapon over to Isabel, and only Isabel, to have it tested.
Emily had realized from the first day she’d found the Beretta pistol in the metal box, that Evan had hidden the gun away for a reason. After finding his note a few months ago, saying he had wrestled the weapon away from someone who had attacked him and tried to kill him, she understood why.
She wondered if Jethro’s repeated requests to get a look at the gun, under the auspices of having it tested, revealed his desire to take the piece off Emily’s hands—and out of circulation. But why?
If she gave it to him for testing, she feared it could easily disappear and no one would ever see it again. But if she gave it directly to Isabel, it had a better chance of actually reaching the lab.
The old photo she had found in the safe deposit box the first day she’d opened it—the one of Evan with his arm around the young dark-haired beauty—had haunted her as she’d wondered who the woman could be. Now, thanks to Evan’s note, she knew. The picture of someone seeking revenge for Natalia’s death was coming dangerously into view.
Emily phoned Isabel to be certain she would be home to receive the pistol.
“Yes, I’ll be here. Do you want me to come to the bank with you?” Isabel asked.
“No, I don’t want to draw any more attention to it than I have to. After I pick it up, I’ll head straight to your house.”
“Just watch to make sure you’re not being followed,” Isabel warned.
“I’ll have the GPS monitor with me. That way I can make sure that at least Jethro isn’t following me.”
“He may not be the only one, so keep an eye out.”
“I will.” Emily said her good-byes and hung up, periodically glancing into her rearview mirror and at the monitor. She made it to the bank without incident.
“Hello, Mr. Johnson.” Emily greeted the bank manager as she skirted past the teller stations. “I’d like to get into my safe deposit box, please.”
“Certainly, Mrs. Parker. It’s nice to see you again.” He escorted her to the secure door, punched a few numbers into the keypad, and the door unlocked. He moved to the wall of safe deposit boxes and held his hand out for her key. He stuck his key and hers into the little door and turned them simultaneously. “I’ll give you some privacy, ma’am.”