she said, a little snidely, “Well, Detective Logan, I hope you have a good alibi for last night.”
UNLIKE OFFICER FORD, WHO had a crazy ass grin on his face, Andrew didn’t find Toni’s statement funny. Not one damn bit. He narrowed his gaze at her. “I don’t think I need one, Detective Oliver,” he said in a cold voice. “But since you’re so concerned...” He then turned to Bobby and asked, “Time of death?”
“Approximately ten last night.”
He nodded. “Anyone want to tell my partner where I was at ten last night?” Andrew said in that same chilling voice.
“Playing cards at Detective Miller’s house,” Ford offered. He no longer had a grin on his face now that he realized Toni hadn’t been teasing. “I was there, as were six others. The game ended around one. You were there the entire time, although a couple of us tried to get you to leave sooner since you were kicking our asses.”
Andrew nodded. “Thank you, Officer Ford, for being my alibi.” He turned a daggered gaze to Toni. “Before you go accusing me of—”
“I didn’t accuse you of anything. I just said I hoped you had an alibi. You do. No big deal.”
She might have thought it was no big deal, but he didn’t. It was a big deal to him, but he didn’t intend to chew her out in front of an audience. What he had to say was better said in private. “I’ll go talk to the roommate.” Then he left the room.
Andrew hadn’t made it to the stairs when he heard Ford say to Toni, “I know you’re new, Detective, and I mean no disrespect, but here in Alexandria, we are a team. We don’t throw our partners under the bus for any reason.”
Instead of hanging back to hear Toni’s reply, he took the stairs to the kitchen. That’s where he found two uniformed officers with Maria Tindal’s former roommate, Pamela Larkins.
After acknowledging the officers, he glanced over at Ms. Larkins. He noted her attire—a pretty dress with heels, her hair in place and wearing makeup. The officer who’d questioned her said she’d dropped by this morning. Had she been on her way to work?
Andrew remembered Maria Tindal telling him that her roommate had moved out. That had been the reason she’d bought the gun to protect herself. He thought back to that evening. Maria Tindal had given him a lot of information about herself. Had she given that same information to someone else? Did she have an enemy she didn’t know about? A secret admirer...or maybe one who wasn’t such a secret? After all, there was no sign of forced entry. That meant she probably knew the person and let him or her in.
One of the officers had handed Ms. Larkins a glass of water, and she was quietly sipping, obviously trying to get a hold of herself. He glanced around the kitchen. It was tidy like the rest of the house. And the officers had already dusted for prints, so he could be a little more relaxed while he questioned Maria’s former roommate.
Andrew knew the exact moment Toni entered the kitchen, but he refused to take any notice. Instead, he waited for Ms. Larkins to take another sip of her water. When the woman appeared a little calmer, he said, “Ms. Larkins?”
She glanced up at him, her eyes still wet with tears and shock. “Yes?”
“I’m really sorry for your loss. My name is Detective Logan, and this is my partner, Detective Oliver. I know this is a difficult time for you, but we need to ask you some questions.” Toni came to stand by his side.
The woman glanced over at Toni and nodded as new tears flowed from her eyes. “I can’t believe it. Maria has been my best friend since high school. She was such a kind person, and friendly. Everyone liked her. Who would do something like this to her?”
“We don’t know, Ms. Larkins, but I promise you that Detective Logan and I intend to find out and bring the person to justice,” Toni said.
Andrew knew what the woman was talking about. “Yes, Maria was definitely friendly. In fact, I met her two nights ago.”
The woman’s tear-filled eyes widened. “You did?”
“Yes, at the gun range. She was very outgoing...too outgoing, I thought. Within twenty minutes, she’d given me her name, address, and phone number. She’d even told me she lived here alone because her roommate had moved out. I assume you’re the roommate she was talking about.”