loved her. Her class will be devastated.” The woman broke down and began crying in earnest.
Toni and Andrew gave her time to compose herself before resuming their questioning. “There was no sign of forced entry. Do you know who might have had a key to this place?” Drew asked.
Pamela Larkins wiped her eyes. “Maria gave Johnnie a key, and my boyfriend had one, too. But he gave me my spare key back when I moved out.”
Andrew nodded, though he knew that spare keys could be made. “I still need all his information.” Pamela Larkins gave Drew what he had asked for.
“Do you know if Johnnie Underwood returned his key to Maria Tindal when they broke up?” Toni asked.
“Not at first. She had to call him a couple of times to get it from him.”
“But you’re certain she got it?”
“No. But she never said she didn’t.”
“And where were you around ten last night, Ms. Larkins?”
The woman’s tear-stained eyes widened, and her mouth trembled. “Surely you don’t think I would hurt Maria?”
“It’s just a routine question, ma’am,” Andrew said. But he knew how she felt—he hadn’t liked Toni’s implication when she’d mentioned an alibi for him, either.
“I had taken my grandmother to church. Bible study.”
Toni lifted a brow. “It lasted that long?”
“Typically, no. But there was a meeting afterwards.” She then started crying again and said, “Please find the person who did this to Maria. She didn’t deserve this. Please find them.”
• • •
It was two hours later when Andrew and Toni walked out the house and headed back to the car. The media had arrived. Television trucks had parked on Maria Tindal’s nicely manicured lawn, and several reporters were crossing the yard instead of using the cement walkway. At least they were staying behind the crime-scene tape, although they were ruining the little bit of grass the townhomes shared.
All of them wanted to be the first to report the murder on the noon segment of their news. Toni noted other than the cam mobiles, the neighborhood was quiet. Pamela Larkins was right about this being a pretty nice community. She figured most people had left for work, but she did notice the movement of a few curtains, so obviously some residents were watching what would soon become a noon-day circus.
She had done her research before arriving in town. Alexandria was not the safest city in Virginia, but it wasn’t anywhere near the most dangerous. Crime had drastically decreased over the years, especially since Wilmot LaNeer had been promoted to chief of police.
Since becoming top cop, Chief LaNeer had established substations in various parts of town—those considered high-crime areas—and criminal activity had been drastically reduced. There was nothing like having a police station in several at-risk neighborhoods to keep the streets clean.
After calming Pamela Larkins down, Toni and Drew had finally managed to get enough information from her to start an in-depth investigation. They’d also gathered the names of several people of interest. Then they had walked through the house, making their own observations. It was obvious several pieces of furniture were missing, but it was likely those had belonged to Ms. Larkins, and she’d taken them when she moved out. That’s how it had been when Toni had ditched her first roommate. She hadn’t realized how much of the furniture had belonged to her roommate until she’d moved.
“Andrew!” a feminine voice called out. He turned and so did Toni. The woman seemed to be a television reporter affiliated with Channel 12, from the looks of it. Toni also noted the woman was very attractive, with medium-brown skin and thick curly hair that hung past her shoulders, with a pair of almond-shaped, hazel eyes. Since she’d called Drew by his first name, Toni couldn’t help assuming the two were friends...or possibly more.
“Yes, Natalie?”
Ignoring Toni altogether, the woman asked Drew, “What can you tell me?”
“Nothing now. Next of kin still has to be notified.”
“Come on, Andrew, give me something. I go on the air in less than five minutes.”
“Our PR guy will be giving a statement any moment now. See you later, Natalie.”
The woman gave Andrew a knowing smile, which Toni translated to be more of a promise than an actual farewell. Would he meet up with this Natalie later? Toni fought the same green-eyed monster that had taken over her senses earlier. She and Drew had ended things nearly five years ago. But she knew what a virile man he was, one who enjoyed making love. There was no reason to think