“Rockets. There’re a couple aspects of the case we’re working that we need to discuss before tomorrow.’’
Were there? If this was true, Toni wasn’t aware of it. Or was Drew just trying to discourage Daniel from joining them? “It was nice meeting you, Daniel.”
“Same here, Toni.” Daniel then glanced over at Drew. “I’ll see you guys later.” Then he turned and walked in the opposite direction.
“He seems like a nice guy,” Toni said as they resumed their walk toward the police cruiser.
“I told you he was.”
Yes, you did. A nice guy you want to keep away from me. “I hope we won’t be discussing the case, Drew. Right now, my brain is on overload.”
And she wasn’t joking. They’d paid another visit to Pamela Larkins after they’d left Byron Nettles’s place. Although she was in a better emotional state than she had been the last time they’d seen her, the interview had still been mentally draining. Pamela had become upset that they would believe anything Nettles had said. She refused to believe Maria had taken anything from the man, even when they’d told her they’d seen video proof that she had.
Pamela had insisted that if Maria had taken the flash drive, she must have had a good reason, though she had no clue what that reason could be. Pamela also claimed Maria was not involved in any way with Wizzin. She was sure of it.
When they returned to headquarters, they’d watched the video footage taken at the gun range. The recording didn’t offer up any red flags. Maria had walked to her car alone, gotten inside and driven off.
Tomorrow morning, they would be meeting with Valerie Bailey, the department’s technical analyst. Drew had been singing the woman’s praises and claimed she was a pro at finding things others missed. Toni was looking forward to meeting her.
She glanced over at Drew when they reached the cruiser. “Are you sure we shouldn’t take our own cars to this restaurant? You’ll be going out of your way to come back here. After all, you live on the other side of town.”
“Not anymore. I moved,” he said, opening the car door and getting in.
She got in, also, and snapped her seatbelt in place. “You moved?”
“Yes.”
“I thought you loved your apartment.”
He started the car. “I did, but it was time to move on. I purchased a home.”
Toni couldn’t help the smile that curved her lips. “That’s wonderful, Drew. Congratulations.” She knew how excited she’d been when she’d bought her home, and hoped the renters would take good care of it in her absence.
“Thanks.”
He started the car, and since he didn’t say anything else about his home, not even the location, she decided not to ask. There was a time she would have, but not now. He was keeping that part of his life private, and although he had every right, it still hurt a little.
“When was the last time you talked to Joy?” he asked her.
She glanced over at him. His eyes were focused on the road and she couldn’t help wondering why he’d asked her that. Had Joy mentioned their conversation from last night to Stonewall? She doubted it. Drew was probably just making conversation.
“Last night. She called to see how my first day on the job went. Stonewall’s grandmother had baked them a cake, and he’d gone to pick it up.”
“I can believe that. Granny Kay bakes the best cakes. I get one from her every year for my birthday.”
“That’s nice of her.”
“She’s a sweetheart. So is Stonewall’s sister, Amelia. Most of us almost never got visitors when we were in prison, but Stonewall’s grandmother and sister would visit him all the time. They never let him feel alone. And they included the rest of us. His family became ours, and we’re still close.”
“Dr. Amelia Courson is a very beautiful woman. Is that why none of your friends hit on her at the wedding?”
He nodded. “She’s family.”
Toni had met the sister-in-law Joy adored at one of Joy’s bridal showers. According to Joy, Amelia, who was four years younger than Stonewall and often called Mellie, had entered her first beauty pageant at eighteen, mainly for the scholarships. She had wanted to be a doctor and saw those scholarships as a way to pay for medical school. Amelia had once been Miss Charlottesville and Miss Virginia. She’d even competed in Miss USA and had come in third. Now Amelia was a doctor at St. Francis Memorial in Charlottesville, Virginia.