had been confiscated and was currently with Valerie. If there were any hidden files, she would find them. However, they did find a beautiful bracelet in one of the bedroom drawers with his t-shirts. In fact, it was sitting right on top of them so it wouldn’t be missed.
On a hunch, they paid a late-night visit to Pamela Larkins. She took one look at the bracelet and immediately recognized it as belonging to Maria. It had been a gift from her mother on her sixteenth birthday. Maria didn’t wear it every day, and she usually kept it in the jewelry box on her dresser. So how had Nettles gotten it?
At first, they’d thought that maybe Maria had left it behind the night she stayed at Nettles’s place, but Pamela was certain that Maria had worn the bracelet since then. That meant Nettles had taken the bracelet at some other time. Had it been the night of the murder? And why had he only taken the bracelet, and not any other jewelry?
And then there was the fact that Nettles’s home had been searched weeks ago. Why hadn’t the bracelet been found then?
“Things seem to be coming together too easy now,” Toni said. “Someone is going to a lot of trouble to link Nettles to Maria’s murder. That makes me think…”
“We’re deliberately being misled,” Drew finished for her. “Too bad whoever is behind this wasn’t aware that we’d been through Nettles’s place weeks ago. If the bracelet had been there then, we would have found it.”
“And that makes it seem unlikely that Fred Tatters was involved. He knew we had the apartment searched, so planting the bracelet would not have made any sense,” Toni said.
She glanced at her watch. “It’s late. Neither of us had much to eat all day except for snacks from the vending machine. I suggest we call it a day. Tomorrow, we can pull the Evans’ homicide file and review it.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Do you want to go grab something to eat?” Drew asked.
Toni knew that since they had missed lunch, Drew felt justified in suggesting they go somewhere to eat on a workday. She stood to stretch the kinks from her body and didn’t miss how Drew’s gaze followed her every movement.
“I don’t feel like being around anyone tonight,” she said. “How about dinner at my place? I can fix something quick.” She knew she was breaking her own rule, but she wasn’t ready for him to leave her yet.
“I’m fine with that suggestion.” From his expression she could tell he was surprised she had made it. “You ready to go, then?” Drew asked, standing, as well.
“Yes, I just need to clear these sticky notes off my desk.”
• • •
Andrew could tell something was bothering Toni, and the moment they entered her apartment, he drew her into his arms and held her close. He had wanted to do that all day but knew she wouldn’t have appreciated it.
To reassure her, he had intentionally brushed up against her a few times, and more than once had discreetly touched her hand. But now that they were alone, he needed to know what had her so out of sorts.
Sweeping her off her feet, he carried her over to the sofa and sat down with her in his lap. “What’s bothering you, sweetheart?”
She tilted her chin up. “First of all, I don’t want you to think I’m weak, Drew.”
He frowned, wondering where that came from. “Why would I think you’re weak?”
She broke eye contact with him and looked across the room. “Because we should never let our job get to us, but it got to me today, Drew. Two people have been killed, and somebody is playing a stupid, sick game with us. It’s just so wrong.”
Andrew nodded. “We’re cops, Toni. But we’re also human. That’s the only way we can do our job effectively. We have to care. Being weak has nothing to do with it.”
He paused a moment. “But there’s something else going on with this case, isn’t there, Toni?”
She held his gaze. “What makes you think that?”
“Because I know you.”
She didn’t say anything for a minute, then admitted, “It’s Maria Tindal, and her relationship with Pamela Larkins. They were best friends—loyal and dedicated to each other. A friendship like that is rare. I never had someone like that in my life.”
“You and Joy were friends, right?”
“Yes, we met in college, but even then, I fought the friendship all the way. I didn’t want to depend