Fatal Secrets - Desiree Holt Page 0,13
name, she told herself. “What is this, the third degree?”
He sighed, his frustration obvious.
“You may not believe this, but Sadie and I worry about you. A lot. You follow these stories and put yourself in danger.”
“And I’m still alive and talking about it,” she pointed out.
“Wait.” He snapped his fingers. “You started that book about Justine, right? That’s what you’ve been doing in Helena.”
“Yes. And being very careful.”
“Obviously not careful enough.” Hank shook his head. “I don’t suppose you’re going to report this. Right? Even if I try to insist?”
“What for? The local police washed their hands of the case a long time ago. Besides, you know I’ve gotten warnings like this before, and they never turn into anything.”
”Until now.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw, and she could see him running things around in his brain.
“I was going to call Warren Craig,” she told him, “but I don’t know what that would accomplish. I had coffee with him while I was in Helena, and he’s really committed to the theory that she was the victim of someone she’d been dating who went nuts. Someone unknown to anyone, by the way.”
Hank frowned. “Was Justine that secretive about her love life?”
“Not really. I guess.” Zoe shook her head. “I mean, she was quiet about it. Never really discussed who she was dating.” She nibbled her bottom lip. “When we were planning our little get-together she sounded kind of evasive when I asked what she had on her plate.”
Hank frowned. “Was she always like that?”
“More or less. She seldom discussed her work with me. Told me so much of it was confidential. That’s why I didn’t think anything of it at the time. But ever since I’ve had the feeling something was going on with one of the cases at her office. That she might have found out something she shouldn’t. Anyway, I can’t let this go, Hank. I just can’t.”
Hank let out a sigh and put his hands on her shoulders, turning her so she faced him directly. “Do me one favor, okay?”
“What? Lock myself in the closet?”
Hank chuckled. “Fat chance of that. No, come with me to see Sadie. Let her get a look at you for herself and see you’re still walking around.”
Zoe sighed. She figured it was the least she could do, although she really itched to hide away from everyone, dig into her notes, and see if she could find any hint of who had done this. But Sadie was a very good friend. Maybe her best friend. She could spare a few minutes to ease the woman’s mind.
“Okay. Sure. I’m happy to.”
“In fact, why don’t you just bring along that suitcase on the floor and spend a couple of days. If you have your laptop, you can work anywhere, right? Come on, Zoe. You guys haven’t shared more than a phone call in weeks. I’ll have someone clean up this mess here, so when you get home there won’t be any reminder of it.”
“Oh, Hank.” She bit her lip. “I have notes to go over and organize and people to see, and…”
He held up a hand. “And you can do all of that at our house. On our nice big porch with a glass of wine. We’ll discuss where we go from here. After lunch.”
She stared at him. “Exactly what does that mean?”
“It means we’re going to figure out how to keep you safe, and you won’t give me a hard time about it. My wife will cut off my balls if I let anything happen to you.
Zoe swallowed a smile. Still, truth to tell, the whole situation did make her uneasy. Maybe if she went off the grid for a couple of days, whoever this was would think she was onto something else and leave her alone. And being with Sadie always grounded her.
“No way I’m leaving you here alone,” he insisted. “Not when some maniac is after you. Please don’t argue.”
“Okay. Maybe that’s a good idea. But I’ll follow you in my car.”
He shook his head. “I’ll have someone get rid of this mess here and give your car a good going over, too. Plus, I want to have them test for fingerprints in both places. Maybe this idiot wasn’t smart enough to wear gloves. Then they’ll park it in the back out of the complex.”
“Leave my car?”
“If you have to go anywhere, someone will take you?”
Her eyebrows flew up. “Someone?”
“Yes. The person I’m assigning to watch your ass, and I don’t want any lip