tell you what was going on right then. Anyway, we weren’t sure it was him yet.”
“Well, if you had told me, I wouldn’t have come in here tonight, asking them idiotic questions about where they thought he was hiding,” she said. “What the hell happened to him, anyway? Did he drown?”
His face closed.
For some reason, this got to her. There’d been a time when he wouldn’t have hesitated to trust her.
“Oh, fine, Luke,” she snapped. “Thanks for nothing.”
But when she tried to open the door, he pressed his hand against it, stopping her.
“Jesus, Harper. Could you just give me a second?” He raked his fingers through his sandy-brown hair, his brow knitting. “What I was trying to say is Julie would kill me if she found out I told you. I don’t want to piss her off. That’s all.”
“Give me a break, Luke. You know I won’t identify you. I never have before. Besides, Miles and I have a bet. I’ve got twenty dollars says he drowned.”
For a long second he held her eyes. Then he said, “Where did Miles put his money?”
“Overdose.”
He glanced around to make sure no one was near, then stepped close enough that she could smell the clean, sandalwood scent of him, and lowered his voice. “You both lose. Someone shot him.”
Harper’s jaw dropped. “You’re shitting me.”
“I am not, in fact, shitting you. This is a homicide investigation.” He reached past her for the door, his arm brushing hers as he pulled it open. “Now, get going before the forensic team gets here, unless you want to spend the night in an interrogation room.”
She had her front-page story. “Thanks, Luke.”
“No idea why you’re thanking me,” he said, deadpan. “I told you nothing except that there’s a press conference in an hour.”
Racing from the beachfront mansion into the glare of the TV lights, she pulled her phone from her pocket, dialing without slowing down.
It rang three times before Baxter answered. “This better be good.”
“Oh, it’s very good.” Harper’s voice shook with each step. “Someone shot Xavier Rayne to death. They found his body.”
“Fuck me.” All the tiredness left Baxter’s voice. “When?”
“Just now. I was there when the police informed his housemates.” Breathless, Harper glanced to where the TV vans were parked. Natalie was watching her with a suspicious expression. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “No one else knows.”
“Is Miles out there?” Baxter asked.
“Not yet.”
“Call him. Get him to meet you. I’m heading back to the office. What time is it?”
Harper looked at her watch. “Eight o’clock. Listen, there’s going to be a press conference within the hour, but I got all this from a detective off the record. No names.”
“A well-placed detective?”
“Extremely.”
“That’s good enough for me.” Baxter sounded impatient. “Write something for the website right now citing an unidentified police source. I’ll rejig the front page. You and Miles get everything you can out there then get your asses back here. Break the speed limit. I’ll pay your tickets.”
The line went dead.
Without missing a beat, Harper called Miles. He answered on the first ring. “What’s up?”
She gave him the same information she’d just told their editor. “Baxter wants you here. Press conference within the hour.”
All he said was, “On my way.”
Nothing ever surprised Miles.
Harper jogged to where she’d parked the Camaro and popped the trunk to get her laptop and into the driver’s seat to write.
She was waiting impatiently for the mobile Wi-Fi to connect when two dark sedans drove down the narrow lane, followed by a van. Harper spotted Lieutenant Blazer in the passenger seat of one of the cars.
If Blazer was already here, there wasn’t much time. The cops would be eager to get the message out—to show that they were on top of it. Soon the forensics team would descend on the house and turn it inside out.
Harper kept replaying the moment Luke and Daltrey stepped out on the porch. The way Hunter had turned pale. And Cara’s hope shattered like glass.
She could kick herself for caring. But for some reason, the three people in that house had gotten under her skin.
When the connection screen finally opened, she gave a relieved sigh and put them out of her mind as she got down to work. The story came together quickly.
Missing Musician Xavier Rayne Found Dead
By Harper McClain
Up-and-coming Savannah singer and guitarist Xavier Rayne has been found shot to death, a police source told the Daily News.
Rayne, 24, had been missing for three days. He was last seen at 2 A.M. Thursday morning,