Kit rolled over and looked at the clock. Stephen’s alibi had checked out. His wife swore the man was in bed with her all night long. When asked why she knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt, she showed them her medication—a sleeping pill.
That she hadn’t taken because the grandchildren were there.
She’d been up most of the night with insomnia.
Stephen Wells had been at home that night. There was no way he could have killed Bonnie.
And he certainly hadn’t been in North Carolina in the cemetery that day. No, if he’d killed Bonnie, he’d covered it up well. The other victims had been killed by someone else.
Much to her disgust, strings had been pulled and Wells had gotten off with a slap on the wrist for interfering in an investigation. At least that’s the way it appeared. Who knew what went on behind the scenes when the upper-level authorities got involved? Maybe she would be surprised.
She needed a distraction. Alena’s lights had been off when Kit had gotten home late last night. She really wanted to talk to the girl about Corey, but realized with chagrin she didn’t even have a phone number for her.
Not that she couldn’t find one pretty quick if she’d done a little digging, but she’d been exhausted and had fallen asleep on the couch around two this morning.
Now, four hours later, she was wide awake and ready for a run. Maybe Alena would keep her company.
Kit got up and threw on her jogging clothes then went next door to knock on Alena’s door. “Alena? You up?”
She pounded again. “Alena?”
Nothing. Except Roscoe’s short, clipped barks. Kit waited a few more minutes to see if Alena would come to the door. She didn’t.
Deciding the girl wanted to sleep in, Kit had just started down the steps when the door opened.
“Kit?”
Bleary eyes blinked out at her.
A pang of remorse shot through Kit. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have knocked.”
“Of course you should have. I told you if you ever got up to run to come get me.” She pushed her dark hair from her face and shrugged. “I just don’t feel like it today.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “I guess you heard about Corey.”
“I did,” Kit whispered softly. “I’m so sorry.”
Twin tears chased down Alena’s olive-toned cheeks. “I don’t know why he went after Corey. I just don’t understand. Do you have any idea?”
“No, hon, I sure don’t, but we’re investigating every angle and we’re going to get this guy.”
“Before he kills again?”
“That’s the plan.” Kit switched gears. “Do you mind if I come inside and talk to you a few minutes about Corey?”
The girl sniffed, then shrugged. “Sure. Let me let Roscoe out. Have a seat in the den. My mother’s on the way. I think I’m going to go home with her for a couple of days.”
Kit stepped inside. The layout of the small duplex half was exactly opposite of what hers was. She made her way into the den and seated herself in the recliner. Alena opened the back door that led to the small fenced-in yard and Roscoe bounded out to take care of doggie business.
When she came back, Alena dropped onto the couch and leaned her head back to stare at the ceiling. “What do you need to know?”
“Did Corey ever mention any enemies? Anyone he’d made mad? Anything?”
One shoulder lifted in a halfhearted shrug. “Not that I can think of. He played pool a lot at the college and is always winning, so I guess he could have made some of the students there mad. But I wouldn’t think that would be motive for murder.”
“You’d be surprised what sets some people off.”
Alena nodded. “Yeah, I know.” She bit her lip. “I know when he sat in on the mock trial, there was another student who was pretty belligerent toward Corey. It had something to do with the war in Iraq.”
“What about it?”
“Oh, something stupid. Just that Corey shouldn’t be fighting a fight that wasn’t his.” She waved a hand. “I just admire the men and women who serve our country so much, and this guy’s comments were completely uncalled for. It made me pretty mad too. Then Edward jumped in and there was almost a free-for-all.”
“Edward?”
“Edward Richmond.”
“The DA’s intern?”
“Yes.”
“So he was involved in this mock trial?”
“Uh-huh. He told the other guy to shut up and stay focused. That they weren’t there to argue war politics. They were there to practice law.”
“What happened after he said that?”
“The guy got in Edward’s face and told him what a twit he was.”
“How did Edward react?”
“He laughed and shrugged. He seemed to find the whole thing kind of funny. And yet he seemed ticked that Corey and that guy were wasting class time arguing. He walked away and sat down. By that time, our professor had called security and we broke for the day.”
“Who was the guy that Corey was arguing with?”
“Um . . . I’m not sure. I’ve only seen him around campus some. He never really says much and he’s definitely not very social. I think I’ve only had one class with him, and it was in one of those big auditoriums with about a hundred people in it. Edward would know his name, though. They’re both getting ready to graduate, so they’ve been together since day one of law school. I’m sorry, I just can’t think of it.”
“That’s all right.” Kit stared out the window. The sun was starting to put in an appearance on the horizon. “Can you think of anything else?”
“No,” Alena whispered. “Please catch who did this. I know Corey was a lot older than I am, but I think I could have really loved him.” More silent tears fell.
Kit put her arms around the girl’s shoulders and let her cry while her mind clicked with things to do. She took inventory. Her shoulder was healing nicely and her head no longer throbbed. So, number one, she was going to take her run. Some part of her wondered if that was a smart thing to do since she possibly had a killer after her. Then again, she wasn’t going to cower in fear and give this guy that much control over her life.
Number two, she was going to call Noah and they were going to track down the person Corey had gotten into an argument with.
And number three, she was going to confront Justin Marlowe and get the truth about how he lost that knife if it was the last thing she did before closing her eyes tonight.
But first, the run.
Maybe Jamie would go with her. She placed the text and gave her a few minutes to respond.
No answer.
Fine. She’d go by herself. She needed to think anyway. And on second thought, if she had a killer watching her, she certainly didn’t need to place Jamie in danger. No, it was better she go alone. She sent another text to Jamie telling her to never mind.
Fifteen minutes later, Kit’s feet pounded out the rhythm that she’d come to love. Running cleared her mind and pushed the stress out of her life for a brief while and she needed that.
Desperately.
At the entrance to the subdivision, she followed the sidewalk as it turned right and led to a small back road lined with trees. If she kept going, she would come to the main road, then circle around through the neighborhood that bordered hers. The entire route was four and a half miles. Sometimes, she cut it short and only did three miles. This morning she felt like doing the whole thing.
She especially loved the little stretch across the bridge where a river ran beneath. Often she stopped to look down, contemplating the purpose of the river. It gave life to the fish in it and offered a drink for some of the thirsty wildlife that still roamed in this area.
What was her purpose in life?
Noah came to mind.
His purpose was to make a difference in the life of everyone he came into contact with.
As for her purpose?
To catch the bad guys.
And to help those who couldn’t help themselves.
She smiled as she approached the bridge, loving the sound of the rushing water that flowed beneath. She pounded onto the sidewalk made for joggers, leaving plenty of room for passing cars.
Noah had definitely made a difference in her life.
He’d gotten her thinking about—and sometimes talking to—God again.
A car passed and she lifted a hand in an absent greeting. The brake lights came on and it slowed. Then sped up and disappeared around the corner.
At this point, her cop instincts sharpened. Why had it slowed down so much? The road was flat and even—there wasn’t a need for brakes at that spot.
She jogged off the bridge and kept going, her mind clicking.
What color was the car? A green one. What kind was it? She couldn’t remember. Possibly a Mazda? Or a Honda?
Not many cars used this road, which is why she liked to run on it.
The deserted stretch mocked her. Stupid, it seemed to say. With a chill, she stared ahead. A sick feeling churned in her gut. She was so determined to have her own way, control everything around her, that she’d possibly put herself in danger.
She wondered if she would need the small pistol she had strapped around her right ankle.
Clouds hovered overhead adding to her suddenly dark mood.
Sweat dripped down her back.
Her feet slapped the pavement even as she pondered turning around and heading home.
And her pulse thundered in her ears.
As her adrenaline spiked, so did her breathing, coming faster and more labored.
With an effort, she managed to regulate it.
But couldn’t get rid of the feeling she was in danger.
She did a one-eighty and decided to head home. So she’d only get in two miles today. Right now that was fine with her.
Tomorrow, she’d choose another route.
One that had some traffic on it.
Lesson learned. She couldn’t control everything, no matter how much she wanted to. Especially the actions of a killer.
A car sounded behind her and her pulse spiked.
Already on edge, she glanced over her shoulder.
And saw the same green car that had passed her only moments before.
She picked up the pace.
If he had a gun, she was dead. Her little small-caliber pistol wouldn’t be any kind of match for someone using a car as a shield. Her best hope was to just get away.
A quick glance around showed no place to hide.
The car came closer . . .
Kit pushed her legs faster.
. . . and closer . . .
Another glance over her shoulder got her nothing except a view of the front of the car.
A Dodge.
. . . closer still . . .
And she had nowhere to go, no place to hide . . . and a possible killer on her tail.