“Vera, this is Valeri. I need to talk to you in person right now. Can you come to my place.”
“Are you there?” She might have tossed too much snark into the question, but she knew Erwin had been home earlier and chose not to acknowledge Vera’s presence. Plus she had just suffered through the worst possible news. Vera was in no mood to be patient or nice.
“Well, yes. That’s why I asked you to come over.”
“Be right there.” Vera ended the call. What was it about that woman that got on her nerves so? Maybe the knowledge that she was a lying, conniving little self-serving gold digger. At least that was where the background research was pointing so far.
Open mind, Vee. Sometimes even the devil himself has an excuse.
She shoved the thought of the receipt out of her head and did what she had to do.
Erwin Residence
Washington Street, 5:15 p.m.
Vera glanced at the door to the apartment where she’d interviewed the young mother who hadn’t wanted to give her name. It was all quiet in her apartment now. Same with the neighbor across the hall. Vera climbed the stairs to the second floor and knocked on Erwin’s door. The one on the right side of the staircase. The downstairs tenanthad said Erwin lived on that side. For all Vera knew, she could have had the whole floor. But this was the door that had opened when Vera was here.
The sound of the floor creaking on the other side of the door told Vera the woman was peeking through the security peephole. Vera resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It was a bad habit she’d developed since her return to the county. Along with worsening grammar and way more swearing.
One, then two locks released before the door opened. Erwin’s face looked flushed. Her eyes were wide. “Thank you for coming.”
Erwin stepped back far enough for Vera to squeeze through the door. The woman could be so strange sometimes.
“What’s so important it couldn’t wait until tomorrow?” Vera crossed her arms and waited. She was beyond ready to go home so she could stand in her backyard and scream at the top of her lungs for a good ten minutes or so. Or maybe take a nice long run to work off some of this tension. Except she had a concussion, and she couldn’t do that.
“You want to have a seat?”
Though Erwin had a very nice apartment with lovely furnishings and well-done decor, Vera had no desire to stay a moment longer than necessary. At least not until she had a search warrant. It was time they went that route with or without compelling evidence. All they had to do was convince a judge.
“I have a meeting.” Not exactly a lie. Bent was cooking dinner for her. “Can we just get to whatever it is you have to tell me?”
“Oh sure.” Erwin nodded emphatically. Today she wore a baggy tee and jogging pants, and her hair looked in need of a wash—nothing at all like her usual put-together self. “So I went to the mansion this afternoon right after lunch to see if I could pick up a few files from the office.” She looked heavenward with an exaggerated eye roll and shook her head to punctuate it. “Trying to take care of the business from here is nearly impossible.”
This was exactly why Vera had to break the eye-roll habit. It was not a good look on anyone. Particularly when accompanied with other overdone gestures.
“I’m sure Bent can arrange to have a deputy accompany you to the house for whatever work materials you need.” Was that all she had to say? For Pete’s sake. Vera had no time for her theatrics. This could have been covered in a phone conversation.
“That would be great, because the deputy on duty today wouldn’t let me in. But that isn’t the reason I called you. As I was about to leave, a man showed up, demanding to talk toyou.”
A frown worked its way across Vera’s brow, likely deepening the permanent lines time itself had inscribed there. “What man?”
“He said his name was Larry Parson, and he was looking for his brother.” Her eyes got even wider, if that was possible. “You know, the one Alicia was probably fooling around with. Her ex. The one who was murdered at the cabin.”
Vera held up a hand. “Okay. What time was this?”
“Around one, maybe a little after. I told him he’d have to see the sheriff. The deputy said the same thing. I didn’t want to tell him where you lived.”
And yet he’d found the farm anyway. “Well, I appreciate you letting me know. I’ll pass it along to Bent.” She had no intention of telling her they had already spoken to Larry Parson.
“That’s not all.” Erwin grabbed her arm. “It was him.”
“Him?” Vera’s gaze narrowed as she tried to read Erwin’s mind. Could she not just get to the point?
“The guy who attacked us. I know it was him.”
If she’d said he was the Easter bunny, Vera wouldn’t have been more surprised. “How do you know? You said our attacker was wearing a ski mask.”
“He was. And gloves. I remembered that too. Because after he hit me, he wrapped his arm around my neck and choked me. I guess he’dexpected me to be knocked out, but I wasn’t. The gloves felt rough against my skin. I thought I was a goner, for sure.”
