“Um,why?”
He unwrappedhis sandwich and studied it like it was the most complex meal in the world. “Because I heard the recording.”
Sensing there was more to his story, I waited for him to continue.
“And I was strongly encouraged to put a man on your apartment. The perps clearly didn’t find what they were after, and if they get word that Dylan’s staying with you there’s a chance they could come looking for it here.”
“So my dad made a call. Got it.”
He nodded. “Also the autopsy report came back. Kirk Miller’s cause of death wasn’t the knife wound.”
“Wait, what?” Dylan asked.
“It appears he suffered from a stroke before he was stabbed.”
“Wow.” Dylan blew out a breath. “Kirk was always so skittish, but a stroke? That’s just... wow.”
“And someone went through a lot of trouble to put your knife in him,”Jake said.
Dylan shuddered. “They must have broken into my apartment while I was sleeping.”
He nodded. “Which brings me to these.” He pulled out what looked like key fobs for cars, handing us each one. “If you get into any trouble, press this button, and it will ring both my cell phone and dispatch. You’ll have an open line. You won’t be able to hear anyone on the other end, but we’ll be ableto hear you, so give as much information about what’s happening as you can. Also, we’ll be able to track you.”
“That sounds invasive,” I said, eyeing the device.
“No, it sounds protective. The department is a little too busy to be watching your every move. We’ll only track you if you activate it.”
“This is all so... I don’t know... cloak and dagger,” Dylan said, attaching the fob to her keyring.“When do we get the watches that shoot laser beams?”
I nodded, grabbing my keys and attaching mine. “Seriously.”
“That equipment is above my pay grade. I’m hopin’ you won’t even need to use these,” Jake said.
“Oh, I wanted to ask if you found Dylan’s computer?” I asked.
“My computer’s not missing,” Dylan said.
“What?” Jake and I asked at the same time.
“One of my gamer friends has it becauseit’s acting weird. He’s fixing it for me.”
“Why didn’t youtellme? I was searching your apartment for it.”
She shrugged. “You didn’t ask. And you shouldn’t have been in my apartment alone. I’m still upset with you about that.”
“Me too,” Jake said. “So, Addison, you sent us on a wild goose chase to find a non-missing computer?”
He sounded mad, which pissed me off. “How was I supposed to knowthat it wasn’t missing? She’s a nerd... she lives and dies by her stupid wars of warcraft warring game!”
“World of Warcraft was years ago, Addie. I’ve played like twenty games since that one. I don’t know why you can’t get past it.”
“I couldn’t care less what you do in your virtual word, Dylan. You know that. My only stipulation is that if you start LARPing, you and I are finished.”
“Whichis why I keep my costumes in a locker at the bus station.”
“Ohmigod, you’re ridiculous,” I said in (only slight) exasperation.
“Back to the recording.” Jake pulled his notepad and a pen from a pocket. “Dylan, did you recognize the men on it? Their voices? Anything?”
