Katrina hurried over to them.“What happened?”she asked her sister.“Why aren’t you getting ready for the wedding?”
Khloe turned in surprise, reaching out to pull Katrina into a hug.“We were heading back to the suite to get started when Asher called and said there was another murder.”
“What?!”Katrina blinked, glancing at Asher and Upton, where they stood talking to Detective Ferguson, who did not look thrilled to be here, by the way.“Who was it?”
“Harold Thompson,” Khloe said.“Apparently, Harold wanted to meet with Asher and Upton early this morning, saying he had something urgent to talk to them about, but he never showed up.One of the vineyard workers found him about an hour ago.He was shot, just like Arthur.”
Katrina’s heart thumped in her chest.It was happening all over again, and Darwin wasn’t here to help her figure out how to deal with it.
“Ms.Weber, it seems that you have a habit of being found in the vicinity of dead bodies,” a man said from behind her.
Katrina spun around to see Detective Ferguson regarding her with a frown.
“I was just on my way to my parents’ house to talk to my father when I saw the crowd and the lights,” she said.“Khloe mentioned the man you found was Harold Thompson?”
Ferguson’s frown only deepened as he turned to glare at Asher and Upton.“I’m assuming one of you felt the need to share the identity of the deceased?”
“I didn’t know it was something I wasn’t supposed to talk about,” Asher said hesitantly, looking at Khloe and Katrina.“Is it a problem?”
Ferguson stared at Asher for a moment, small notebook in his hand, before shaking his head and turning to regard Katrina.“No, I guess not.Though I suppose this does give me the opportunity to ask a couple questions, if you’re willing, Ms.Weber.”
Katrina was a little surprised by the detective’s sudden change of direction, but nodded anyway.She had a pretty good idea where this was going.“Of course.I’ll help any way I can.”
“Harold Thompson was killed in the exact same way as Mr.Davis,” Ferguson said, his gaze locked on hers.“From slightly above, as if he had been forced to his knees.Strangely enough, though, there was no dirt or grass stains on his knees, so the medical examiner is still trying to understand what the evidence is saying.”
Katrina nodded again, waiting for the questions Ferguson had mentioned, and wondering how this all tied into the Genesis weapon she’d learned about last night.
“When Arthur Davis’s body was found a few days ago, you mentioned he and a few others had been arguing with your brother, Rhett,” Ferguson continued a moment, like he’d expected Katrina to say something about the details of Harold’s death.“Would it be a safe bet to say Harold Thompson was also one of those people?”
“Yes, he was there,” Katrina said.“He and Arthur seemed to be trying to talk my brother out of taking part in some kind of business deal.Upton Haynes was there as well, though, so he might know more about what they were discussing.”
Ferguson turned his sharp gaze on Upton, who suddenly looked uncomfortable, his eyes darting between Asher, Katrina, and the detective.
“Um, well...”Upton stammered.“I was part of the conversation Katrina mentioned, but honestly, no one ever actually told me any of the details.All I could guess is that there was a previous agreement that Arthur and Harold wanted to stick to while Silas wanted to back out and go with another offer.Without knowing the details, there was little in the way of sound advice I could offer.”
The detective looked disappointed as he turned back to Katrina.“Where’s your boyfriend, by the way?I haven’t seen him.”
“He’s in the Navy and got called back to Coronado this morning.”
Katrina wondered if she should tell the detective what she knew about Genesis, but Ferguson’s phone rang, interrupting them.He stepped to the side with a frustrated growl, holding one hand up in the air for her to wait for him.
From the raised voice Katrina could hear coming from the other end of the line, combined with Ferguson’s rigid stance, it seemed clear whoever he was talking to was someone important.Probably Chief Vaughan, if she had to guess.It was also obvious Vaughn wasn’t happy.Ferguson kept trying to explain the situation, but his boss wasn’t in the mood to listen.
A moment later, Ferguson hung up and moved over to join them again, shaking his head the entire way.
“That was from my chief,” he said with a sigh.“He’s assigned someone else to the investigation into Thompson’s death, just like the previous murder.It seems someone has informed the chief that the dead man was an unsavory sort who’d been asked to leave resort property last night.It’s being considered another body dump.”
Giving them a nod, Ferguson turned on his heel and walked away.
Katrina looked at her sister.“I’m going to talk to Dad.This has to end before someone he cares about gets hurt.”
Chapter sixteen
Katrinawalkedinthefront door of her parents’ home without bothering to knock.
“Dad!”she called, looking around as she walked through the foyer and headed toward his study.If he was home, that was almost certainly where he’d be.
The door to his study was open, and she was relieved to see him sitting at his desk, tapping away on his laptop.He looked up at her entrance, surprise on his face.
