Georgina cocked a brow. “When?”
“She was the one who discovered Mia O’Dell’s body on the trail,” he explained, then paused. “We hit it off.”
“I see.” Georgina grinned. “Good for you. Hope this one is a keeper, just like with me and Ted.”
“That would be great,” Campbell had to admit, knowing that she and her deputy sheriff boyfriend worked. Though they were apparently not interested in marriage—to each their own. While wedding bells weren’t exactly on the docket right now between him and Stefanie, the fact that both were open-minded in that regard could bode well in the future.
Georgina sipped her coffee with two sugars, then asked, “So, do you think we’ll find anything incriminating at the Braison Family compound related to O’Dell’s death?”
Campbell weighed this. “One can only hope so,” he replied, adding more cream to his coffee. “If there’s anything at all at the compound in the way of fentanyl orother evidence that can somehow tie Kenneth Braison or one of his followers to Mia’s fatal overdose, we’ll find it.”
“Maybe. Based on past run-ins with Braison, I’m betting that if the Braison Family was involved in her death, they probably covered their tracks well.”
Just as Wendell Braison apparently did in managing to skirt the law and his father in the death of Lynda Boxleitner, Campbell told himself. “Our job is to uncover any proverbial tracks if they lead anywhere, or to someone,” he countered. “Maybe it’s the drug dealer who gave Mia the deadly fentanyl indifferently. Or perhaps she was killed deliberately to keep her from spilling the beans on something or someone who preferred that it went with Mia right to the grave.”
Georgina nodded and said, “Let’s hope we can give her the peace she deserves—even if she made some bad choices and couldn’t pull herself out. If this was out-and-out murder, all the more reason to get whoever was responsible—so no one else has to die.”
“Yeah, you’ve got that right.” Campbell tasted the coffee. He couldn’t help but wonder if such an unsub could have played a role in Lynda Boxleitner’s murder. Could Kenneth Braison have actually killed her instead of his father? Kenneth would have been in his early twenties when she died. Making him more than old enough to have done the deed—either for himself or on behalf of Wendell Braison.
But Dad never mentioned Kenneth as a suspect in Lynda’s murder, Campbell told himself. So maybe he hadn’t killed her. But that didn’t let him off the hook for involvement in Mia’s OD death.
When his cell phone rang, Campbell lifted it from thepocket of his blazer and answered, listening to the caller. After disconnecting, he told Georgina, “We got the search warrant. Let’s go pay the Braison Family a visit—”
“I’m with you,” she said eagerly before they finished off their coffees, paid for them and left the café.
* * *
THAT AFTERNOON,STEFANIEsat poolside on a turquoise chaise longue chair beside Bella as they sipped on cocktails while wearing bathing suits in anticipation of a dip in Bella’s resort-like saltwater pool. After her father’s death, Bella had inherited and moved into his enormous house—which, to Stefanie, was probably the most elegant home in town—that he in turn had inherited from his father, Malcolm Reston, whom it had been passed on to by his own father, Arthur Reston, the town’s namesake.
Stefanie was still reeling from kissing Campbell. She had prompted the kiss, surprising even herself. But it felt like the right time, with the right person. So she’d thrown caution to the wind and gone for it, hoping he wouldn’t embarrass her by turning down the request.
Thank goodness he welcomed the invite and was a great kisser, as I suspected, Stefanie thought in her reverie. They’d already made tentative plans for another dinner date, this time at his place. She was excited at the prospect of furthering what they had started.
Stefanie refocused on Bella, who was talking animatedly about the next big project that she was spearheading.
“The Annual Reston Hills Charitable Gala this Saturday will raise money for local theater programs, literacy initiatives and the arts,” she said enthusiastically. “It will also be lots of fun with live music, performances, an auction, lots of food and more…”
“I look forward to attending,” Stefanie told her while wondering if she could invite Campbell as her guest. Or would he be too busy working on one case or another? That could be something she would simply have to get used to were they to become a bona fide couple. “Maybe I’ll even bid on something at the auction—all for a good cause.”
Bella laughed. “Or not. Whatever works. You’ll definitely be on the VIP list as a good friend—and feel free to bring anyone you want…” She gave her a teasing look. “I’m just saying.”
“Thanks for that.” Stefanie showed her teeth while making plans to bring Campbell along for the ride. “Can’t wait.” In the meantime, she could only hope that Campbell and his colleagues wouldn’t be left with more dead bodies to deal with. “So, Campbell’s looking into whether Mia’s death was in any way connected to the unsolved death of Lynda Boxleitner—the member of the Braison Family you mentioned who was found murdered twenty years ago in Reston Hills Park on Founder’s Day.”
“Really?” Bella batted her lashes. “Seems like a stretch after so many years, but what do I know? Tell me more.”
“Afraid I don’t have much to tell,” Stefanie admitted, flexing her toes. “Only that Campbell’s dad, Mason Sawyer, who investigated Lynda’s death, found that she, too, was left naked at the park with the initials of Wendell Braison tattooed on her arm and had been fatally poisoned—albeit with a different type of poison than what Mia OD’d on. But since Mia had Kenneth Braison’s initials tattooed on her arm and died under similar circumstances, I suppose it’s only natural that Campbell would want to see if the father and son could have perpetratedthe poisonings for whatever reason as the leaders of the Braison Family…”
Bella sipped her drink. “Well, when you put it that way, it does seem like a good idea for Campbell and the police department to check out if there’s any way that Wendell and Kenneth could’ve used their power to dispose of cult women they viewed as threats to their organization.”
Stefanie leaned toward her. “Yeah, as weird as it sounds, I suppose anything’s possible till proven otherwise. I’d at least like to see Mia’s death solved, for obvious reasons, as the one who found her.”
“I’m with you there,” Bella said flatly. “As my dad’s former housekeeper, Mia deserves justice in any way she can get it. Just as Lynda Boxleitner does. Never too late.”
“I agree.” Stefanie was hardly an expert on cold cases. Or even hot ones, for that matter. But she sensed that with Campbell investigating the two deaths, anything was possible. She put the cocktail glass to her lips before tossing out casually, “So, I invited Campbell over for dinner last night…”
“Oh, really?” Bella flashed her an exaggerated shocked look. “Didn’t see that coming.”
“Neither did I, to tell you the truth,” Stefanie said before tasting her drink. “But we’ve gotten to know each other a bit. He seems like a great guy with an interesting background—and someone that, if it continues, could be a good fit for me at this stage of my life.”
