His boss let out a low whistle.“Not good.What do the police think?”
“We left without talking to them.Lori is a redhead like Bryn.I’m sure the gunman killed her by mistake.”When his boss remained silent for a long moment, he added, “They’re already treating Bryn like a suspect.I made the decision that her safety trumped making a police report.”
Rex exhaled loudly.“Yeah, I guess I can’t blame you for that.But leaving the scene of a homicide isn’t going to look good.For either of you.”
“I know.”He didn’t bother to fill Rex in on the fact that the cops didn’t know about the shooting at Bryn’s house yet either.Or if they did, they hadn’t heard the story directly from Bryn.“We’ll give our statements tomorrow, but for now, we need a safe house.”
“I’m working on that.”More keys clacking, then a period of silence.“Okay, I have a place secured for you.It’s located a few miles northwest of Madison.Will that work?”
“Yes.Shoot me the address.”Micah knew Rex had direct access to rental properties outside normal channels.This was the first time Micah had operated in Madison, but Rex had a large network that extended across many states, even the East and West Coasts.
“Coming through.”His phone pinged as Rex sent the text.“I’ve provided the access code too.”
“Thanks.”He didn’t doubt his boss was thorough.“Do you know anyone within the Madison police department?”
“No, but I can make some calls,” Rex said.
“I was interviewed by Detective Holbrook,” Bryn said, speaking up for the first time.“He wasn’t very nice.Kept asking me the same questions over and over again as if he didn’t believe a word I was saying.I told him I didn’t know where Damien was or anything about the missing money, but he kept pushing.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Rex said.“But grilling suspects like that is typical police behavior.Try not to take it personally.”
“I’m not a suspect!”Bryn’s voice rose in agitation.“I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I know that, and we trust you, Bryn.”Rex’s soothing voice didn’t seem to matter.Bryn still looked upset.“The police are just doing their job.They have to consider everyone a possible suspect until proven otherwise.”
Micah should have mentioned that approach to Bryn earlier, she clearly had been ruminating over being treated like a suspect.He smiled reassuringly.“The captain is right.I’m sure the detective talked to everyone at the office the same way.”
“I don’t know about that.”She didn’t look convinced.“Richard fired me because he thinks I was involved.I’m sure he gave the detective an earful.And my friend Gwen, Richard’s assistant, treated me coldly too.”
Micah hadn’t known she was fired from her position and that her friend had believed she was involved.Talk about a double whammy.“Once we clear your name, that won’t matter.”At least, he hoped not.The truth was that Bryn’s career at the PR and marketing firm was likely over for good.He wondered if Rex knew a good employment attorney but refrained from asking.
They had bigger issues to worry about.Most importantly staying out of sight from the gunman.
“Doubtful.”She sniffled, swiped at her face, then turned to stare out the window.If he wasn’t driving, he’d have pulled her into his arms.
“Hang in there, Bryn.I’m sure we’ll uncover the truth soon enough,” Rex said.“Mick, do you need anything else?Other than a contact within the Madison police department?I can always go to the feds, if needed.Not that they’re necessarily friendly these days.”
“No, that’s good enough for now.I’ll touch base with you tomorrow about how to work with the local law enforcement officials moving forward.”
“Okay.Talk later.”Rex ended the call without saying anything more.
A heavy silence hung between them.He tapped the screen on his dashboard to see the address and to use the GPS to find the location.
“I should have called the police right away,” Bryn said, breaking the silence, “rather than running from the gunman.”
“Hey, don’t stress about this.”He hated knowing she was beating herself up over her alleged mistakes.In his opinion, none of this was her fault.Dating a guy wasn’t a crime.“Once the police understand how you’ve been targeted by a gunman, they won’t blame you for wanting to go someplace safe.”
“Maybe.I still don’t like how I was treated as if guilty until proven innocent.”She sighed again.“That’s backward.”
“The investigation is different from going to trial.”He didn’t want to keep harping on how the detectives had questioned her.Although it suddenly occurred to him that the detective had not yet visited Lori Eastman prior to her murder.Something he would have thought would have been top on their list.Former girlfriends were always questioned.
He was secretly concerned that Bryn was right.That the police had zeroed in on her, rather than exploring other suspects.And he had a bad feeling there was some other evidence that pointed to her.Something she didn’t know anything about.It just seemed odd that Richard would have immediately fired her without a good reason.
Grimly, he silently admitted Bryn might need a good criminal defense lawyer, rather than one who specialized in employment law, before this was over.
“Looks like we’re still ten minutes away.”Bryn tapped on the screen where a blue line marked their path to the rental property.“Any chance we could swing by my house to get a change of clothes?”
He hesitated.“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
