Color leeched from Bryn’s face, and Micah was glad she was sitting down.“What do you mean?Bryn lives alone.”
“Yeah, well, they found a deceased adult male, approximately six feet tall and one-eighty pounds lying on the floor in the main bedroom.”
Bryn gasped and put a hand over her mouth.He knew what she was thinking.“Any idea on the victim?”
“No ID yet, the face is too badly burned, and there was no wallet found at the scene.The fire didn’t kill him, though.He died of a gunshot wound to the back of his head.”
“Gunshot wound?”He thought about the gunfire that sent Bryn running.“Not self inflicted?”
“Nope.The entry wound is low on the back of the skull.The death is being investigated as a homicide.There’s no ID on the body yet, they’ll send the DNA for testing, but they found a set of gold cufflinks at the scene engraved with the initials DR.”
Bryn’s stricken expression confirmed his fears.The cuff links belonged to Damien Rochester.
5
Reeling from shock, Bryn tried to understand what Rex was saying.Damien was dead?Murdered?And left in her house?Who killed him?And why?Because he stole the money?Okay, but then why had the same gunman come after her?
“Any idea how long it will take for the police to identify the victim?”Micah asked.“I know DNA takes time, but can they put a rush on the sample?”
“I don’t know,” Rex said.“I asked, but the lieutenant I spoke to didn’t have an answer.Sounds like they’re operating under the assumption that the dead guy is Damien.And I can’t lie to you; they want Bryn to come in for questioning ASAP.”
She managed to find her voice.“Do they plan to arrest me?”
“I don’t know that they have probable cause for an arrest,” Rex said.“However, the police are aware of your relationship with Damien, and there’s no denying he was found dead in your house.”
“I’ve been with Bryn for hours,” Micah said.“They can’t pin Damien’s murder on her.She wasn’t anywhere near her home until the fire was well under way.”
There was a brief silence.Micah reached across the table to take her hand.She clung to the warmth of his fingers, still trying to assimilate what had happened.
“I understand you’re Bryn’s alibi, but they still want to talk to her.It’s important they clear her so they can move on to other suspects.It’s not good that Damien Rochester, or whoever the dead man is, was murdered in her home.”
“I’ll talk to the police.”Bryn pushed the words through her tight throat.“I didn’t hurt anyone.I don’t even own a gun.”
“Was there a weapon found at the scene?”Micah asked.
“Lieutenant Krogan wouldn’t say.He only talked to me in hopes of interviewing you and Bryn,” Rex admitted.“Even though I dropped the name of the FBI agent we worked with on Mac’s last case, he wouldn’t say too much.”
“That figures,” Micah muttered.
“It’s an active investigation.”Rex’s tone was reasonable.“If I was the cop working the case, I wouldn’t say much outside of those integral to the investigation either.”
Bryn swallowed hard, trying not to panic.Had Damien been the one who fired at her initially?Or had the gunman gone to her house, found Damien waiting there, killed him, then fired at her?The scenario seemed surreal, but she wasn’t sure how else to piece the events together.
“Who have you been working with?”Micah asked.“I want to be sure the police don’t take the easy way out by trying to pin this on Bryn.”
“Lieutenant Krogan.Luke Krogan.He’s working the case along with detectives Holbrook and Anderson, who spoke with Bryn initially.”Rex paused, then added, “If you ask me, they believe Bryn knows more than what she’s told them.”
“I don’t!I was completely honest with them!”Bryn held Micah’s gaze, tightening her grip on his hand.“Damien was my boss.I didn’t have access to his personal bank accounts or anything like that.Dating him for a few weeks shouldn’t be enough to accuse me of being a part of the embezzlement scheme, much less murder.”
Micah’s expression was grim as he looked toward the phone sitting on the table between them.“Text me Lieutenant Krogan’s number.We’ll call him in the morning.”
“Will do.You’ve made it to the rental property without difficulty?”Rex asked.
“Yeah.I have my laptop and plan to do a little investigating on my own.”Micah squeezed her hand, then released it.“We’ll be in touch.”
“Okay.Let me know how it goes in the morning.”
“We will.Later.”Micah reached over to end the call.His blue eyes held hers.“Are you okay?”
