“You know that’s right.” Dev clutched the back of the chair in front of him. “If I could stop this, I would in a heartbeat.”
Jada sighed. “I know. I’m just getting frustrated.”
“Investigations take time,” Colin said. “You make forward progress and take a few steps back and make progress again until eventually youdofind the bad guy, and hopefully he’s brought to justice.”
“He’s right,” Kinsley said, trying as much to encourage herself to face this battle as well as help Jada relax. “I can tell you that from experience in my investigations.”
“Maybe we could call in forensics experts at the Veritas Center,” Dev said. “It’s a longshot, but they might be free to process the scene and possibly locate leads.”
“Sierra Rice,” Kinsley said, not even trying to hide her enthusiasm for the idea when so far they hadn’t come up with anything good. “They’re one of the premier labs in the country for DNA and criminal forensics. If there’s anything to be found, Sierra and her team will find it.”
“You’re familiar with them, then,” Dev said.
She gave a vigorous nod. “When I was getting my engineering degree, I had hoped to work for them and did a summer internship there. But, like most other companies that use forensic engineers, they don’t need one full-time, and I’ve had to settle for working for them on a contract basis.”
“So are you comfortable calling Sierra and asking her to process your apartment?” Colin asked.
“Of course,” Kinsley said. “But I don’t know if I can afford their fees.”
“They do pro bono work,” Dev said.
“No, I wouldn’t feel good about using their budget set aside to help others. I’ll just have to figure out a way to pay them.” Though it could wipe out the savings she’d worked so hard to build up to buy a house.
Dev met her gaze. “I might be able to help, depending on the cost.”
“No.” Kinsley held up her hands. “This is my responsibility, and I’ll find a way to handle it. I’ll call Sierra first thing in the morning, but the best thing I can do right now is get over the shock of this and look through these pictures. Then decide on what to do about the police.”
Jada pulled out the chair next to Kinsley. “I’ll be right here to help you. I don’t know what I’m looking for, but you never know what I might see.”
Dev released his grip on the chair. “Do you have a list of investigations on your computer that we can compare to the binders?”
She tapped her screen. “I have a spreadsheet. I’ll print a copy for you.”
“Of course you do.” He grinned.
“You may find my need for organization annoying, but it’s going to be quite helpful right now.” She sent the file to the networked printer.
“Not annoying.” He smiled at her. “Cute.”
Colin stuck a finger in his mouth and mocked gagging. “Enough of the flirting. Let’s get on with the work.”
Flirting?Was Dev flirting with her for real?
Kinsley couldn’t tell. He didn’t argue the point, so maybe he was. Everyone was looking at her, and heat raced over her face as it had when she was a child, drawing unwanted attention. She bent her head and forced her focus from Dev’s potential flirting to her damaged apartment.
“I’ll get the spreadsheet and be right back.” Dev left the room.
She scrolled through the pictures, looking at every square inch of her floor for possessions that she would likely find in that area and made sure she didn’t look up when Dev came back to sit at the table.
She spotted her jewelry box, dumped out, leaving a mound of tangled beads and earrings and a large pendant. “Thankfully, I don’t have any expensive jewelry. Mostly just costume pieces. And, of course, I brought the things I value with me in my memory box.”
Jada glanced at her. “Like our skeleton necklaces where they can hold hands when together?”
Kinsley clutched Jada’s hand. “Tell me you still have yours.”
“She does.” Sandy stepped into the room with a tray holding a pitcher filled with red liquid and beside it, two Kool-Aid cups, one pink and the other white. “I remember packing it when I moved out of our house at the campground. If you want to reunite the skeletons—I can’t imagine that you would, but then again, I never did understand your fascination with them—the boxes are in my storage locker.”
Jada got a gleam in her eyes. “Oh, they’ll be reunited before the week is out. You can count on that.”
