Page 46

“Yeah. So, what do you need to know about Mitch?”

“Did you get anything out of him?”

He sighs again. “Not really. I asked him where he was when Dina was killed and he had an alibi…”

“How solid of an alibi?”

“Not super solid,” he answers, frustration lacing his tone. “But solid enough that I couldn’t justify keeping him any longer. His friends vouched for him but you know how that goes…”

I nod, running my hand through my hair. “Yeah. They’ve got his back whether they actually saw him or not.”

“Exactly. Why are you looking into him? You think he had something to do with this?”

“I don’t know,” I sigh, leaning back in my chair and shaking my head. “It’s a theory but I’m not getting anywhere with it.”

“Run it by me,” he instructs.

“Well, the killing started with Dina, right? So, yeah, technically, it could be anyone connected to the girls we’ve helped but why start with Dina? Not to mention, that when Storm and Chance went to pick her up, they got into a fight with Mitch and Chance pulled a gun on him…”

Rodriguez sucks in a breath. “I didn’t know that part.”

“I mean, nothing happened but seems to me a guy like Mitch wouldn’t take that embarrassment very well.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

My mind drifts back to what Streak said last night and I lean forward, flipping open Laney’s file. “Have you been able to find anything else on him? Streak said the guy is pretty non-existent online.”

“Naw, man. He lives his life like he’s got something to fucking hide but he does it well enough that I can’t find anything.”

Staring down at Laney’s photo, I nod. “You think he’s capable of this?”

“Shit, Fuzz,” he sighs. “You never know what someone is really capable of… but if you told me he was the guy, I wouldn’t be too surprised. He’s got serious anger issues and I get the feeling that is just the tip of the iceberg so yeah, I guess I think he’s capable.”

“You ever get anywhere on Laney or Sammy’s cases?”

“No,” he answers, pain lacing his voice and a pit forms in my stomach. I know he hasn’t been coping with Laney’s death very well but when you add in the fact that he still hasn’t found her killer, it only makes it worse.

“All right. Well… if you find anything, will you let me know?”

He sighs again. “Yeah, you got it.”

We say good-bye and after I hang up, I lean back in my chair and sigh. My mind drifts from the cases to the other huge problem in my life right now.

Piper.

What in the hell do I do about her?

Scrubbing my hand down my face, I close my eyes and the image of her looking up at me last night pops into my head, her green eyes boring into my flesh and I suck in a breath. My eyes pop open and I check my watch again, contemplating driving over to her place and demanding answers again before I stop myself.

Shit.

Should I really be doing this?

Maybe I have just finally lost my mind and this whole plan to get Piper back is a delusion, fueled by my insanity. Then again, I haven’t felt this good in fucking years and even the frustration of the cases is not enough to damper my mood. Not when I can still feel her skin under my fingertips and her lips pressed against my neck. Fighting back a smile, I shake my head.

There are a few things I’m absolutely certain of - one, Piper never cheated on me. There is no possible way that is how things went down ten years ago because more than once I’ve caught her giving me the same damn look she used to give me when we were kids, like I’m her whole damn world. And yeah, she is still keeping secrets from me but that brings me to number two. Whatever she is hiding, whatever she has kept locked up for a decade doesn’t matter. We’ll get through it together. Last and most important, I’m not going to stop until I get my wife back.

If Piper thinks she’s seen me determined before, she’s got a whole other thing coming.