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She closed that email and opened the one with the background checks on the Gates brothers and their employees. She scrolled past the profiles she’d already studied—Aaron, Corey, Ed the accountant, and Bobby the ex-cop. She’d reread them later.
There was one more profile, the last in Antoine’s email. A woman’s face stared back at her from the screen. Sandra Springfield had been arrested with Aaron. She was his personal assistant, managing his financial consulting office.
She’d held his coat while he’d beaten Dr.Singh to death. She’d kept photos of Aaron and Dewey on a thumb drive, hidden in her house. She’d known about the drug connection. She’d been high as a kite the day Aaron murdered the doctor.
Val’s mind prickled with unease as she studied the photo. Because Sandra Springfield looked familiar. She’d seen her before. But where?
She sat up, concentrating on the photo, zooming in on the woman’s face. But no name came rushing into her memory. Just that nagging certainty that she’d seen her before.
She zoomed in on the woman’s eyes, her nose, her mouth.
Her hair. A thin line of dark brown ran down the part of her blond hair. Roots. Sandra Springfield was actually a brunette.
Val forced herself to walk quietly down the stairs because Elijah was napping. With a frown, Molly looked up from where she sat, nibbling on a cake pop.
“You need to sleep, Val.”
Val nodded, an almost frantic energy propelling her toward the dining room table. “I know, I know, but I have something.”
Molly jumped to her feet. “What? What do you have?”
“I don’t know.” She stopped in front of Antoine, who deliberately ignored her. “Antoine.”
“I said don’t—”
“Antoine, I’m sorry, this is important,” she persisted, and Antoine looked up, blinking at her.
He leaned back in his chair, giving her his full attention. “What is it?”
“Sandra Springfield. I know her from somewhere, but I can’t remember where. I don’t think she was blond when I saw her.” She sat beside him as he brought up both the photo and her profile on one of his laptop screens. “Can you change her hair to the brown of her roots?”
Molly took a seat on Val’s other side, scanning the report on Antoine’s screen. “She grew up in New Orleans. Maybe you went to school with her.”
“I don’t think so. Van and I went to a pretty small high school. We knew everyone in our graduating class.”
“And you didn’t finish college here,” Molly murmured, “so it’s probably not from there.”
“No.” Val had moved after her first semester at Tulane to get away from her stalker.
Antoine loaded Sandra’s photo into his image editing software. He tapped a few buttons and... “Voilà,” he said. “She’s now a brunette. Do you recognize her now?”
Val narrowed her eyes, willing her brain to remember. “Her hair was shorter then, I think. Level with her jawline.” Antoine made a few changes and the woman now wore a bob cut, just as she remembered. “Dammit. Why can’t I—”
Oh my God. Val’s hands flew to cover her mouth to keep in what would have been a shout of disbelief.
I’m remembering wrong. I have to be.
“Val?” Molly asked, her tone still rock steady.
The front door opened and Kaj came into the house, Burke on his heels. Both carried takeout bags from a chicken restaurant nearby.
We forgot to tell them that we have leftovers, she thought. Because it was easier to think about food than the truth that was staring her right in the face.
Kaj locked the door, and then he and Burke both stopped when they saw Val’s face.
“What is it?” Kaj demanded. “Is it Elijah? Where is he? Is he okay?”
“He’s fine,” Molly said. “He’s asleep. I checked on him a few minutes ago.”
