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“What is it?” Blaire asked as she took in my wide-eyed, baffled expression. “What’s wrong?”
“Amber and her husband were drugged.”
I zoomed in on the results and then faced the display toward Blaire.
“Rohypnol.”
She lifted her chin and met my gaze.
“That’s a date rape drug.”
I placed my phone down on the table again, shaking my head in disbelief.
“This doesn’t make any sense though. Delilah wasn’t drugged.”
“So maybe it’s not the same guy then?”
“I don’t know. It’s hard to say when I don’t even know what Amber told the detectives. I’m sure they’ve interviewed her by now. So far, the only thing these two cases have in common is The Flirty Sanctum.”
I backed out of the document and double checked the email just in case I’d missed something by mistake, scoffing angrily when a message from Detective Rhodes popped up on the screen. He was apologizing for his partner’s behavior and was begging me to reconsider. He wanted to meet with me after work to discuss Amber’s case.
“Aww,” Blaire gushed. “At least one of them doesn’t seem to be an asshole.”
I rolled my eyes and didn’t bother to respond, opting to drop my phone on the table and rub frustratingly at my eyes, not caring if I ruined my makeup.
I needed a minute to think.
Phoenix was undoubtedly the sweeter one out of the duo, and I hadn’t forgotten the look on his face or what he’d said at the precinct. It was evident he wasn’t involved with the stunt Spike pulled with Harley, and so, I suppose it would be ludicrous of me to punish him when he hadn’t truly done anything to deserve it. It was a lot to consider, but in my heart I knew avoiding it was useless. I had to hear him out and clear the air now that my identity had been compromised. A lot was on the line here.
So, I picked up the phone and replied back, praying I wouldn’t come to regret it later.
All Blaire could do was flash me a proud grin when I turned and faced her.
“You’re doing the right thing, Char.”
I nodded, wanting to believe it as much as she did. “Yeah, I hope so.”
Blaire and I went back to the office after lunch, and instead of relaying my outburst at the precinct to Harley, I kept my mouth shut, thrilled she hadn’t mentioned her knowledge of it when I’d walked in to give her my report on Amber Strickland’s case.
What I didn’t expect to see, however, was the case file resting on her desk containing all the information I just spoke about, plus the crime scene photos. That seemed awfully fast given it had only been a little over five hours since Amber had been admitted into the hospital.
“Detective Rhodes stopped in and dropped this off.” I blinked wordlessly as she picked it up and handed it over to me. “Daniel and Amber’s statements are in there too. From what I’ve gathered, I suspect Chief is right about the connection. Rhodes tells me you’ll be meeting with him later, so I’d like you to go home and start thoroughly picking that file apart. DNA isn’t back yet, but Rhodes is hoping to have it no later than this evening. I called and demanded the lab put a rush on it. I want those results ASAP.”
“You’re thinking it’s the same guy,” I muttered.
Harley nodded; her jaw irately set. “I do, and I don’t have to tell you what that would mean.”
I swallowed hard, my heart sinking at the implication.
If she and Chief were right and the DNA matched both rape kits, then we possibly had a serial rapist on our hands, the first Seaview Pines had encountered since Gunther Knox lived and walked along these streets over ten years ago.
“I understand, Harley. I’ll get to work on it right away.”
I made it home and armed my security system, then slung my purse over on the couch before toting the file inside the kitchen with me, halting when I spotted the package resting right where I left it when I’d walked out the door this morning. On the island.
Damnit.
I said I’d call my parents on my lunch break, and it had completely slipped my mind. The three of us hadn’t exactly been verbal thanks to our altercation over my divorce, and I wasn’t exactly sure if I was ready to speak to them again after all of that bullshit went down. But they were the only ones I could think of, and I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t slightly curious, so I put the file on the kitchen table and then pulled out my phone, sighing as I thumbed out the text.
