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“Not in the least.”
“You’re the only one he might actually speak to.”
“I know, Chief.”
It didn’t seem to matter what the topic of conversation was, Seth’s features barely moved when he talked, and his chin often lowered an inch or two, like he was afraid someone might hit him simply for speaking. It was peculiar enough for Nico to take notice, but so far from the top of his list of things to think about that he’d let it sit at the bottom a while longer.
Scrutinizing him a moment longer, West nodded. “Good man. Alright, you’ve got your ride up there,” he announced, facing Nico again. “But I wouldn’t expect a kind welcome.”
“What is this, some kind of Hills Have Eyes deal?”
Nico got the feeling West was trying not to smirk at his fearful tone.
“Nah, just some folks who have no respect for the law, or anything else for that matter. My advice? Let Seth do the talking. Trust me. It will cause the least problems.”
“Right.”
Moving on, West asked Frank, “What about Archie’s Hardware?”
Frank’s mouth twisted. “The old man doesn’t recall anyone buying duct tape recently. That’s not to say it didn’t happen, just his memory isn’t the best these days and let’s face it, every household in America has a roll of duct tape in the junk drawer.”
“It didn’t look like it came from a junk drawer,” Zoe countered. “It looked brand new.”
“Still, you can buy it almost anywhere,” Seth said. “For all we know the killer is a tourist who stocked up on the mainland.”
“So,” Frank said. “I guess the next question is do we go ahead and call this lead a dead end, or do we spend an inordinate amount of valuable time going through hardware receipts in the hopes of turning up a possible—albeit unlikely—suspect.”
West considered the options, then surprised Nico by asking, “What do you think?”
Nico worked his jaw. “I think it’s too soon to call it a dead end. Whether the killer is a local or not, one thing that’s clear is that this wasn’t just a random crime. It was planned. Organized. And personal.” He walked over to the huge whiteboard they’d erected on the back wall—away from the view of the public—and ran his eyes over the crime scene photos for the thousandth time. “Stabbing someone thirty-two times, making sure their death is excruciating . . . That takes rage. A reason.” Turning back to the rest of them, he concluded, “I think she knew her killer. I think we need to be looking close to home, for now.”
“So, we make Logan priority number one,” West said. “He’s got a criminal record, so it’s safe to say the condom didn’t belong to him. But it belonged to someone. We need to find out who that someone is before the trail goes cold.”
Frank stood with a groan that could have come from an old man. “Alright, I’ll head over to Archie’s now and get started.”
“Later,” West instructed. “I want you to go up the mountain with Seth and Nico.”
“Actually, Chief,” Nico halted them both. “I’d like to follow up with the victim’s best friend first. See if I can press her for more information before we leave.”
West’s eyes narrowed. “I interviewed her myself. What makes you think you’re gonna do any better?”
Nico shrugged, clearly conveying his lack of competition in the matter. “I don’t.”
West shook his head. “Fine but be quick about it. I don’t want you lot driving down the mountain at night.”
“I’ll take Zoe with me,” Nico said, grabbing his keys and nodding for her to join him.
“Thanks for asking me along,” Zoe said as they cruised down Main Street.
Nico had asked if she wanted to drive and she’d accepted without hesitation, snatching the keys from his hand and hopping straight in. Nico didn’t mind. It gave him a chance to see more of the town without fear of hitting a pedestrian.
“No problem,” he replied, watching the swarms of people drift by. “Are you surprised that I did?”
Zoe made a face but kept her eyes on the road. “Sometimes—” She stopped herself, like she was unsure if she should say what she was thinking.
“Go ahead,” Nico coaxed. “It can be our little secret.”
She laughed, then gave a conceding nod. “Sometimes the guys coddle me a little. I wish I could say it’s because I’m less experienced, but I think the truth is—”
