AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Instantly, Annie’s face took on the comedic look of a person trying really hard to remember where they left something important.
“That’s why,” Lexie said.
“Hey, it’s not my fault Wade won’t cut me another one.”
“That’s because you’ve lost two already. Why won’t you just add it to your car key like a normal person?”
“I don’t like the way it jingles when I drive.”
“Alright, whatever,” Lexie replied. “I’ll see you later.”
“Call Nico!” Annie called from her open window as the two of them set off on their alternate routes.
Lexie rolled her eyes.
Chapter sixteen
Nico leaned against his car, paper cup of coffee in hand, watching the sun rise over the ocean. Waves gently lapped the rocky shoreline. Gulls squealed and cawed, floating high then dipping low when they spotted something worth eating. In the distance, a few boat engines roared as they set out early for a day of fishing. The breeze rustling his hair was a fresh one, but if the past few days were anything to go by, he knew the chill would soon pass, and Mercy Cove would be treated to another warm, sunny day.
Pity he couldn’t enjoy it.
The process of charging Kyle Garrett for the murder of Isabelle Moss had been put in motion immediately following his arrest. However, on account of there being no murder weapon, nor any other hard evidence to tie him undeniably to the crime, it was now at a standstill. They’d searched everywhere; his apartment, his parent’s seaside mansion, every dumpster and trash can within a five-mile radius of each location—nothing. His DNA was a match to the condom—no surprises there—but they needed more than that to prove he killed her.
Adding insult to injury, Councillor Garrett and his wife had not taken kindly to the intrusion of their home and had been at the station every day—sometimes multiple times—haranguing the officers to let their son go, threatening a lawsuit if they didn’t. Rumor had it, they were flying in a high-priced lawyer to represent him today, who would no doubt make clear that they’d already kept him longer than they were within their legal rights to do.
Time was running out. Nico knew he’d need to release him soon. Hell, West might have already done it himself, the way he’d been whining about it. And then they’d be left with nothing but a trail gone cold as every other possible lead they’d chased—from hardware store customers who’d recently bought duct tape, to the guy who delivered her Chinese takeout religiously on a Thursday night—had led nowhere.
Nico pictured Isabelle’s mutilated body and hung his head.
Another young woman. Another life snuffed out.
There was no way he could have saved this one, he knew that. But he’d make damn sure she was given justice. Whatever it took, he would find the son of a bitch who killed her.
He was resolute. Unbudging despite already feeling horribly fatigued by the task. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Coming here was meant to be an escape. A place to rest, to heal. Most importantly, with Sara’s parents being here, it was supposed to be a time for redemption. And—he could only hope—forgiveness. Now, in the midst of such sickly familiar circumstances, Nico wondered if god was playing some kind of cruel joke on him.
Was he being punished? Did he die and not realize it? Maybe this was what it felt like to go to hell, to relive your worst nightmare over and over and over again.
No, he thought with a wave of resentment. This isn’t hell.
One didn’t need to travel to the fiery pit below to find monsters and suffering. Those things were right here. And while Garrett may not be a killer, he was a monster.
Nico clenched his teeth, remembering the angry marks on Lexie’s neck, and how good it had felt to put his lips on them. His kiss hadn’t erased the bruises, of course, or the memories of when they were put there. All he could hope was that time—and a divorce—would eventually dull the pain enough for her to trust a man again. To trust him.
It was an odd feeling, given the stress and sorrow of their current situation, but Nico didn’t need a mirror to know there was a goofy smile spreading across his face at the thought of her. He sighed, thinking about the look on her face when she’d recognized him that first night he arrived. The feel of her fingers gently tracing the line of his scar. He’d liked it. Liked her. More than he expected to, and a lot more than he probably should. He liked the way she smiled to herself when she talked about her home. The way she fidgeted nervously, never holding his gaze for longer than a few seconds. He especially liked the way her body had felt when she pressed it against his, warm and soft and feminine. And her mouth . . . Even if by some terrible twist of fate he never got the chance to kiss her again, it would be a long time before he forgot her taste.
Never in his life had he felt such an urgent pull toward another person. Disregarding the fact that she’d been avoiding him like the plague—something he found unsettling—but the unusual lightness brewing within him was as welcome as it was foreign, and he knew it had everything to do with her.
Finally making a move to get in his car and start his day, Nico checked his phone for the nth time, saw she hadn’t replied to his message, and drove to work. As soon as he walked through the door and felt the buzz of urgent activity, he felt like an asshole for dawdling. Frank was on the phone to forensics demanding that they test every piece of evidence gathered at the crime scene a second time. Zoe was busy chasing up a warrant to arrest Logan Hayes, not because anyone seriously suspected him of being the killer, but because they’d have a far better chance of questioning him properly without the army of yokels at his back. Seth appeared to be taking a third look at the security footage from cameras near to the crime scene to be certain nothing was missed. Cora—bless her—was furiously working to keep up with all the other mundane tasks the rest of them had abandoned. And Nico, well he was supposed to be overseeing all of it, not daydreaming about a beautiful woman with soft skin and blue eyes.
Alright, jackass. Time to get your head in the game.
The niggling feeling in his gut that something was wrong continued to twist tighter throughout the day. Call it instinct, but Nico couldn’t help but feel like the further they dug themselves into the Kyle-Garrett-suspect-number-one hole, the further they moved away from the truth. They were following protocol, following the evidence, but still, it didn’t feel right.
At ten a.m., word came that the Garrett’s lawyer had landed, and time was up. It didn’t matter. There was nothing here they didn’t already know. Nothing to indicate that the pissed off man sitting in their holding cell was the one who plunged a knife into a woman thirty-two times. And as the pompous defense attorney stuck his too-small nose in the air and ordered his client be released, Nico grudgingly obliged with nothing less than absolute courtesy. Garrett would receive his court date for assaulting Lexie soon enough, but, for now, he was out on bail, and Nico’s hands were tied.
“Okay,” he said to the group of officers gathered, staring at the door through which Kyle had just walked with a vengeful scowl on his face. “I know this may feel like a setback, but the truth is no amount of pushing was going to make an innocent man guilty, no matter how big of an asshole he is.” That earned him a few quiet chuckles. “So, we keep our heads, we go back to the drawing board, back to the crime scene, and we find something. Aside from revisiting Logan Hayes as a potential suspect, we have no leads,” he said, noting that West had also stayed to hover and listen what he had to say. “But I’ll tell you what we do have, a community of very frightened people who are counting on us to do our jobs. So, take a breath, refill your coffee mugs, and let’s get back to work.”
It took a few minutes for the stunned silence to pass. After being so hellbent with purpose only to have it snatched away made the whole squad aimlessly chaotic, but they followed Nico’s instructions, each taking a quick break to refocus, then they were back at it, working the case from new angles.
