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“What?” she says, shrugging her shoulders. “I don't tell you guys everything. Did you guys see how you responded to the news that Zoe was sleeping with Damien? You're all a bunch of crazy bitches.” Her humor diffuses the moment.
“You're dating a cop?” Ben sounds absolutely stunned.
“A girl's gotta have secrets.” As she says the words, she pulls out her phone and sends a quick text. “We've been dating for a couple of months,” she says. A moment later, her phone rings.
“Hey, babe, I need a favor,” she says as she puts him on speaker phone.
“A favor, huh? What do you need?”
“For you to keep it clean, you're on speakerphone.” He lets out a terse chuckle at her words.
“No promises, but I’ll do my best.”
She rolls her eyes, but I see the joy and humor in her expression and know she really likes this guy. “Can you tell me anything about the death of a Mr. Black?”
There's a pause at the other end of the line. “Of Black Industries?”
“That's the one,” Amy says.
“Why do you want to know about that?” His tone changes in an instant, and I see her blink in surprise.
“Because his son is Zoe’s boyfriend, and he believes his father was murdered even though everyone says that the death was accidental.” I can tell that she's a lot more intrigued by his response to this accidental death. Why would he be on guard if it was an accident and there was nothing to talk about?
“Zoe's boyfriend? As in our Zoe?” he asks.
“Yep.” The glance she gives me tells me that she has told him almost everything, which I'm fine with.
He sighs and says, “Amy, you know I'm not supposed to talk about work stuff.”
“But it's not a crime, just an accidental death, right? So there's no reason not to talk about it.” She says the words with a terse smile and a glance at me. “Besides, it's important.”
He sighs again. “You can't tell anyone I said this.”
“Cross my heart,” I say.
“The truth is, that case never sat well with me or anyone else. It was very, very messy, mysterious. There were no witnesses, no suspects, no motives. The only evidence was his body.”
“Are you saying you think he was killed somewhere else and moved there?” I ask, stunned by the revelation.
“I can't say that, just that the crime scene itself was odd.” As he says the words, Amy nods her head, agreeing with me. “By the way, it's nice to meet you, Zoe and friends. I'm Ryan.”
“It sounds like you've heard a lot about us, but we haven't heard a lot about you, so I'm looking forward to getting to know you,” I say.
“Over my dead body,” Amy says, then scans our faces. “I'm not giving you guys a chance to ruin something this good. He's a good guy and you might scare him off.”
“He doesn't seem like the type to be easily scared by anything,” I say.
“The crime scene itself was very inconsistent. The reports given by the officers on the scene were inconsistent, and the paramedics even recorded conflicting accounts.” Ryan sounds like he doesn't believe anything about the case.
“Do you have anything concrete you can give me that I could maybe pass on to a PI?” I ask, feeling hopeful.
“I just might. Give me some time. I’ll have Amy pass what I have along to you. But again, don’t say anything,” he says.
“You sound like a good cop who just wants the truth to be known, and I'm sure as hell not going to get you fired for that,” I say. “And thank you so much, I appreciate this.” As I say the words, my heart does a happy little dance in my chest as I realize I might finally be able to help Damien get some closure in his father’s death.
Chapter Sixteen
Damien
