Page 70 of Night Moves
“How could she afford these items on a sales associate salary?” Drake asked.
“Family money, maybe,” Faye said.
Natalie gave that some thought. “If they were supporting her, I wonder if they expected her to work.”
“Yeah, I never understood what was going on there, and she never talked about it.”
“You discussed makeup but not her job,” Drake said, mimicking Natalie’s thoughts.
“I handed her a package from Dion on the way out to work one day. She offered the info. I didn’t ask.”
Natalie still didn’t understand their relationship, but Faye acted sincere so Natalie let it go. “When you met the family, did they seem to get along or was the relationship strained?”
“Hmm, well.” She tapped her chin. “I didn’t pick up on any tension, and she seemed close with her mother.”
“Do you have their phone number or address?” Natalie asked. “I’d like to get their take on things.”
“Let me get it.” Faye rushed from the room as if glad to be leaving.
Natalie looked at Drake. “What do you make of all of this?”
“It’s all very odd,” he said. “Laura lived in a modest apartment with a roommate. Worked in a department store. Yet, had access to money for designer clothes and pricey makeup. Raises all kinds of red flags for me, but I don’t know what they are. Good idea, talking to the parents.”
They stepped from the room in time to find Faye leaving her kitchen with a bright pink sticky note. “Here’s their info. I hope you or the police find the guy who did this.”
“We will,” Natalie said at the front door, trying to sound confident. “You can be sure of that.”
18
Drake eyed the three-story contemporary house, an oddity in an area of quaint bungalows. The newer contemporary box-like place had a glass wall facing the beach, and the corners consisted of exposed steel girders. There would be magnificent city views from here for sure. It was the kind of house Drake liked, but he suspected the neighbors didn’t much appreciate having such a tall structure built in their neighborhood.
He glanced at Natalie. “Ready?”
She gave a reluctant nod and took a fortifying breath. “It’s not going to be easy questioning them. Not with the pain of their loss. I know it firsthand and how hard it’ll be for them. Especially since she only died a few months ago.”
He didn’t know the pain, and didn’t want to mess up and make it worse for the family. “If I do or say something insensitive, go ahead and call me on it.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I don’t want to add to their pain, and I’ll try to be diplomatic.” He glanced around. “We weren’t followed, and the possibility of Gentry showing up is next to nil, but not impossible. So stick close to me.”
She nodded, and he noted the hint of fear his warning had put in her eyes. He’d rather do just about anything, even his brothers’ laundry for a month, than scare her, but she had to know that the risks existed here even if they were slim.
They hurried up the huge pavers mixed with gray river rock to the front door of frosted glass. He rang the doorbell and stepped back. He hadn’t wanted to give the parents a chance to say no to the interview, so hadn’t called ahead for an appointment. Might mean Drake would get a door slammed in his face. Wouldn’t be the first time and he doubted it would be the last.
A tall slender man who resembled Laura Zimmer answered the door, his cool blue eyes narrowed. “Can I help you?”
“Stefan Zimmer?” Drake asked, just to be sure.
Those blue eyes iced over. “Yes.”
“I’m Drake Byrd of Nighthawk Security, and this is Natalie Dunn, a Multnomah County social worker.” Drake handed him a business card, paused to let that information register, and wished he had law enforcement backing to help him persuade this man to cooperate.
A grimace formed on the man’s face. Okay. Fail. The news didn’t sit well with him.
He tightened his eyes and tapped the card on his other hand. “What’s this about?”
“We hoped to ask you a few questions about Laura’s death,” Natalie said.
