Page 8 of Night Watch
Her shoulders dropped. “You’re right. But you need my help. He tossed something into the water. I think it was the crowbar he used to break in. Diving isn’t Sierra’s forte, and I plan to go in after it.”
“I don’t know.”
That cute chin rose even higher, and she crossed her arms. “You have any other underwater crime scene investigators in the area?”
“We could get someone from Clackamas County Sheriff’s Dive/Rescue Team.”
“Sure, they have divers, but none with the kind of experience I have. They can’t afford anyone full-time. None of the agencies around here can. It would be auxiliary duty at best, so how qualified are they? I dive on a regular basis and have had years of experience doing the job.”
She had a point. One Erik couldn’t argue with, but he didn’t know all the facts of criminal law either. If she collected this evidence, would that jeopardize the case? “We can’t risk you blowing up this investigation because of your connection. We need to get some legal advice before you go hopping into that water.”
“You must know some criminal lawyers we could call, right?”
“Malone Rice is our best bet. She’s the sister of Sierra’s husband, Reed. Malone specializes in helping teens and battered women, but she’ll still know if this is a good move.”
“Okay, give her a call then.”
“Not until you tell me more about what’s going on.”
“No time to waste.” She fisted hands on her hips. “The river’s current could carry the tool downstream. I need to dive tonight so that doesn’t happen.”
“First you can bring me up to speed.” He gestured at the couch.
Kennedy narrowed her eyes, drawing his attention to her many freckles. He’d once spent hours tracing the invisible lines between them with his finger.
She suddenly shook her head and marched across the room.Okay.She would comply, but she clearly didn’t like it. She flicked on the switch for a gas fireplace, and bright flames flared to life before she dropped onto the hearth and crossed her legs. “Before I start, don’t waste your time telling me I have no proof of my mom’s murder. Gathering evidence on the job has been my life for years, and I understand that I have no proof. But I also know my mother. She wouldn’t take too many pills on purpose or accidentally. She just wouldn’t.”
“Her death involved an overdose?” he asked.
Kennedy nodded. “She was otherwise pretty healthy, so they did an autopsy to determine cause of death. The tox screen revealed a very high level of blood pressure meds in her system that caused a heart attack.”
“So she OD’d on blood pressure meds,” he said, more to think about it than to state new information. Her mother had a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical science, so it was either a coincidence or ironic that she’d died from a drug overdose. “As a scientist, she would know what taking an excess of these meds would do.”
“Yeah. And that’s why they’re not ruling out suicide.” Kennedy clutched her arms around her waist, and tears wet her eyes.
He stepped closer, wanting to comfort her, but settled for perching on the arm of a nearby velvet sofa. “Finley said your mom was stressed.”
“Stressed or not, she wouldn’t make a big mistake like that. She’s just like me. We’re methodical. Organized. You know that, right? Could you see me making such a mistake?”
“Not the woman I once knew, but she’s older now.”
Kennedy dropped her foot to the floor with a solid thud that reverberated around the room. “She worked tough research problems every day without a hitch. She wasn’t mentally diminished. I know. I reviewed her work after I came back to Portland to finish her project. Everything was perfect. And before you say she had an assistant to do it for her, she’d worked alone in the lab ever since I went back to school for forensic science. She did have a part-time administrative assistant. Nora Rayburn. I laid her off after my mom died because I like to handle everything myself.”
He wouldn’t argue about her mother’s mental abilities. Just as important to him was that Kennedy had said she was here to finish the project.
“Did you leave the FBI?” he asked.
“They’ve given me leave for as long as I need.”
Surprising.“That’s very generous. Especially for a federal agency.”
“Qualified underwater crime scene investigators with my years of experience are hard to find.”
Erik understood the special skills she brought to a forensic unit. She’d paired her love of diving with her work. He’d never seen her do a forensic dive, but they’d dived together many times, and he knew she would be good at the job and enjoy it. But for now, she was living here, not in Quantico, Virginia, where the FBI’s main lab was located.
Here. Portland. His town. Where he’d thought they’d both live to a ripe old age together. But even if he could trust her not to hurt him again and they rekindled their relationship, she would finish this project and go back to her life in Virginia. No point in even thinking about it.
“So who do you think would want to kill your mother?” he asked.
