Page 90 of Hard Evidence
Or perhaps I’d been desperate and distracted and willing to overlook a few flaws to keep my meal ticket?
I might have been a poor judge of character when it came to men, and yes, I owed Justin for helping me, but I knew how to tell the freaking time.
Rimer handed me a tissue, and while I was wiping my eyes, she hit me with a zinger.
“Did you know there are two hours on the Friday morning after Amie disappeared when Justin can’t account for his whereabouts?”
“You mean the two hours he spent putting flowers on an old friend’s grave?”
He’d told me about it yesterday, as we ate a late dinner and tried to forget that our worlds were collapsing around our ears.Every so often, we heard a shout or a revving engine outside as chaos continued on the street.At one point, the police had arrived, and then we’d had sirens too.
Rimer raised an eyebrow.Surprised that Justin had been honest with me?Or shocked that he’d shown compassion by delivering an orchid for Ruby because pink had been her favourite colour?
“The two hours he spent putting flowers on his murdered roommate’s grave with no witnesses,” Rimer said.
“I saw him buy the plant.Does that count?”
“An orchid, right?”
“Yes, a pink one.”
“There was no orchid on Ms.Costello’s grave.We found a miniature rose and a mixed bouquet, but no orchid.”
No orchid?That… I didn’t know that part.Justin wouldn’t have lied to me about his visit to the cemetery, would he?
Would he?
“M-maybe someone took it.Justin visited over a week ago.”
“Why would someone take a plant?”
“Why would someone deliberately go on a trip with no alibi if he knew he was going to be a murder suspect?”
She snapped her fingers, and in that moment, I hated her.“Because he wasn’t really visiting a cemetery, Jessalyn.If you’re right about those timings last Wednesday evening, he had to find some other time to dispose of Amie’s body.”
I froze, but inside, I was shaking.“Have you l-l-lost your mind?”
“Think about it… Justin had a fight with Amie and killed her—it might even have been an accident—and he panicked and stashed her body in his truck.You arrived before he had a chance to dump it.”
“You think…you think he killed a woman, then came home and took a shower?”
“He was probably covered in blood.”
“There were no bloodstains on his laundry.”
“Did you check the trash?”
I bit my lip, because what was I supposed to say?Of course I hadn’t checked the trash.His housekeeper had put it out for collection on Friday morning.Lora was sweet and kind, and she’d told me Mr.Justin was a nice man.Had the police interviewed her too?He’d given her paid time off rather than have her fight her way past the podcasters outside.
“You’re wrong about him,” I said, even as doubts warred with certainty.Where was that orchid?
“I don’t think I am.Ms.Packer, we can find somewhere better for you to stay.A safe house.Maybe even witness protection.”She dug around in her pocket.“Here, take my card.If you’re worried about anything—anything at all—you call me, okay?”
“Sure,” I said automatically, but I wouldn’t.No, as soon as she left, I closed the bedroom door, let Shiro out of the bathroom, and called Saylor.It was five a.m.in South Korea, but she’d told me to call any time if I needed her, and right now, Ireallyneeded her.
“Jess?One sec, one sec…” I heard rustling, and footsteps, and a door closing.“Sorry, sorry, Kevin’s asleep, and I didn’t want to wake him.You okay?”
“N-n-no.”
