Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 108849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
“How are the RICO cases going?” Laurel asked.
“Just concluded two of them,” he said, and then sighed. “You’re off the drowning cases, Laurel. I just spoke with Deputy Director McCromby.”
She swallowed. It wasn’t a surprise.
Norrs steepled his fingers beneath his chin. “I didn’t tell the deputy director that you’re pregnant with Captain Rivers’s baby, but you probably should give him a heads-up before he finds out from somebody else.”
She tilted her head. “Abigail?”
Norrs nodded. “We are dating.”
Now wouldn’t be the time to tell Norrs that she was fairly certain Abigail had murdered Jason Abbott. She would have to build that case on her own without his interference. He wouldn’t believe her anyway.
He sighed. “I’ll be taking over the river killings. We’re pursuing Captain Huck Rivers as our primary suspect.”
Her hands shook. “He is not a murderer.”
Norrs shook his head. “Love is blind, Snow.”
The irony of that statement struck her.
He flattened his palm on her desk. “I’m going to bring in a small team and we’re going to take over your office, okay?”
“That would be proper procedure,” she said, noting his slower than usual movements. “You require sleep first.”
He shook his head. “There’s no time for sleep.”
“The conference room is all yours. If you require additional space, you may use the first level of the building to the east. My mother is going to build a tea shop there, but it’s vacant for now because she’s out of town. You cannot have my office because I’m investigating other cases.”
“I don’t want to mess with your office. I think you should reach out to your sister for help. You’re going to need support during this very difficult time.” His gaze dropped to her abdomen and then up. “I’ve looked over the case files. We have a good case against Captain Rivers. Unless something else breaks quick and fast, he’s going to be charged, and we’re going to put him away.”
Her stomach rolled.
“We’ve also received a phone call from Pastor Zeke Caine,” Norrs said, his voice almost slurred. “He’s suing us for slander and emotional distress.”
“What? Because we called him in for questioning?” Laurel asked, her eyebrows rising.
Norrs shook his head. “You didn’t catch the last few minutes of The Killing Hour just now?”
“No.”
“As he left your building, Pastor Caine was attacked by Rachel Raprenzi and her cameraman. They had the whole scoop on how he’d been pulled away from his parish and had basically been accused of murder.”
Seriously? What kind of reach did Rachel have? Or had Zeke somehow set this up? “How did they know all of those facts?” Laurel asked.
“Heck if I know,” Norrs said. “But he’s suing us, and he’s pissed.”
She thought back to what she knew. Zeke had horribly embarrassed Pastor John in front of their entire church. Perhaps John had taken a little bit of revenge. Not that she could blame him. However, a lawsuit would make her life even more difficult.
Agent Norrs stood. “Where’s the case file?”
“All of the files are in the conference room, as are the murder boards. You can take over the entire area if you want.” She’d already removed the pictures and notes from the board featuring Abigail so he wouldn’t see her evidence.
“Thank you,” he said. “I’m sorry about this.”
Laurel nodded. “So am I.”
He smiled. “The good news is that if I’m here for a while, Abigail will be here as well. You two can finally bond.”
Chapter 39
Darkness had fallen as Laurel rode in the passenger side of Huck’s truck, idly thinking that she hadn’t driven her own vehicle in much too long. It had been at least a week. This was getting ridiculous.
“So they just released you?” she asked.
His grip tightened on the steering wheel. “Not exactly. I called in my attorney, and he pointed out that Rachel could not positively identify me as her kidnapper and that anybody could have stolen Aeneas’s blanket from the back of my rig. Plus, there’s absolutely no damage on my truck and a lot on Rachel’s vehicle.”
Laurel cocked her head to the side. “Who’s your lawyer?”
“He’s an old pal from the military who lives outside of Seattle. That’s part of what took so long. We had to wait for him to arrive. You’ll like him—I assume we’ll be seeing a lot of him over the next months.”
Laurel nodded. “They’re not dropping the case against you?”
“No. They’re going to up the charges. My cell phone being in the vicinity of all the murders doesn’t look good.”
She watched the rain beat the ground outside. When would spring come? “You’re most certainly their prime suspect.”
He set his windshield wipers on a faster speed. “They’re definitely building a case. My lawyer convinced them not to arrest me at this time, so long as I relinquish my weapons, badge, and passport. I’m on indefinite leave.”
“I’m off the case as well.” Her fingers itched to get back to her case files. “I think Norrs is a good agent, and Nester said he’d be back tomorrow.”