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Ophelia frowned at the blond detective. “You’re saying Bowie was pissed at getting fired so he came after Alina?”
“Our theory is that he wanted her dad to pay.” Calvin’s hands dipped into the pockets of his dress pants. “The man seemed to hold one serious grudge. We linked him to Shayne and Fallon through their phone records. Looks like Shayne and Fallon were the ones to sabotage your car. Everything connects. We believe Bowie murdered his two associates to stop them from possibly ID’ing him, and then, when you showed up at Kiera’s and started questioning her, Bowie realized he had to act.”
She could still see all the blood. Smell it. Alina’s nostrils flared. “Kiera is going to be all right.” She’d called the hospital multiple times, but they’d refused to release any info on Kiera’s condition to her. But then Ophelia chatted with a few of the nurses and somehow, she’d gotten the scoop.
Kiera had survived her surgery. She’d been in the ICU for days but had finally been transferred to a normal room.
“She’s recovering,” Calvin assured her. “A slow but steady process.”
Alina exhaled.
“As for the man who shot Bowie Dodge…” Joyce rocked onto her heels. “We have learned that Ray Sader is the individual who actually contacted the Ice Breakers about Kiera’s case.”
“Huh. You don’t say,” Ophelia exclaimed. All wide-eyed innocence.
Alina slanted her a quick glance.
Ophelia shrugged. “What?”
“Memphis Camden confirmed to us that Ray was the concerned friend who wanted help with Kiera. Ray is not being charged in Bowie’s death—”
“Uh, great to know,” Ophelia cut in. “Considering the man stopped a murderer who was hell bent on shooting multiple people—”
“He is not being charged,” Calvin repeated, voice stronger. “And we are currently viewing Alina’s kidnapping case as closed.”
Alina blinked.
“Uh, that’s it?” Ophelia asked.
A wide smile curled Joyce’s lips. “You’re safe now, Alina. You don’t need to look over your shoulder any longer. You can focus on the competition.”
“But…” All the pieces weren’t fitting for her. It seemed as if the detectives were trying to shove everything into a box and wrap it up with a neat, little bow. Only the box wasn’t closing. “Bowie said that Henry Monroe was involved.”
Calvin and Joyce shared a brief glance. “We believe,” Calvin said slowly, “that was to throw everyone off the scent. A last dig, if you will. Bowie had replicated Henry’s MO on Maureen O’Sullivan. The man seems to have been a—a fan of Henry’s work. So at the end, we suspect he just tossed out Henry’s name as a final way of hurting Henry’s son.”
Alina’s brow furrowed. “But who told my father to hire Midas in the first place? It wasn’t Oliver Foxx.”
“Ah. Oliver.” Joyce’s mouth tightened. “He’s been in the station quite a few times. He seems to forget that he’s not technically a Fed any longer.”
“I heard he did contract work for the FBI.” Ophelia watched the detectives closely. “And the man is a profiling master. So if he wants to help you, shouldn’t you be—oh, I don’t know—jumping at the opportunity to work with him?”
“He is not, ahem, working with us any longer. Oliver Foxx has flown to North Dakota. He’s working with the prosecutor up there to see if more of Henry Monroe’s victims can be located.” Sympathy softened Joyce’s expression. “We’re very sorry about your mother, Alina. Her autopsy results should be in soon.”
“Her neck was broken.” This was no surprise. “We’ve always known that. But…we…I was told she died in a skiing accident.” Until Henry Monroe’s confession had upended her world.
“It’s possible he just said that to hurt you.” Ophelia opened the door that led to the ice. She slipped. Cursed. Said something about her ass busting again. Then she grabbed for Alina. Grabbed her for support so she wouldn’t fall but also…
Alina stared into Ophelia’s eyes. There was no missing the concern in Ophelia’s light blue gaze. “You don’t know for sure what happened yet. You can’t be certain he wasn’t just trying to hurt you and Midas.”
Calvin cleared his throat. “Henry has provided more details.”
Ophelia spun to look at him. She almost fell, but Alina steadied her.
“He’s spoken with Oliver. Described what your mother was wearing. How he first encountered her. How he—he set the scene after he killed her. All very specific statements.” An exhale. “I’m sorry.”
Sorry. She heard that from people a lot. Alina was sorry, too. Sorry that she’d lost her mother. Sorry that so many lies had been told. Sorry that Midas had such a monster for a father. “What will happen to him?”
“Well…” Calvin scratched his chin. “He is already serving multiple life sentences. Parole was never a possibility for him. In North Dakota, there is no death penalty. But we do know he and his son traveled all over the country. If Oliver Foxx can tie Henry to a crime in a different state—one with the death penalty, then you would—”
