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She was a tiny thing, standing no more than five feet. Slim and pretty with bright-blonde hair. The three men seemed to dwarf her the moment they stepped into her home.
She led them to the couch in her living room, flushing when she had to move aside a pile of clothes so they could sit. The house was overly warm, and Rowe tugged at the neck of his T-shirt. He wondered if she was still in shock with the sweater and the heat. There were several planters overflowing with waxy green plants that looked brand new. A stack of cards was placed in the center of the coffee table. Some even looked unopened.
“It’s good to see you, JB, Noah,” she said as she dumped the clothes on a small table by the door. “I’m sorry you missed the funeral. Chris hated those damn things. Told me years ago he didn’t want one, but his family needed to say their good-byes.” They’d missed the funeral by two days, according to the obituary they found in the local newspaper.
“I’m sorry we weren’t here.” JB pulled Sally in for a quick, gentle hug. “It just happened so fast.”
Sally stepped back from JB and gave a jerky little nod. “Chris still had all the funeral arrangements in place from his last deployment. I think he was sure he was going to die in the service. Said the odds just weren’t in his favor.” She paused for a moment, seeming to get lost in thought, and then suddenly turned overly bright eyes on Rowe. “It’s nice to meet you, Rowe. Did you know Chris, too?”
“No, I never had the pleasure. We are so sorry for your loss,” Rowe said, his voice low as he sat on one end of the couch. Noah sat between him and JB.
“Can I get you anything? Coffee maybe?”
“No, Sally. We’re good,” Noah said with a smile. “Thank you.”
She sat in a chair across from them, wringing her hands together as if she suddenly didn’t know what to do with them. Rowe understood that restlessness too. After Mel’s death, he’d hated sitting still. Sitting meant there was time for thinking, which only led to horrible thoughts about what if and what could have been done differently. It was a horrible cycle that seemed to be stopped only when he was doing something, anything.
“There are a few things that have happened recently that have us concerned,” Rowe carefully started. He shifted on the couch, moving toward the edge of the cushion. “That’s why we’re here. We’re trying to find out about the car accident that Chris was involved in and what was going on in his life before he died.”
For the first time since they entered the house, some of the pain that was drawing lines in her face was erased by confusion. “What sort of things?”
JB leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “Sally, did you know that Paul was killed too?”
She gasped and covered her mouth. “What? No! Not Paul. How…”
“He was shot.” JB paused and licked his lips, glancing over at Noah before he continued. “And someone shot at Noah as well.”
Sally’s wide eyes immediately jumped to Noah in shock and worry.
Noah flashed her a reassuring smile. “I’m fine, I swear. The person was a horrible shot. Totally missed me.”
Rowe wanted to throw Noah a look because it had been sheer luck Noah hadn’t been hit that night, but he didn’t want to upset Sally more than she already was.
“So, you’re thinking Chris’s accident wasn’t an accident at all…” Agony and building anger burned in her blue eyes. “Oh, my God!”
“We don’t know,” Noah said. “But with everything else, we have our suspicions. Was he upset about anything before his death? JB mentioned getting an email from Chris.”
Sally nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a shaking hand. “He was going on about a man he’d seen in the company. One he thought was dead. Dave something or other. I’m sorry, I can’t remember his last name.”
JB cleared his throat. “We have the name. Can you tell us anything else? Do you know if he talked to this guy before he died?”
Sally shook her head. “They didn’t talk. He said it was little more than a glimpse of the guy, but it was driving him crazy. Like he’d seen a ghost.” Sally pursed her lips together for a moment, frowning at the three men. “I know how that comes off, but Chris was of sound mind when he came back from service. He was going to talk therapy once a month, but it was more about adjusting to civilian life again after so long. He was eating right and wasn’t suffering from nightmares. He was excited to start a new job and for us to finally build a life together.”
