Page 162 of The Advocate’s Ultimatum

“Did you see anyone else go in that home?”

“The blonde girl came back and went inside.”

That was new! “Did you see her come back out?”

“No. But my phone rang, and I had to go inside to get the call. When I came back out, everything must’ve been over because no one came or went until the cops came.”

“Did you tell Detective Nelson all this?”

The woman looked mildly offended. “I would’ve if he’d asked.”

“He’s usually pretty thorough. I’m surprised he didn’t ask a lot of questions.”

“If he did, I don’t remember. I was a little under the weather.”

JP wondered what that meant. Was she sick? Under the influence? He started to question her credibility.

He looked toward the alley.

The woman watched him carefully. “Did that blonde girl kill him too?”

“I don’t know.”

But the timeline worked well. Bay stabbed him and ran. The blonde girl returned, but no other witnesses saw it. Which meant one thing became very easy to believe. Hannah Caldwell might have finished what Bay started.

As JP walked toward his truck, he already knew that Sabre was going to hate this new version. Yet it made emotional sense.

Chapter 61

Tuesday evening

The sky over El Cajon had started turning orange at the edges, heat still hanging over the asphalt even as the day began to give up. JP got in his truck, picked up his cell, and called Rochelle.

She answered on the fourth ring. “Hello?”

“Rochelle, it’s JP Torn.”

“Did you find something?”

“Maybe.” JP leaned back against the seat. “But I have a question about your mother.”

“What about her?”

“A neighbor mentioned a little girl, around Hannah’s age, lived with her for a while years ago.”

“You mean Bonnie’s daughter?”

“Your cousin Bonnie?”

“Yeah.” Rochelle sounded confused now. “Why?”

JP rubbed a hand across his jaw. “What can you tell me about her?”

“Not much.” Rochelle sighed softly. “Bonnie got pregnant really young. She was fifteen, I think.”

“And your mother raised the child?”

“Partly. My Aunt Opal, Bonnie’s mother, raised her until she had some health problems, then my mom helped her until she got better.”