Page 99 of Three Steps Behind

“No worries,” Ri said. “I’ll reach out to the university to track it down.”

“In the meantime, I think Harper and I better pay a visit to George.”

“We figured,” Grey said. “I emailed the basic info on him.”

“Thanks.” Hope garnered from a new lead wriggled its way through him. It was nearly impossible to wait and tell Harper in person, but he wanted to see the excitement on her face when he told her.

Deciding to head toward Harper’s lab, Deck made a quick call to Joel, who was in the middle of another crisis call. So he said he’d fill him in after they talked to George, and Joel could follow up if need be.

Re-entering the lab, he found Harper still hard at work, her beautiful face in a microscope.

“Hey,” he said from a good distance away so he wouldn’t startle her.

She turned with a smile. The smile that warmed him through and through.

“So?”

“Taylor’s hair had oleander in it.”

“So Nick poisoned her.”

“Yeah, but that’s not all.”

“No?” He arched his brows.

“No. An accelerant was added to the mixture.”

“What? To speed up the process?”

She shrugged. “I guess so.”

“So to kill her off as fast as he could without it looking suspicious, you’re saying he added something to speed up the effects of the poison?”

“Exactly.”

“How would Nick know how to do that?”

“I don’t think he would. He’s not a scientist, let alone the brightest guy.”

“What about George? Would he know?”

She cocked her head. “He is in pharmaceuticals.”

“Finish up here, and I’ll explain in the car.”

A half hour later, they pulled up to George’s new home. Well, new to him. It had been a nice ranch-style at one time, but it looked like there had been a lack of attention for a while—cracking adobe, faded shutters, worn furniture on the porch.

Reaching the door, Deck knocked.

No answer.

He waited a moment, then knocked again.

“He’s gone,” a woman’s voice said.

They turned.

A woman with cleaning items piled in her hands moved toward the house. “He’s gone.”