Page 34 of K-9 in Pursuit

Brian stared. His first impulse was to ask how they knew about him and Chloe. But of course, they had been following him. He was, after all, still their chief suspect.

“You’ve been seen together on several occasions,” Renfro said. “What’s going on between the two of you?”

“Nothing is going on. We’re friends.”

“Maybe you want to be more than friends. Maybe the sister was in your way. Maybe the two of you planned to get rid of her.”

“No! It’s not like that.”

Ms. Barnes put a hand on his arm again, and lightly squeezed this time. “My client has nothing more to say,” she said, and stood.

Brian expected the detective to object, but he only nodded and gathered his paperwork. “We may have more questions in the future.”

After the stuffiness of the sheriff’s department, the cold outside felt bracing. Brian took deep breaths of the fresh air and tried to calm his racing heart. They were halfway across the parking lot when Ms. Barnes turned to him. “What are you doing going anywhere near the victim’s sister?” she asked.

“She came to me,” he protested. “She had questions about what happened. And she believes I didn’t kill Sharee.”

“That wasn’t smart of her to seek you out. What if you really had murdered her sister?”

He wanted to protest that Chloe was smart, and she must have seen right away that he wasn’t a murderer. But he kept silent. He was fast learning that was the best approach when people started firing accusations at him.

Ms. Barnes shook her head. “So you answered her questions and then you saw her again? More than once?”

“We’ve become friends.”

“That’s not a good idea. The prosecution will play up the idea of the two of you working together. And juries won’t like it.”

“We aren’t doing anything wrong.”

“Facts don’t matter as much as appearances sometimes. You need to stay away from her until this case is settled.”

“She’s asked me to help her find out what happened to her sister.”

“That’s the job of the sheriff’s department, not you. You need to stay out of this. And you need to stay away from Sharee’s friends, too.”

“You heard the sergeant. They aren’t even looking at other suspects. I have a right to defend myself.”

“That’s my job. If you know anyone we should talk to, you tell me and I’ll have someone investigate. If you talk to them, it could look like you’re trying to influence witnesses.”

He set his jaw.

“Promise me.” She touched his arm. “It’s important.”

He remained silent. “Are you and Chloe Anderson involved?” she asked.

“Involved?”

“Romantically? Sexually?”

He thought of that moment when he had wanted to kiss her. But he hadn’t. He hadn’t wanted to take advantage of someone who was grieving. “We’re just friends.”

“Then you can be friends when this is over. Don’t give your accusers anything else to use against you. And it’s not good for her, either. You must see that.”

He didn’t think of himself as a potential murderer, so he had avoided admitting that others might see him that way. But if people did think of him that way, he could see how that might tarnish Chloe’s reputation as well. “I can’t ghost her.”

“Tell her you can’t see her until this is resolved. If she’s really a good friend, she’ll understand.”

“All right.” That was the right thing to say. The nice thing. Though he was beginning to hate that word.