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She placed the bowl on her desk, ignoring the rude rumble of her stomach because it smelled so damn good. But her priority at the moment was her client, who looked like he was going to pass out. “Your father investigated the homicide two years ago.”
“Oh.” Gabe pressed the back of his hand to his lips. “Who killed her?”
“Her father.”
Gabe’s gaze met hers, stricken. “Why?”
She lifted one shoulder in a helpless shrug. “Because he was a shitty, abusive bastard. If it makes you feel better, your dad made sure that he was put away for a long time. It’s a solid case and your father’s work was impeccable. The prosecutor’s job was easy.”
“Is the shitty, abusive bastard still in prison?”
“Yes, and will be for another twenty-some years before he’s eligible for parole.”
Another swallow, this one audible. “Then why were you reading it?”
She hesitated, then decided that he could handle the truth. If he couldn’t, she was going to make Burke give him another bodyguard so that she could do her damn job without messing Gabe up even more than he already was. “Because the child’s mother was not a cooperative witness. She swore her husband didn’t do it and gave him an alibi, which your father easily disproved. The mother threatened to see your father in hell. Said she wouldn’t rest until Rocky Hebert paid for his lies.”
“Where is she?”
“That’s what I have to find out.” She pulled a water bottle from her bag and handed it to him. “Drink. I don’t want you to pass out on my watch.”
Irritation flashed in his hazel eyes, his cheeks flushing with color. He snatched the bottle and twisted off the cap angrily. “I’m not going to pass out, goddammit.”
“Good to know. At least now you’re no longer pale as a ghost.”
He frowned. “You said that on purpose?”
“Mostly. Partly because what you saw was horrible and any normal person would be shaken. And because I really didn’t want you to pass out.”
He drank again, more calmly. “So you’re not normal?”
She tilted her head, studying him. His breathing had slowed, and his pulse was no longer visible in the hollow of his throat. But his hand still trembled. “You mean because I don’t appear to be upset by the photograph you saw?”
“Yeah,” he said curtly. “Are you upset?”
She pulled one of the visitor chairs around her desk and grabbed the bowl he’d brought her. Mmmm. Shrimp and grits. Simple enough, but it smelled delicious. “The first time I investigated a child murder, I had to go to therapy for a year. And I’d seen a lot of death already.” She took a bite and closed her eyes. “This is so good.”
“Thank you.” His tone was still abrupt, but less so than before. “Does it still affect you?”
She opened her eyes and let her inner shields drop, showing him how much the photo had upset her. On a scale of one to ten, it had been a twelve. “Of course. But I had to learn to compartmentalize, or I’d never be able to do the job.”
His expression softened. “What was your job?”
“I was a cop.” That seemed to surprise him. Please don’t ask me why I left. Please.
“Why did you leave?”
Dammit.She deliberately took another bite, forcing the images from that night into the darkest recesses of her mind, where she kept all the bad shit. She debated putting him off, telling him it was a long story, letting him just look it up on Google. That was what she usually did when clients asked her that question.
But Gabriel Hebert felt different. He’d just lost his father to murder, and Molly knew how that felt. She sighed and pointed to the other bowl he’d brought. “You gonna eat that?”
He glanced at her closed laptop and shook his head. “Not now. I don’t think I can.”
“I hope you don’t think badly of me because I can. I was a Marine. We ate when food was served or when we had a moment of downtime, no matter what was happening around us.”
He motioned to her bowl. “By all means, go ahead. And you don’t have to answer my question if you don’t want to. I can ask Burke.”
She snorted softly. “And here I thought you were being so agreeable and noninvasive.” He lifted a ruddy brow, and she exhaled. “I killed my brother-in-law.”
