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“Can we do anything?”
“I tried pressure, but it’s too late. He knew what he was doing. She’s almost gone.”
“Ken…dra…” Jackie’s eyes were opening. She reached out desperately toward Kendra, trying to get to her.
Kendra instinctively took her hand and held it tightly. “We’re trying to help. Hold on, Jackie.”
“Damn…son of a…bitch…Hurts…All he could…think…about was making you know how helpless…you were…”
“Don’t talk. We called 911.”
“Too late…Milo…always been too…smart. Damn his…soul.”
Kendra shared a quick glance with Lynch before turning back. “Milo? Did you say Milo?”
Blood trickled slowly from the corner of Jackie’s mouth. “Vicious…knew…should…stay away from…” Her eyes rolled back and then fixed on nothingness.
She was dead.
Kendra stood. “She said Milo. That was the name the Spalman boy mentioned.”
“Come on,” Lynch said gently. “You’re shaking like a leaf, Kendra. I need to get you out of here.”
“We shouldn’t leave her alone,” she said numbly.
“Yes, you should. You can’t help her. Griffin and the police are going to be asking us mega questions. But you need a break right now.” He held out his hand to her. “We’ll catch up with them later.”
She released Jackie’s hand and got to her feet. She let him draw her out of the room, through the crowds in the hallways to the parking lot.
“We’ll take my car.” He was tucking her into the Lamborghini, but he’d grabbed tissues from the dashboard and was doing something with her hand…
She looked down in confusion.
Blood. Her hand was covered with blood, and he was carefully wiping it with the tissues. Jackie’s blood. “I can drive my car.”
“You could, but you won’t.” He was wiping the blood off his own hand he must have gotten when he pulled her to her feet. “Hush. We’ll talk when we’re back at the condo.” He got in the driver’s seat. “Just try to relax. I’m going to call Griffin and try to give him a heads-up so that he can get agents out to that apartment before the police declare jurisdiction.”
He was already on the phone by the time he exited the parking lot.
Relax?Kendra thought incredulously.No way.
***
Twenty Minutes Later
Kendra’s Apartment
“Go wash up,” Lynch said after unlocking Kendra’s door and giving her a gentle push into the foyer. “I’ll start the coffee and then go into the guest room and clean up myself. Griffin said he’d need statements, but I told him I’d call and tell him when he could have them. I’ve put him off until tomorrow for mine. But he said he’d see you tonight, so you’ll be hearing from him.”
“Stop ordering me around, Lynch,” Kendra said. “I’m okay. I can do anything I have to do.”
“Iknow you can,” he answered quietly. “But you don’t have to do it right now. You can take the time to wash away the blood and get your thoughts together. Then we can talk.” He smiled slightly. “As for not bossing you around, may I remind you that it wasn’t long ago that you were doing the same to me when I was on my way to the ER? It’s my turn, Kendra.”
“No one shot me in the head.”
“But tonight was a blow even so.” He was heading for the kitchen. “Stop trying to be a tough guy. No one expects you to be anything but what you are. Let’s just get this over so that we can move on.”
She hesitated and then turned and moved toward her bathroom. He was right. She had to block out what she had seen in that apartment and try to function normally. She couldn’t deny that she was shaken. Not only by Jackie’s death, but by how it was done…
