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“Will do.”
“Thanks. Are you able to stay there and protect the site until I arrive?”
“Yes, I’m not here alone this time.”
“Oh, good.”
He hung up. I took the photo, sent it across to him along with my location details, then scrolled through my contacts list until I found my mother’s number. But I didn’t make the call. Not immediately. I had talked to her recently, and it was fine, considering, but there remained a deep reluctance within me to have too much to do with either of them.
“Which no doubt stems from a fear that doing so will eventually lead to you being sucked back into their toxic orbits,” Belle said. “But you’re stronger than that now.”
“I’d like to think that, but there remains a part of me that’s not so sure.”
“No doubt that part is the inner unloved kid so hurt by the lack of parental care, and yet so desperate for any form of acknowledgment.”
“No doubt.” A somewhat bitter smile twisted my lips. “But that kid should have gotten well and truly over it by now.”
“Why? Neglect is a serious trauma for any child, and you’ve spent most of your adult life running from it.”
And was still running from it, in many respects. I sighed. “I just—”
“No matter what that inner child or the current adult thinks and fears, we both know you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if something happened to your parents and you made no attempt to stop it.”
“God,” I said, “when did you get so damn insightful?”
She laughed. “I’ve spent most of my life with you, my friend. I can guess how you’re going to react better than I can guess how I might.”
I drew in a deep breath, released it slowly, and then hit the call button. It rang for what seemed forever, then a warm and yet somehow cool voice said, “Elizabeth, this is a surprise.”
No doubt. “Has Samuel Kang or anyone from his team been in contact with you or Father?”
“Not that I’m aware of—why?”
If they hadn’t been in contact, it meant they hadn’t yet formally identified the headless woman. Which I guessed was not unexpected, given she’d been naked and didn’t have any form of ID on her. They’d be relying on print and dental records to help with all that, and those things did take time, as frustrating as it often was.
“Have you heard anything about the murder in the park?”
“Your father mentioned it in passing, yes.” She paused. “In case you are wondering, we remain on ‘only when necessary’ speaking terms.”
Which I knew was Mom’s way of saying they had a working relationship, not a physical one. It had happened on a regular basis in the past, when one of them got pissed off over something the other had done or decided. Not that anyone outside direct family would have known there was any sort of tension between the two—the family business and reputation were far more important than anything as inconsequential as emotion or sex or having to deal with a disappointing daughter...
I thrust that thought into the mental bin where it belonged and said, “Did he tell you we think he’s on the hit list?”
“He did.” It was said in a tone that very much suggested my father hadn’t believed Belle. Whether Mom did I couldn’t say. There was nothing in her voice that gave any indication as to her thoughts. “Is that what you’re calling about?”
I hesitated and glanced at Belle. Do I say anything? Or should I leave it to Samuel? I mean, it’s not like they believed me the first time this bastard hit.
Different time, different situation, she said.
But not different people. I sighed and said to Mom, “Sort of. If I send you a photo right now, will you be able to tell me who it is?”
“If I know them, yes. But why the urgency? Can’t it wait until the morning? I’m about to go to bed.”
“I wouldn’t be ringing you if it wasn’t important, trust me on that.”
“Fine,” she sighed, in a put-out sort of way. “Send it to me.”
“Hang on.” I switched over to the camera app and took a photo of the unknown second woman, being careful not to include either the dead woman’s image or Juli’s. “Okay, just sent you the pic.”
