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“That’s a good plan.”
Once Demmy had backed out of the parking space, he reached across the storage console to take his hand, and Cody immediately felt better.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Lucia had been strangely open to sharing information with them, which made Demetrius feel a mix of relief and nervousness. Was it some kind of trap?
She escorted them into a small conference room and closed the door.
“I hope this isn’t another round of questioning,” Cody said, crossing his arms. His biceps flexed against the cuff of his polo shirt, showing off the results of his workouts with Jordie. Suddenly, Demetrius wanted to be back at their house or in the break room of their office, or in his truck out by Parson’s Pond, anywhere other than standing in a cramped sheriff’s department conference room under a flickering fluorescent light.
He subtly tightened his own biceps and glanced down at his arms. Not nearly as big as Cody’s, but still, a bit more rounded and firm than they used to be. Progress.
“Stuff it, Bower,” Lucia said, then looked at Demetrius as he returned his attention to the moment at hand. “I assume you’re caught up?”
“I am,” Demetrius said. “Were you able to determine if the woman you saw on the video was Claudia Sykes?”
Lucia shook her head. “Not yet. Our specialist wasn’t able to do much with the video quality.”
Demetrius looked at Cody, wondering if he was about to deliver a snarky comment about posting a request on Fiverr and hiring a twelve-year-old kid with a MacBook Pro to do it instead. But what Cody said instead was, “Devin Sykes had a lot of tech stuff in his house. They might have some cameras setup.”
“That’s a good idea,” Lucia said. “I can check it out.”
Cody avoiding a snarky comment and Lucia using the phrase “good idea” for something Cody suggested? Had they passed into an alternate universe version of Parson’s Hollow?
“Do you want us to go look around the Sykes house?” Demetrius asked.
She raised her eyebrows. “Do I want you poking around a crime scene that’s cordoned off by police tape? No, but thanks.”
“Good try,” Cody said with a grin, and Demetrius shrugged in response. It had been worth a shot.
“Can you tell us one thing?” Demetrius said.
“If I’m able to,” Lucia said with a suspicious look. “What is it?”
“Has Claudia Sykes’s body been released from the morgue yet?”
“No, it hasn’t. As far as I know, her body is still at PHMH.”
Demetrius nodded. “Thanks.”
As they left the sheriff’s department, Cody’s phone buzzed.
“It’s Jugs,” Cody said. “He stopped into the office and took a call. He’s going out to the job.”
“Did he say what it was?”
“No. I’ll ask.”
Cody sent a reply text once they’d gotten into the truck, then looked over at Demetrius. “I’m going to assume we’re headed to the hospital next?”
“That was my thinking,” Demetrius said. “I’d really like to confirm Claudia Sykes’s body is still in one of those coolers.”
Cody paled. “You don’t want to see it, do you?”
“God no,” Demetrius said as an involuntary shudder rippled through him. “Bumping into her in the pond was enough for me. I was hoping we could talk to Zenona or something and find out.”
The sun was starting to set as they crossed the parking lot, headed for the main entrance of Parson’s Hollow Memorial Hospital. Heat steamed up from the asphalt, and sweat beaded across Demetrius’s forehead and slicked the backs of his knees and along his spine.
