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Falco joined her. “This might be safer.” He passed her a can of beanie weenies.
“You’re right.” She noted the drinks in his hand. “Crackers?”
He lifted his head in acknowledgment before disappearing down one of the three aisles to hunt down crackers. Kerri moved to the cashregister and placed the can on the counter. Falco appeared and unloaded his selections. The soft drinks, another can of beanie weenies, crackers, and a couple of packs of Twinkies.
“The lunch of champions,” Kerri muttered.
“Damn straight,” her partner confirmed.
“Is that it?” The man behind the Plexiglas shifted his attention from Kerri to Falco and back, his darkly tinted glasses concealing his eyes.
“That’s it.” Falco retrieved his wallet to pay.
When Kerri would have insisted on paying her part, a breaking news bulletin flashed on the ancient flat-panel TV hanging above and behind the guy. Mayor Emma Warren and Leland Walsh stood at a podium.
“Hey, turn that up,” Kerri said, jerking her head toward the screen.
The guy had Falco’s money in his hand and seemed more interested in settling their bill than catering to Kerri’s wishes.
“Turn it up,” Falco echoed more sharply.
The guy huffed a sigh and grabbed the remote.
“With every passing hour,” the mayor was saying, “the likelihood of finding those responsible for the murder of Asher Walsh grows dimmer, more fleeting. The Walsh family is now offering a one-million-dollar reward to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and subsequent prosecution of those involved.”
“Holy shit,” Falco murmured.
“My sentiments exactly,” Kerri agreed.
Reporters shouted questions at the mayor as the hotline numbers scrolled across the bottom of the screen. Leland Walsh stared somberly at the camera. Behind him, scarcely in the frame, his wife stood next to Agent Mason Cross. The expression she wore might have been pain, but Kerri sensed it was something else. Fury, maybe.
Why was the mother of the victim unhappy, possibly even angry about offering a reward?
“I guess the Walshes don’t trust the task force to get the job done,” Falco said as he accepted his change from the guy in the dark glasses.
Kerri hummed an uh-huh as she stared at the screen. There was just something wrong with that picture.
Maybe money was more important to Lana Walsh than Kerri had estimated.
23
2:00 p.m.
Brighton Academy
Seventh Avenue
Birmingham
Tori sat on the gym floor and watched the other girls in her class playing basketball. Everyone but Sarah. She hadn’t come to school today. Tori had told the coach she had awful cramps so she could sit out.
The only cramps she had were in her chest. Everyone was still talking about her. Brendal’s funeral was on Sunday, and the whole school now thought Tori was responsible for what had happened.
Sarah had barely spoken to her the past couple of days. Alice always had plenty to say, but Tori really didn’t want to hear any of it. She wanted to go home and stay there forever.
Or maybe just disappear. None of these people would miss her.
Tori closed her eyes and banished the idea. Her mom and dad would miss her. Her whole family would. She was just feeling sorry for herself. She hadn’t done anything wrong.
