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“Would you like coffee?” Joe jumped up from the table. “I just made a fresh pot.”
“Sure.” Keeping her expression casual, she walked over. “What are you working on?”
“More digging into the victim’s backgrounds.” Brady scrubbed his hands over his face. Her brother looked tired, and she knew he’d rather be home with his wife, Grace, and son, Caleb.
“Here you go.” Joe brought her coffee with cream and sugar, the way she liked it.
“Thanks.” She accepted the cup and took a sip. These were the small things that made it difficult to ignore her attraction to him. “I’d like to help.”
“With what?” Joe looked confused.
“This.” She waved at the computer. “The sooner we find this guy, the faster our lives can get back to normal.”
Joe and Brady exchanged a look. She knew what they were thinking.
“I may not be a cop, but I’m not stupid. And I’m the one who saw this guy up close.”
“Neither of us thinks you’re stupid,” Brady protested. “And we’re grateful to have you as our key witness. But there is only one computer. Better to let us do the digging to come up with possible suspects for you to identify.”
“I caught a glimpse of him too,” Joe said. “I can narrow our search down to those who are the most likely candidates to be our guy.”
She suppressed a sigh. “Fine. But what am I supposed to do while you guys hover around the computer?”
“Ah, Steele picked up some groceries for us. There’s plenty of breakfast food if you’re hungry,” Joe suggested.
“Okay. That works. Do I need to make something for him too?”
“No, Steele needs to stay put.” Brady met her gaze. “He can cook his own meals, sis.”
She nodded in understanding. To be honest, she didn’t mind cooking meals for the guys. She’d been pitching in to help Devon and Rhy after they brought Colleen home. She opened the fridge and reviewed her options.
She knew what Brady would want, so she turned to Joe. “What would you like?”
“Whatever is easiest for you,” Joe said.
“Having you tell me what you’d like is what is easiest for me.” She couldn’t hide her exasperation.
“Okay, eggs over easy with bacon and toast?” He made it sound like a question.
“Got it.” She pulled items out of the fridge and went to work. The television was on in the living room, but the sound was muted. She imagined the guys had watched it on silent mode while she slept in.
Or tried to.
From what she could tell, the news anchor was regurgitating the same information over and over again, the way they often did to fill airtime. Then a list of victims flashed on the screen.
She audibly gasped. “Wait! There are twelve victims now?”
Joe glanced over. “Last I heard there were eleven.”
“Twelve.” She scanned the names. Kyle’s name was on there, along with others that she didn’t recognize. But then she winced when she saw a woman named Lisa Beaumont. She remembered the way Dan had cradled his wife in his arms while she asked why this was happening.
And of course, Henry Watkins the male figure skater was also on the list. That wasn’t as surprising, he’d been the second victim, shot right after Gabrielle.
But Lisa? It seemed inconceivable to learn the young woman had died.
She closed her eyes for a moment, bracing her hands on the counter for support, trying to erase the images from her mind. Her name could have been on the list. Even worse, Joe’s name could have been there instead of Kyle’s.
God was watching over her. And over Joe too. She needed to try to stay focused on the positive side of things rather than wallowing in the negative. Yet that was also easier said than done.
