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“After I leave here, I’ll swing by and have a chat with her.”
Lucas handed him a page from her notebook that had the address on it. “I’d be forever thankful to you for handling her. I know it’s shocking to hear, but she’s not very nice.”
“Runs in the family,” Cruz muttered.
“I’ll take care of it.” Gonzo glanced at the house. Hereallydid not want to go in there.
“I can take this if you want to see the sister,” Cruz said, probably picking up on his dread.
Gonzo would never delegate a task like that to anyone, let alone one of his best friends on and off the job. “It’s okay. I’ll do both. You can split if you want.”
“There’s no way I’m leaving you to deal with this by yourself.”
“I won’t be by myself. Lucas is here.”
Freddie stared at him without blinking. “I’m staying.”
Gonzo would never admit to anyone other than himself that he was relieved. He wouldn’t have blamed his friend for running far away from this nightmare.
“Erica, if you want to ask the sister what they need from the house, we’ll take it to her. Maybe it’ll help to smooth things over with her and keep her quiet.”
“I’ll ask her and text you.”
Gonzo glanced at Freddie. “Let’s get this done.”
They walked through the gate in the white picket fence.
“This looks like something out of a sitcom or something,” Freddie said.
“My thoughts exactly.”
At the front door, they showed their badges to the Patrol officers, two young women who were not familiar to him.
“Sergeant Gonzales, Detective Cruz from Homicide.”
One of the officers lifted the crime scene tape across the door and held it for them as they ducked under it.
Against an entryway wall, two backpacks hung from hooks.
“We should take those to the sister,” Gonzo said.
“I’ll grab them on the way out.”
They went to the hallway where the basement door stood open. The low hum of voices from below had them heading down the stairs. A musty smell reminded Gonzo of the creepy basement in his grandparents’ West Virginia home. He and his sisters had once played hide-and-seek down there. He’d been so freaked out that he’d never gone down there again.
The memory of that smell gave him goosebumps as they landed on a concrete floor.
It took about two seconds for him to want out of there. Usually, it took a lot to spook him. Knowing what might’ve happened down there only added to his anxiety.
“What’ve you got?” he asked Crime Scene Lieutenant Haggerty.
“Nothing out of the ordinary. Yet.”
That last word—yet—told Gonzo the CSU lieutenant fully expected to findsomething.
“Is there anything we can do to help?”
“Not at the moment, but I was told to keep you in the loop. I’ll send you an update later. We’re operating around the clock here until we’re done.”
