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“I’ll do my best.” She stood. “Now, before Cole gets here, I want to show you something.”
He followed her out to her rental, and she lifted the hatch to point at the tires. “Those were on my car.”
He leaned in and ran a finger over the rubber. “Wow. I see why you slid off the road.”
“I almost didn’t need any help, but he bumped me and over I went.”
“Where do you think someone would have had the time to change them?”
“While I was at work. Or in my carport, but I seriously doubt it happened there.”
“I agree. I’ll get Caitlyn Evans to ask about security footage around where you park at the hospital.”
“There are cameras, and if it’s someone familiar with the hospital, then my guess is he’s not going to show his face. And no one is going to remember him, because who’s going to really notice someone changing a tire in the parking lot? It happens.”
“True, but I still want to try.” He studied her. “I know Adam was a lawyer, but how’d you guys meet?”
“He was the lawyer for one of my patients.” She smirked, but the look held no humor. “A domestic abuse case. Can you believe it?”
“Ouch.”
“Anyway, he was on the floor visiting her quite a bit while she was healing, so our paths crossed a few times and that’s how we met.”
“So, other people at the hospital would have recognized him if they saw him lurking about?”
“You mean if he wasn’t dead and showed up? Yes. A few would. Like I said, he was on the floor off and on for the two months his client was there. And I got a few texts from people saying they saw him yesterday—or at least someone who looked like him—when you wound up in the ER.”
“I see. Okay, so help me get this straight. Adam just walked up to you one day and asked you out?”
She gave a humorless laugh. “No, we’d struck up a casual friendship. I was caring for his client. He’d come by to talk to her, then he’d take a break or she’d fall asleep. Sometimes he’d come out to the station to talk to me and some of the others. Then he started getting more interested, and I ... was flattered, I guess. One day, he asked if I wanted to grab some lunch in the cafeteria and I said sure. After that, we started eating together just about every chance wegot. And then one day, he asked me to dinner. We dated for about six months before he asked me to marry him. You know the rest.”
“I’m sorry, Lainie. I can’t tell you how angry that makes me. On your behalf.”
She blinked at the suppressed fury in his tone. “Thank you. Makes me angry too, but I’m trying to put it in my rearview mirror.” She nodded to the 4Runner coming their way. “Cole’s almost here.”
James shut the hatchback, then went to lock the door. As soon as Cole pulled into the drive, she hurried to scramble into the back seat, not wanting to give James any time to change his mind. Cole raised a brow at his partner, but James just nodded. Hopefully, they both knew keeping her close was a good idea.
The drive to Asheville went quickly in spite of the city’s traffic and multiple construction projects, and Lainie soon found herself staring at the familiar two-story middle-class home with a well-kept yard and two cars in the driveway. The windows were open to take advantage of the mild weather.
Cole parked on the curb and looked at her in the rearview mirror. “I don’t need to remind you why you have to stay in the car, right?”
“I got it, I got it.”
“Honk if you need something,” James said.
She scowled, crossed her arms, and slouched in the seat. He winked at her.
Winkedat her.
Before she could think of an appropriate response to that, he and Cole were out of the vehicle and heading up the walk to the pretty red front door. Cole knocked while James hung back, his head on a swivel. Always watchful, always on guard. No doubt thanks to his time in the Army, not to mention his current occupation.
The door opened and Adam’s mother, Carol Williams, a woman in her late fifties, faced the detectives, arms crossed, a frown creasing her brow. Seeing her nearly stopped Lainie’s heart. She was an attractive woman who bore a strong resemblance to Adam, and Lainie would know her anywhere. She hadn’t aged a bit in the last eighteenmonths, and when Cole introduced himself and James, her frown morphed into a smile that seemed genuine. She waved the two men in and the door shut.
Lainie hesitated. James had brought her only because he trusted her to stay in the car, but this was Adam’s mother. She was as blackhearted as he had been. Now that James and Cole were inside, her nerves kicked in and various scenarios ran through her head. What if she poisoned them? Or just plain shot them?
No, she was being silly. They could take care of themselves.
But ... could they? If they got into trouble, how would Lainie know to call for help?
