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She’d said all of that without turning around, busying herself in the galley kitchen, gathering bottles of water and cutlery while the food warmed. Finally, the microwave dinged a second time and she was forced to face them, plates in hand. Both men sat on her sofa, Sam still looking around as if he’d never seen the inside of a boat before.
Maybe he hadn’t.
“Is this your first time on a boat, Dr.Reeves?”
“Not on a boat, but in a cabin like this, yes. I’ve done a whale-watching cruise or two.”
And what he’d thought about the experience was plain on his face.
“Didn’t care for them?” she asked lightly, handing Joel his dinner.
Sam grimaced. “I never got sea legs. And there was a lot of water.”
She laughed again. “It is a boat. On the ocean. Gotta expect some water.”
Sam shuddered. “I like dry land. But this is nice. Cozy. I’ve never met anyone with their own boat before. I grew up in the desert.”
“My older brother’s boat,” she said, taking a bite of pot pie and suppressing a groan. She was starving. She’d taken a few bites of the sandwich Howard had brought her, then had forgotten to eat the rest. “Arthur’s in the navy and currently stationed on a ship in the South Pacific. I’m renting until he gets back.”
“That’s nice,” Sam said, his damn sincerity front and center.
“So. What brings you by? I saw your texts, Dr.Reeves. Sorry, I wasn’t in a place where I could answer my phone.” She hadn’t looked at her phone before heading into Dr.Scott’s office, not wanting to distract herself. She needed to be on guard when she saw the department shrink.
Sam’s a shrink, too. But somehow, she didn’t feel the need to be on guard. At least not for the same reason.
Sam rubbed his palms over his face. “Laura Letterman and I saw Veronica Gadd after we left the Epsteins’.”
Kit wasn’t surprised. He’d told her that was his next stop, but that he was here told her that, once again, he’d been more successful than she’d been with getting a witness to talk. “You must have found something.”
“Yeah, we did.”
She resumed eating her dinner as Sam related the events of his visit with Driscoll’s fourth wife, her eyes widening more with each detail he revealed. That Driscoll had beaten his young wife wasn’t a shock, although Kit was sad that Veronica hadn’t been comfortable sharing that with her as well.
“Wait. You think he buried something in the backyard?” she asked, interrupting when Sam got to that part.
“He had a shovel,” Sam said grimly. “Hit her with it, too. Then used a new outdoor living area as an apology gift.”
“And she saw a lot more hard drives in his safe than we saw on camera,” she murmured. “Okay, this changes my evening.”
“What will you do?” Joel asked.
“Get someone out there with a GPR. Ground-penetrating radar,” she added when Sam looked confused. “We’ll get a picture of what’s underground before we start digging.”
“She mentioned a movable firepit,” Sam said. “The whole outdoor area seems odd to me. He never mentioned entertaining and Veronica confirmed that he had no friends.”
“Except for whoever he went to see to let off steam.” That had been new information as well. “I need to get additional uniforms out to Driscoll’s house to cover the backyard. Just in case whoever cleaned his house finds out there’s buried treasure out back.”
“Possibly,” Sam said nervously. “There may be nothing.”
She gave him her kindest smile, because she thought she understood the source of his concern. “Don’t worry, Doc. If we don’t find anything, nobody’s going to blame you. Will Ms.Letterman be available to give a statement as well?”
Sam nodded. “That’s why she went with me. She and Joel didn’t want me caught without a reliable alibi again.”
“Yeah, not a bad plan unfortunately. Hopefully you’ll get your life back soon.”
Sam swallowed, his green eyes haunted. “I’d be satisfied knowing that Skyler’s parents don’t believe that I’m a murderer.”
Kit put her plate on the side table with a sigh. “I considered telling them that you weren’t a credible suspect, but then whoever really killed Skyler would find out.”
