AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She exhaled quietly. “I’m sorry.”
He didn’t ask her to sit, choosing to stand in front of her, fists on his hips. It forced her to look up at him, and he needed that small symbol of control, as empty as it was. She held all the power in this situation.
Because you let her in without calling Laura to represent you.
“For what?” he asked tightly.
“Skyler Carville is dead.”
Sam took a step back, shocked. “What?” he whispered.
Skyler... dead? And McKittrick was here so that meant... homicide.
He covered his mouth, trying to keep his roiling gut from churning up and out.
“We found her body in a park this afternoon,” McKittrick said in a tone barely louder than his had been. “Not the one where you found Jaelyn. The mode of death is consistent with the other victims.”
Sam looked around frantically for the nearest place to sit, but the sofa and chairs were too far away. “No.” He reached for the nearest wall and slid to the floor, hanging his head. “No.”
She crouched beside him. “Where were you this weekend? We need to document your location from Saturday morning at midnight to Sunday morning at dawn.”
He opened his mouth but no words came out.
She remained beside him, her face expressionless. But her eyes were worried and that scared him to death.
“I need to call my lawyer.”
She nodded but made no move to stand. “Okay. Will you come to the station with me?”
“No. I’ll meet you there. I’m calling my attorney first.” He closed his eyes, trying to think. “Did he hurt her? Rape her?” He opened his eyes when she said nothing, and he could see the truth in her eyes.
He had. Whoever had killed Skyler had raped her before ending her life.
His eyes burned and he didn’t even try to stop his tears. “She was so sweet. Why would anyone target her?” Then realization hit. “Because of me? Was this because of me?”
“I don’t know,” McKittrick said. “That’s the truth. Can you document your whereabouts this weekend?”
He pursed his lips. “I was camping. In Joshua Tree. From Friday until five o’clock today. Alone.”
She exhaled slowly. “Okay. Call Ms.Letterman. Have her pick you up. I’ll wait downstairs in the lobby and escort the two of you into the station.”
“Meaning you don’t trust me not to run,” he said bitterly.
Once again she said nothing, but she didn’t need to speak.
“Fucking hell,” he whispered.
“Yeah,” she whispered back. “I’ll wait downstairs. Please don’t make me chase you. I’m supposed to bring you in—in cuffs if I have to—but I don’t want to have to do that.”
Sam remained on the floor as she let herself out. He wasn’t sure how many minutes passed, but he finally fished his phone from his pocket to call Laura.
He hesitated, though, calling Joel first. The phone rang and rang, but Joel finally answered. “Hey, man. What’s up?”
“McKittrick was here.”
“Oh? Why?”
“To tell me that my neighbor was murdered this weekend in a way that is consistent with the other murders. And I was camping all weekend, Joel.” His voice hitched, tinged with a note of hysteria. Which was fair, because his heart was beating like a jackhammer. “I have no alibi this time. Why is this happening?”
