The Murder That Never Was (Forensic Instincts 5)

He left the room, knowing full well that Shannon wasn’t about to keep it together. He could only pray the cops didn’t know she was there.

He blew out a text to Lisa as he walked, letting her know what was going on and telling her to stay at the gym unless it was absolutely necessary.

Sucking in his breath and then exhaling it, he opened the front door.

“Detectives Kline and Bogart,” the female detective said, flashing her ID, which showed she was the Kline half of the partnership. She was around fortyish, tall and lean, with chin-length, light brown hair and sharp dark eyes. Her partner, Detective Bogart, was middle-aged, with thinning hair, a hard, solid build, and a more laid-back stance.

Milo could definitely see who played good cop and who played bad.

“May we come in?” Kline asked.

“Of course.” Milo, doing what he hoped was a convincing job of looking puzzled, moved aside so they could step into the apartment.

“I’m assuming you’re Miles Parker?” Bogart asked, taking a small pad and pen out of the inside pocket of his herringbone sports coat.

The implication of that question registered. The Chicago and the Montclair police had obviously had a nice long talk about the interrogation that had taken place at Excalibur. Which begged the questions: what had they uncovered about him, and what conclusions had they drawn?

Only one way to find out.

“That’s me,” Milo replied.

Kline’s gaze swept the apartment. “Are you here alone?”

“Are you looking for Julie?” he answered, purposely sidestepping the question.

“Both of you, actually. Oh, and Shannon Barker, too. According to her parents, she’s staying here with Ms. Forman.”

Shit. Milo hadn’t expected them to have spoken with Shannon’s folks. So any attempt to keep her hidden had just gone up in smoke.

Clearly, these two had done their homework. He’d have to wing this and cross his fingers that Shannon didn’t fall apart, and that he didn’t contradict himself or look guilty.

“Julie’s teaching a class at her gym.” Milo then jerked his thumb toward the rear of the apartment. “And Shannon’s in there, studying.” The best defense was a good offense. “She’s kind of a mess. But I’m guessing you know that.”

Kline’s brows rose slightly. “Why would you assume that?”

Milo went for it. “Because you came all the way here to question us, even though the local police already did. Maybe because Shannon followed Julie here, or maybe because, according to Shannon, her former Olympic trainer is missing. Maybe both.”

Both detectives looked kind of surprised at his directness. Good. He’d actually surprised himself.

“You forgot one thing on that lis

t you just ticked off,” Kline said. “You. We didn’t even know you existed, and yet not only were you and Lisa Barnes joined at the hip, she introduced you to Julie Forman, for whom you researched and found Excalibur. Then, you travelled here with her as her pal and computer guy. That’s a long string of coincidences.”

Milo forced himself to hide his discomfort. “Truth is stranger than fiction, I guess.”

Kline didn’t look convinced enough to ease Milo’s worry. “We did thorough background checks on both you and Lisa Barnes,” she said in a tone that was a warning not to lie.

Milo didn’t have to—not about this. “So you know that Lisa was the only real family I ever had. I couldn’t stay in Chicago, not without her.”

“So you chose to join Julie Forman and start over.”

“Why not? I’m sure you know what I do for a living—no roots required. Coming here as Julie’s tech guy was a no-brainer.”

“Are you two involved?” Bogart interrupted to ask.

“W-what?” Milo started. “No. Not like that.”

“Then like what?”