She pursed her lips and shook her head slowly. “Ha ha. Very funny.”
“Thanks for coming with me, by the way,” Matt said. “Kay is probably feeling pretty isolated right about now. I think she could use a little girl talk.”
Mara suppressed a twinge of guilt. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see Kay. She did. Of course, she wouldn’t have been quite as eager to give up her weekend if she didn’t need to ask Eli for a favor. She hitched her bag higher on her shoulder. To be honest, she was probably in need of girl talk just as much as Kay. Once she asked Eli for help, she wouldn’t be able to take it back. And it wasn’t something she felt comfortable discussing with her brother or any of their other friends.
But Kay was a relative newcomer to their group. She could give an unbiased opinion on the whole mess.
The back door opened and Matt stepped back to allow her to go first. As soon as she crossed the threshold, she was grabbed by the arm.
“Mara! I’m so glad you’re here, too!”
Her breath left her lungs as Kay tackled her in a hug tight enough to almost knock the wind out of her. Ridley gave her a hug, too.
“I am so happy to see you guys.” Kay looked between her and Ridley with a big smile.
The poor girl, Mara thought. She’d probably been going crazy out here with only Eli’s gruff company for t
he past few weeks.
“Don’t worry I came prepared for us to have a girl’s night right here. I brought movies and snacks.” Mara held up her tote bag.
The guys were already huddled around the kitchen counter, looking at a bunch of files. Tank was on the end, looking somber as usual. Matt stood next to Eli. They both looked tense.
“I want to hear what the guys found out first.” Kay sat down in one of the kitchen chairs and crossed her legs.
Eli’s lips tightened. “You don’t need to stick around for this.”
“I want to know what’s going on. If I’m in danger, I should be aware of it.”
Matt glanced at Eli, then brought the files over to her. “Eli asked us to go over all our cases that had incident reports to look for commonalities. Then we can hopefully spot something that will give us a clue.”
Tank stood in the corner, not speaking.
She didn’t know him well, but he’d always seemed like the kind of guy who spoke his mind. “So, who do you think is behind it,” Mara asked him.
“It had to be someone who knows Kaylee. Really well.”
Eli grimaced. “Tank, a word outside.”
Kay looked at her before jumping up. “Wait a minute. I want to know who he suspects. I’m not that fragile, Eli. I can take it.” She looked at Tank. “Who do you think it is?”
“Your friend. Sasha.”
Kay gasped. “Why would you think Sasha has anything to do with this?”
Matt cleared his throat. “She’s been depositing large amounts of cash for the past year. There’s no way she’s earning all that money at her job.”
Kay suddenly became very interested in her toes. “Oh, about that. I might not have been totally honest about her job.”
Eli suddenly looked murderous. Mara took a step back. “Maybe we should come back later.”
Kay sprang forward and grabbed her arm. “No, don’t leave. It’s not that big of a deal. I just didn’t want to tell you because, well, because Sasha’s still a little embarrassed about it. She’s been singing at this club lately and the owner pays her in cash. Under the table.”
“What club?” Eli demanded.
“The Black Kitty,” Kay mumbled.
Eli cleared his throat.