Dated a decade ago, the article’s headline read FIRE DESTROYS SORORITY HOUSE.
Eva’s blood pressure dropped, making her light-headed. She glanced at the envelope and searched for a return address or a postmark. Alexandria postmark with no return address.
She reread the headline. FIRE DESTROYS SORORITY HOUSE. She flipped the article over, and written on the back in red ink was the word Atone.
Atone. Atone for what? She’d spent ten years in jail atoning for sins she wasn’t so sure now that she’d committed. Now she was rebuilding her life. What did she have to atone for? Instead of being scared she grew angry. Someone in town had recognized her, remembered her history and thought it would be a laugh to jerk her chain. Outrage burned inside her.
“Bad news?” King said.
Eva carefully folded the paper. “Just a bill. ”
“How could you have a bill? You never spend money. ”
“Don’t worry about it.” She crammed the article into the back pocket of her jeans.
King grunted. “Something wrong?”
“Nope. All good.”
Someone knew about her past.
Eva coaxed a faltering smile for King and Bobby. “No worries, boys. No worries.”
King arched a bushy brow.
Even Bobby had stopped eating and stared at her as if he were trying to read her mind.
Eva bit into her bagel, doing her best to look casual. “You two look so serious. Really, it’s nothing.” To change the subject she said, “That computer professor at St. Margaret’s said I could come by the lab anytime after I audited his class.”
“You should go,” King said.
Eva shook her head. “I’ll skip today. I can help find Merlin.”
King shook his head. “No, you go. I see the way your eyes light up when you get back from one of those classes. The kid and I will trap Merlin.”
The boy’s brow knotted. “I don’t like school but I like reading.”
She smiled. “What do you like to read about?”
“Cowboys. And boats.”
“I’ll bet you are good,” Eva said.
“I am.” Tension suddenly radiated from his little body like a clenched fist. He’d remembered something from his past.
“It’s okay,” Eva said. She had similar moments. She’d be discussing something that didn’t have to do with anything and then the past would blindside her.
Bobby sighed. “Aren’t you too old for school?”
“You’re never too old.” Eva shrugged. “I didn’t get a chance to go much when I was younger. I’m doing a little catch-up.”
“Why didn’t you go to school?”
“Good question,” King said.
The brains that had earned her a full college admission and scholarship at sixteen hadn’t saved her from a manslaughter conviction. “Lots of reasons.”
“Like what?” Bobby said.
“Like it doesn’t matter now.” She dug her fingers through her long hair and checked her watch. “I better get going or I’ll be late for class.”
“Go,” King said. “The boy and I have a kitten to trap.”
Bobby studied Eva. “You’re coming back?”
“Of course. I’ll be gone just a few hours.” Going to the computer lab would mean on-line time and the chance to check on kids matching Bobby’s description.
The boy picked a fresh bagel from the tray. “Not everyone comes back.”
“Yeah, well, I will.”
He thrust his lip out. “Even if you don’t, I’m not a baby. I can take care of myself.”
Garrison and Malcolm pulled into Fort Ward’s stone entrance exactly an hour later. This time of year, the trees had begun to bud and the land looked a little less barren. Still, the air remained chilly and likely few tourists meandered about. Garrison parked at the main entrance lot, which was empty. He checked his watch.
“So what is Carlson selling?” Malcolm said. “She’s always working an angle.”
“I don’t know. But her guy might have a lead on our Jane Doe’s murder. I’ve got to hear what the two have to say.”
“That woman irritates the shit out of me,” Malcolm grumbled. “I doubt she has a conscience.”
“Who knows? She might.”
“How can you say that? She was a barracuda in the courtroom.”
“Just doing her job. And she won the Dixon case fair and square. I don’t like it but it’s done and over.”
Malcolm shifted in his seat toward his partner. “How do you do it?”
“Do what?” Garrison kept his gaze ahead as he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.
“You never seem to get pissed.”
Garrison was gratified his smile could mask so much. “My motto is simple. Don’t get mad. Just get even.”
Malcolm shook his head. “I want both.”
Garrison laughed. “Doesn’t always work that way.”
A sleek black BMW pulled up next to the driver’s side of Garrison’s car. Angie Carlson, her eyes shielded with dark glasses, got out of the car. She moved around to the back of her car as Garrison shut off the engine and slid out. Malcolm followed and the two met Carlson.
Carlson’s arms were crossed and she tapped her foot. Garrison noted tension around her mouth and the fact that she’d dropped a little too much weight. She usually never showed emotion but he guessed, like him, she paid a price somewhere along the line for the stoicism.
“Thank you for the meeting, Detectives,” Carlson said.
Garrison nodded. “Where’s your client?”
She checked her watch. “He said he’d be here.”
“Let’s hope he shows and is not wasting my time,” Garrison warned.
A crease furrowed her brow. “I’ve already outlined the consequences. I don’t have time for wild-goose chases either.”
“All right.”
The trio waited several more minutes, an awkward strained silence hovering around them. Finally, Carlson’s phone rang. She glanced at the number, frowned and flipped it open. “Lenny, where are you?” She listened, her scowl deepening. “You said you’d be here!” As she listened she flexed and unflexed her fingers. “Sure, he’s standing right here.” She handed the phone to Garrison.
He accepted it. “Detective Garrison.”
“Is this really Garrison?” The mousy voice on the other end of the line sounded nervous and agitated.
“It is.” He’d met Danvers once when he worked Burglary and could almost picture Danvers dragging his long, bone-thin fingers through his wispy black hair. No doubt he had a lit cigarette in his other hand, the ash dangling and ready to crumble. “What do you have for me, Mr. Danvers?”
“I want a deal.”
The muscle in the side of Garrison’s face tightened. “You said you were going to be here.”
“And have you haul my bony ass to jail? Couldn’t take that chance. Give me a signed deal and then we’ll meet.”
“Tell me what you have first. ”
Danvers chuckled. “I want a deal in writing before I talk.”
Garrison glanced at Carlson, who stared at him stone-faced. He cupped his hand over the receiver. “You said he was going to be here.”
She shook her head. “That’s what he told me.”
Garrison swallowed an oath and then said to Danvers, “Call me when you’re ready to talk. I’m giving you back to your attorney. ”
Malcolm pushed away from the car. “I knew this wasn’t going to pan out.”
Carlson lifted her chin and said loud enough for Danvers to hear, “He’s not my client. He never paid his last bill and I’ve never once said I’d continue to represent him.”