Love Kills (Lilah Love 4)

I eye Sally. “Get me those stats on how many men watched her show and find out if she had any stalkers. It’s a weak prospect for a suspect since she wasn’t the first victim, but we need to rule it out.”

“No reports of stalkers for any of the other victims,” she replies. “And I already looked that up for Karen as well being that she was an actress. It felt logical. No formal reports.”

She’s efficient. Thank fuck for her. “Do we have any word on DNA on scene?” I ask.

“I’m working with the forensics lead who was at the scene last night,” Thomas says, sitting up straighter. “But from what he’s given me thus far, there’s not much to work with. Rain’s a real bitch.”

“Email me the data they collected,” I say, pulling my cards from my bag and tossing a stack on the table. “In case anyone needs to reach me, I’ll be in the building, but text me, call me, email me when appropriate.” I eye Thomas again. “I need a list of everyone who is working forensics on this case and the connected cases. Now.”

He nods.

“This is where you stand up and go do it.”

“Oh right.” He stands up. “I’m going to do it.”

He leaves the room, and I eye Lily. “We had a dead pig in an apartment. Go door to door and tell them you’re from the Humane Society, and you have reports of a pig on the premises. Find out if anyone saw the pig.”

“She can’t go alone,” Houston says.

“I can’t go alone,” Lily agrees, pushing to her feet. “I’m scared.”

I eye Houston. “Do you have an officer who can do this in plain clothes?”

“I’ll handle it,” he says, but I wonder if he really will. I also feel like Lily’s fear doesn’t match her job.

I walk into the room, shut the door and sit down in front of her. “What aren’t you telling me, Lily?”

She bursts into tears. “I didn’t know,” she says. “I didn’t know.”

My eyes meet Houston’s shocked stare before they return to hers. “You didn’t know what?”

“She hated me. She hated me for a good reason, but I didn’t know.”

“What reason, Lily?”

“I went out with Sergeant Morris. It’s allowed. He’s not my supervisor. I met him here at the office. I didn’t know he was here because of her. She was in love with him, but she was seeing Ralph Redman.” Her voice lifts. “She was with Redman. I didn’t know. And the last thing she said to me was that I was dead to her.”

Fuck.

Here is a woman I feared was close enough to Williams to become a victim. Now, I’m worried she was close enough to Morris to become a victim.

I motion to Houston, and he nods. “Stay right here, Lily,” I order, and she sobs, giving a choppy nod.

Houston and I move to the door, step outside and into an office, where he shuts the door. “I didn’t know,” he says.

But he should have. “You’re dead to me,” I say. “How do you not know this?”

“Detective William’s is dead. She can’t hurt Lily.”

But Morris could, I think. Thankfully Kane has someone watching her but from who?

A man. A woman. What if Umbrella Man is both? What if it’s a group of people? The man thought to be the Son of Sam claimed it was a cult doing the killing. Isn’t that exactly what the Society is? A cult? “Too many people connected to Williams are now dead.” I reach for the door and meet his stare. “If she ends up dead, I blame you. And I don’t ever leave my blame unanswered.” With that, I open the door, and right when I’m about to exit, I hesitate. What if she was crying because she’s more involved than she’s letting on? I turn back. “Find out where she was last night.” With that, I exit the office.

I’m going to chat with Sergeant Morris. He knows something he’s not telling me, but he will. He will today, this very day, or lord help me, he’ll be the one crying.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

The elevator breeds conversation and my irritation like a cheater breeds STDs: in painful excess. Since I’m saving all my mammoth irritation for Sergeant Morris, I take the stairs.

The walk is two floors, and it’s not long until I enter an area where a woman in uniform sits between me and the interrogation rooms. Not sure when this kind of security became necessary, but whatever. I don’t know her. That’s what matters. No need to converse. I flash my badge. “Where’s Morris?” I ask.

“3E,” the woman in uniform states, motioning me down a hall.

I walk in that direction and ignore the detective who passes me, despite vaguely remembering him from the past. I’m focused. I’m on a mission, and it isn’t to the damn moon, though it might be to hell for Morris. I enter a room where an officer is running the recording equipment; I give him instructions before I enter the room where Morris waits. He stands up. I slam the door. “Sit down,” I order.

He doesn’t.

Of course. He’s a man. You have to bust his balls to get him to listen to a woman, which is fine. I’m good at busting balls.

I walk to the table right across from him, shove my hands on the top, and lean toward him. “Lily told me you fucked her.”

He pales.

“Sit the fuck down,” I say.

He sits.

That was the easiest ball-busting ever.

I sit, too. “Start talking,” I order.

“Why is this an issue?”

“Why did you turn pale as a ghost when I said I knew then?”

“Because you came into an interrogation room and threw that out like you meant for it to cut me.”

“Apparently, it cut Lori. She was pissed at Lily.”

“That doesn’t even make sense. We broke up. She was dating someone else. We were just friends at the time. I told you we weren’t compatible as a couple.”

“But you were friends.”

“We were better as friends than we were at dating. I could laugh at her being a slob as a friend. When you date someone, you think—could I live with them? And why keep dating if the answer’s no?”

“How did you meet?” I ask.

“A charity run two years ago.”

“Lily says she met you when you were here to see Lori.”

“Technically we ‘met’ when I was dating Lori, but we never really spoke until that charity event. Why is this important?”

“You could have dated Lily to stay close to Lori, Detective Williams.”

“I was already close to Lori. We still hung out.”

“Did you know her new boyfriend, Redman? You know, the one who shot himself in court to try to save her life.”

His lips tighten. “I knew him. I hung out with him and Lori a few times. I didn’t like the guy. And he didn’t seem like he was into her enough to shoot himself to save her, but you know, what do I know?”

“Explain,” I order.

“He took a few calls that felt off. Secretive. Like side chick kind of calls.”

“Sounds like you have experience with side chicks.”

He scowls. “A guy who’s been around other guys with side chicks knows shit, too.”

Maybe, I think, but there’s another possibility. Redman was texting the Society, and I wonder if Redman was actually the one who pulled Detective William into the Society but somehow crossed them himself. I pull my phone out of my bag and text Tic Tac: Look for any connections of the victims or members of law enforcement associated with my current cases to our friends. If you don’t know what that means, ask Murphy.

He replies instantly: I know stuff, Lilah. And I’ve already been working on that task.

I’ll have a few remarks to make about his “know stuff” declaration later.

“I didn’t do this,” Morris says, dragging my attention back to him.

I shove my phone back in my bag. “Give me something to make me believe you.”

“The time of death. I was on duty yesterday, and I wasn’t alone. I couldn’t have killed those women.”

“And yet that scratch on yo

ur face means nothing.”

“I told you—”

“DNA will show up under fingernails. You know that, right?”

“Yes.” He flattens his hands on the table and leans toward me. “I wasn’t alone when I got this. Ask Travis Burrows. He was with me. He’s a well-respected veteran of the department, as am I. I’ve been here fifteen years.”

“I’ve known a lot of dirty cops that were,” I frame my next words with my fingers, ‘well respected,’ as you say.” I lean back and study him. “Were either of you wearing a body camera?”

His lips thin. “No. The department is battling a shortage of gear.”

I change topics. “Did you tell Roger about Lily?”

“No. Why would I? We went on a few dates. That’s all. And yes, Agent, we fucked. I did not, however, fuck Williams. The friend thing. We figured that out before we made the mistake of getting naked together.”

“So, you and Lily aren’t still dating or fucking?”

“No.”

“You go on a few dates with a lot of women?”