Closer Than Blood

the right-hand pocket. The forensic pathologist wondered if he’d been working on a car, a bike, some other project that had been his passion. She went back to his face, gently probing the stiffened tissue of his lips, drawn tight, thin, like a rubber band pulled to the point of near-breaking. Braces still held his lower teeth in a neat row. Had he dreamed of the day those came off? Is that why he didn’t have a full-on smile in his portrait? “So where does this take us, Birdy?” Kendall asked. Birdy stayed focused on the body.

“What?” Josh spoke up.

“Next step?” She set down the handheld light and looked over at the detectives.

“Back to the witnesses, I’d say. But then again, I’m not a cop. That’s your job.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

Kitsap County

Even for an outsider like Tori, the gossip line from Port Orchard was as reliable as any means of communication, in any age. One time Tori dialed her father and pretended to be Lainie to fish for information on what everyone in town was doing. Her dad didn’t catch on. She also called Adam Canfield, and he fell for her ruse. But this wasn’t really gossip that day. She looked at the online edition of Port Orchard’s weekly paper, the Lighthouse.

Body of Local Boy Exhumed

The story reported that the county coroner’s office and sheriff’s detectives led by Kendall Stark were literally digging into Jason Reed’s death and interviewing old witnesses. The case was being reinvestigated because of connection with a more recent case in Tacoma. Jesus! Why not just name me? If Kendall wasn’t a cop, I’d kill her. Lainie entered the kitchen and Tori shut her laptop.

“Coffee?” she asked. Lainie, sleep deprived and feeling it, nodded. Tori poured them each a cup.

“Tori, do you ever have dreams?” It was a simple question, rooted in something deep and foreboding. Lainie wanted more than anything to know if their broken bond was not so broken after all. Tori had called her for help. And while she didn’t trust Tori at all, she wanted to. She looked at her sister and waited for something to come from her lips that would bring them closer together. Maybe not as close as she’d hoped, but a little more was all she wanted. Just a few words. That’s all.

“What kind of dreams?” Tori finally asked as they shared coffee in the immaculate kitchen of the North Junett house. Tori played it carefully. She always did.

“About us. About me.” Tori laughed.

“I’d call that a nightmare, wouldn’t you?”

“Can’t you just try to be nice? You’ve invited me back into your life. I’m here. I’m thinking that you want us to be sisters again. And I wanted you to know that sometimes I dream about you.”

“That’s sweet. You were always the sweet one, Lainie. But no, sorry. I never dream about anything. Not you. Not George Clooney. Not winning the lottery.” Lainie pressed her, gently. To push too hard would get her nowhere.

“Everyone dreams,” she said.

“Maybe so. But I don’t remember any of it.”

“Sometimes I dream of things that I feel are happening to you.”

“Good things, I hope.”

“Not always.”

“Like what?”

“I sometimes dream of Jason and what happened that night on Banner. Sometimes about the night Mom died.”

“Leave it alone, Lainie.”

“I can’t. I don’t know how.”

“Leave it.”

“I want to tell you about my dreams. They scare me. They seem real. More than real.” Tori stood up, wincing in pain.

“I don’t want to hear it. Besides I have real problems now. The media’s going to be coming around. Let’s ignore the house phone and the front door. I just can’t deal with all of this crap.”

Kendall Stark could have found the Connelly address without a GPS, though she had it turned on. She’d been in the neighborhood once before when she and Steven took the Tacoma Historic Homes Tour. This time curiosity, not history, brought her there. It figures that Tori would end up in a place like this, she thought, as she pulled in front of the Victorian on North Junett. She always wanted more than anyone dared to dream. Kendall parked her car and looked over at Darius Fulton’s place, which seemed deserted. She told herself she would talk to him only if he was outside. She knew that inserting herself in any kind of investigation going on with Tacoma PD was a major breach. Her only way around it was that she and the victim’s twin sister were friends. Lainie was staying there. Seeing her on a personal basis was probably something that others would accept. As she stepped out of her vehicle, a woman across the street got out of her car and walked over. She was a small woman, but she was walking big, purposeful steps.

“Are you the sister?” Kendall shook her head.

“No. I’m a friend. Are you here to see Tori?”

“We’ll, no one’s home. I’m Laura Connelly. Alex was my husband. Rather, he was my husband before he divorced me to be with her.” Her. The word was uttered with complete disdain. Kendall smiled slightly. She didn’t care much for Tori, either. Laura swept back her strawberry blond bangs and looked over at the house. Kendall kept her eyes fixed on Laura.

“I wanted to talk to Tori. I don’t appreciate what she’s done since the shooting.”

“What do you mean?”

“She isn’t even doing a memorial service. I talked to her on the phone. She says she’s too upset. But you know what, she sure didn’t sound upset. She sounded more like she just didn’t want to deal with it.” Kendall could see the woman was barely hanging on, caught up in the emotions that come with loss and anger.

“I’m friends with her twin sister. Lainie told me about the service, or rather the lack of one right now. I’m sure that Tori will come around and do the right thing once she’s feeling better.”

“You don’t know her very well. I mean, you might know her twin, but I can assure you that Tori never does the right thing. She wouldn’t know the right thing if it bit her on that lipo-sucked butt of hers.”

“You’re angry,” Kendall said softly.

“I’m sorry. I’m sure this is hard for you, too.” In that very instant, the fuse that had been burning ignited and Laura started to cry. She turned away, embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. I’m more worried for my son. He’s a special boy and he’s torn up over this. I just know that losing his dad is another blow. I honestly don’t know what to do. I’m pretty sure that Tori had something to do with Alex’s death. I don’t know how my son will deal with this . . . he’s only seventeen.” There was a lot wrapped up in Laura’s words, but there was only one part she could address right away.

“The police will take care of it.”

“How do you know? They don’t seem to care. They just go through the motions.” Laura wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hands.

“I’m a police officer,” Kendall said.

“And believe me, I care. I care about the victim here and those who are collateral damage to a violent crime.”

“Like my son.”

“And like you,” Kendall said. Laura nodded.

“I appreciate that. Thank you. I’m glad that you’re working on this case. Makes me feel better.”

“I’m not working this. I’m an investigator with the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office. This isn’t our case, but I do care. I’m sure that Tacoma Police will do an excellent job.” Kendall held out a business card.

“You can call me if you want to talk. I’m a mother, too. I know how hard this can be on your son.” Laura accepted the card.

“Thanks, I know it might seem silly that I care so much. I know I’m not his wife anymore, and it really isn’t that anyway. It’s my son. He needed his dad.”

“It isn’t silly at all,” Kendall said.

“I know you are grieving, too.”