“You didn’t.” She’d had enough to keep her awake even if he’d never clanged a plate. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t learn much this morning. Evidently there weren’t a lot of clues in either house. Gage seemed to think both burglaries might be related. Anyway, the Hodges house, the second one, has been released, so I’m going to call them and ask if they’d be willing to meet you. They can tell you more about what was taken, and maybe their overall impressions.”
“I’d like to look around.” He settled on an apple turnover, eating with his fingers.
“I don’t know if they’ll give you carte blanche to wander around. Prepare to just talk.”
“Yeah. But I want to ask if they knew Larry.”
From the files she’d read, she wasn’t sure anyone had asked that. In fact, the more she thought about it, it struck her as completely odd how little anyone had been able to discern from the crime scenes. Were they really down to forensics? No other clues?
Given how long it could take to get fingerprints through AFIS, it might take a week or more to get a complete check nationally.
Would anyone even want to do that at this point? They had no proof that someone from out of the area had committed the crime.
Duke spoke, his turnover gone. “You’re thinking.”
“Yeah. That could be dangerous.”
His expression didn’t leaven. “I doubt it. What’s bothering you?”
“How very little evidence we have at this point. That may change with the completed forensics, but right now...”
When she left the thought incomplete, he spoke. “So both places were clean?”
“At the moment, that’s how it seems. But more evidence will come to light. It always does.” She wasn’t exactly feeling hopeful, however. As she reached for another piece of her Danish, Duke caught her attention. He looked arrested, as if a thought had struck him.
“What are you thinking about?” Cat asked.
Slowly his eyes tracked back to her. “About how clean the scenes might be.”
“And that tells you what?”
“Nothing yet.”
God, now he was concealing things from her. If she didn’t give such a huge damn about Larry and his murder, she’d run screaming from this whole situation.
Well, not really. She’d never been one to run screaming from anything. Still, the temptation was there.
“Damn it, Duke. If you’ve got an idea, share it.”
“I can’t. It’s not exactly an idea. Not yet. I’ll let you know once I’ve worked it through myself. About Larry’s articles?”
“Yes. Gage told me to call the paper in my official capacity. If there’s a problem with that, I’ve got one of the department’s credit cards.”
He nodded. “You’d think the paper would give me access, given I’m Larry’s brother.”
“Do they know Larry’s gone?”
Duke grew grim. “Probably not. I guess I’ll have to tell them.”
“I’ll handle that. And we’ll get those articles today. I’m not going to be patient about it.”
She just wished she knew what had caught his attention about the scenes appearing clean at this point. That didn’t necessarily mean anything. People had grown savvier about forensics thanks to television and movies. Some of what they believed wasn’t true, but, in her experience over a decade, more perps were leaving less of a trail behind.
She’d lost interest in her Danish but didn’t want to offend Duke. He’d gone out of his way to bring her something she liked.
“As soon as I finish this, I’ll call the paper,” she said. “I’ll have to wait until later to call the Hodgeses. Both of them are schoolteachers.”
He nodded. “I’ll survive.” His smile was crooked. “Maybe I should try to extend my leave so I can drive you crazy a bit longer. Or maybe so I can relax a bit. I’ve set myself a tight deadline.”
“It depends on the murder, Duke. Sometimes there just isn’t enough information to point us in any direction. It will eventually turn up, however.” She refused to remind him of how many stranger homicides that were never solved.
Then, hoping to get his mind going in another direction, she said, “Can you extend your leave?”
“I have enough time built up. My deputy can fill in for a while longer.”
Amusement sparked in her. “You have deputies, too?”
That made his eyes dance. “Oh yeah. I could have said ‘second in command,’ I suppose.”
“Then I would have missed my little joke.”
“We wouldn’t want that,” he agreed.
She gave up on the Danish and rose to wash her hands. “I think I’ll go dive into getting to Larry’s articles.”
“I’ll be along in a minute.”
Yeah, she fully expected him to be breathing down her neck and peering over her shoulder.
When she got to her office, she got a little start. She was looking at a twin bed made so neatly that she had to pause to admire it. He’d even squared the corners, something she never bothered with.
Duke had his advantages, she decided.
She knew the name of Larry’s paper because he’d had a press card among his belongings. His wallet was gone, but a few things remained.
That could fit with a routine burglary: no cash, no credit cards remained. But the savagery of the murder made all that seem irrelevant. She closed her eyes a moment, unable to escape the memory of discovering Larry’s body.
Stop! It wouldn’t do a bit of good. Work the problem.
She reached for her landline, and when the paper’s page popped up on the computer screen, she punched in the customer service number.
She hardly paid attention to the sounds from the kitchen, other than to recognize that Duke might be doing dishes. She had to work her way through three layers and finally landed at Larry’s editor’s desk. Lavinia Johnson. She scribbled the name down on her pad.
Evidently she was going to have to give the bad news first.
She identified herself, including her badge number, then dropped the bombshell bluntly. There was never a gentle way to deliver this news.
“I’m sorry I have to tell you, but Larry Duke was murdered.”
“Oh my God!” The exclamation reached Cat across the telephone line, filled with
