I once again cover my mouth to push back the chuckle that wants to escape. Even Moore can see through her obvious façade.
“Her mother was murdered today.” Moore leans on the table.
“The prostitute?” Em asks innocently.
“Escort.” He corrects her. “Surely her profession shouldn’t dictate whether she lives or not?”
“No, that is determined by someone’s actions.” Em says around another bite of muffin.
“What could she have done to have this tragedy happen to her?” He inquires.
“You’re the cop, Moore. Investigate.” She waves him off. “I’m not trained in such things. But if I were, I would start with her daughter, I bet she would be a mountain of information, not about how her mother was killed but what led to that conclusion.”
“I will certainly take that into account. Is there any reason why Marlana accuses you of killing her mother?”
“Again, I can’t help you with that, but I’m sure with your superior investigative skills, you will connect all the dots.” Em says with a glint of anger in her eyes.
“Well, it seems that’s all I will get at this time.” He stands and looks to each of us. “Thanks for your time.”
I stand and walk him out as everyone else stays quietly sitting at the kitchen table. Once we get to the front door he turns and looks at me.
“Be available for questioning.” He says as he slips his sunglasses over his eyes.
I shrug and watch as he walks to his car. Looking at him as anything other than an extortionist and a fraud is difficult. He covered up some of the most heinous crimes against children and women all to keep his pockets fat. There will never be an ounce of respect in me for that man.
“We need to take a trip to Andrew’s.” Em says from behind me.
“Yeah, I have a feeling he’s avoiding us.”
“Do you think Moore threatened him?” She looks up at me.
“Maybe?”
“I’m going to go dress.” I watch as she saunters up the stairs, debating whether or not I should follow her and have a fast fuck.
My conscience wins out, knowing that Andrew is an important piece of the puzzle to keeping Ember from being killed.
“The house is dark,” I whisper to Ember as we try to peer through Andrew’s front door. “The wife’s car is in the driveway but not Andrew’s.”
“Do you think he skipped town? Without his wife and kids?” She asks me.
“Nah,” I shake my head. “I don’t think he’d do that. Where was he meeting Moore?”
“Behind the elementary school.”
I pull out onto the street and drive towards the school. Maybe something there will give us a clue about what happened. I turn down the residential street that winds around behind the school and right away we see Andrew’s car parked on the side.
“Fuck.” Ember growls under her breath as we park a few car lengths behind his. She grabs her knife in her hand and I do the same with the gun in my waistband.
I have a bad feeling about this as we both get out of the Hummer and stride towards Andrew’s car. “Don’t touch anything.” I tell her as I walk up the driver’s side and she walks up the passenger side.
I look in the driver’s side but it’s empty, save for a lot of blood. It’s sprayed all over the windshield and the center console. I look further in and see Andrew’s slumped form sitting in the passenger’s seat.
“Fuck,” Ember breathes out. “He made it look like a fucking suicide. The entrance shot is on the left side, how much you wanna bet Andrew is right handed?”
“It won’t matter either way,” I shake my head. “We could get the trajectory of the bullet, do an analysis on the gun powder residue, and it will always be determined a suicide. That’s the power Moore has.”
“Motherfucker.” She growls and kicks at the car tire.
“Don’t touch anything.” I remind her and back up, walking slowly to the Hummer. “Let’s go, we don’t want witnesses linking us to this.”
“Fuck!” Ember screams as soon as I pull off the street and drive by Andrew’s car. “I needed him!”
“I know, Babe.” I try to keep her calm even though my insides are churning. “We’ll figure it out.”
She sits quietly seething as I take us back towards home.
“Take me to the station.” She growls.
I whip my head to look at her, “what?”
“I need to have a word with our police chief.”
“Em, I don’t think-“
“Vin!” She screams into the car, “I won’t lose track of what I promised I’d do. What I’m doing in memory of my mother and my parents.”
“It’s dangerous!” I scream back.
“Do you really think he’ll kill me in a station full of cops and civilians? That may be the best place to engage him. Then I’m going home and planning on how to hit him where it hurts. I still have a name on that list.”
“Wilson McKay.” I nod.
She stays quiet as I reroute and take us to the police station, I know what she’s saying is true, Moore would never kill her in the police station but he could arrest her and hold her for forty-eight hours.
“Stop worrying.” She says quietly, “I can feel your fucking anxiety.”
I try to reign it in as I pull into the police station parking lot. “I’m coming in there with you.”
She nods and hops out of the Hummer, I round the front, adjusting the gun in my waistband and following close behind her. It’s late evening but Em knows the chief’s schedule by memory and we wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t. She storms into the front doors and the two cops sitting at the desk stand abruptly.
“I need to see Moore.” Em snarls. ‘Tell him it’s Ember Craven.” They stand looking at her like she’s a pest when she lets out a yell, “now!”
One of the cops has the common sense to listen to her and picks up the phone to make the call. The other cop is still looking at
