Taking a breath she looked at Martinez. His face was sympathetic but his eyebrows curled with curiosity. “Look, I’m sorry for what happened to her but she was no angel in all of this.” She grabbed her phone and stopped the recording, shoving it into her bag. She stood up and wrapped her purse around her shoulder. “I have work to do. Have a good day, Detective.” Shooting Shawn a nasty look she walked out the door.
The two men sat in silence until she had exited the police station. Shawn walked around the table and took a seat across from Martinez. He placed his hands behind his head and sprawled his legs out like the alpha male who had just claimed his territory. “Well she’s a pistol, aye!”
Sitting back in his chair Martinez smirked. “You ain’t kidding. I told you this whole alibi of DeFranco’s isn’t making any sense. Why would he continue to stay at a ‘friend’s’ house when the wife left? And ‘work wife’? What the hell is that? Either she’s screwing him, or she desperately wants to.”
Shawn’s face lit up. “Ah man, can you imagine? I bet she’s a bear in bed!”
Lifting his masculine chin he asked, “Seriously, Johnson, what do you make of it?”
Scratching the stubbly grays on the side of his head, he said, “I’m with you, man. It doesn’t make sense. Something’s rotten in Denmark.”
Feeling guilty for previously being so angry with him, Martinez was grateful. “That was nice work, Johnson. I appreciate your help.”
“Awe, don’t go getting all sentimental on me now. It was fun. We should do this more often.” He glanced at his watch. “You hungry? Wanna grab a burger at Jimmy’s?”
He thought about it for a minute. “You know, that’s sounds awesome about now. Just let me make a phone call.”
Rising from his position, Shawn scooted the chair under the table. “I’ll meet ya there with a cold beer waiting for you.”
Once Shawn left the room, Martinez hit Elizabeth’s contact number in his phone. It went straight to voicemail. “Uh, hey, Liz, sorry I’ve been so tied up. Um, nothing new here, well kind of. Weird, weird, people. Investigation is moving along though. Me and Johnson are about to grab some grub. I just thought I’d try you real quick. I hope we can get together soon. Uh, okay. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”
Chapter 10
Arriving at her desk just before eight o’clock, Elizabeth was ready to get her Monday started. She assumed no arrest had been made in the DeFranco case since there were no further updates from Martinez. She still felt guilty about not returning his call. Immediately brushing off her thoughts, she pushed her hair back behind her ears, logged into her computer, and began preparing for court when her phone rang.
“Victim Assistance, this is Elizabeth.”
“Good morning! It’s Andrea.”
“Hey Andrea, what’s up?”
“I have a lady up here, Janet Burrows, would like to speak with you. Says she’s Pamela DeFranco’s sister.”
Her heart sinking into her chest she whispered, “Shit.”
Andrea still heard her. “What should I tell her?”
After pausing for a moment, Elizabeth sighed. “Just give me a minute. I’ll be right there.” Hanging up the receiver, she rubbed her forehead wondering how this conversation was going to go. Speaking quietly to herself, she said, “It’s way too early for this.” Pulling herself out of her chair, she managed to muster up the energy to walk to the front of the office. Taking a deep breath, she opened the heavy door leading into the lobby.
A tall, thin woman with long brown hair streaked with highlights turned to greet her. “Elizabeth Strong?”
She doesn’t look anything like Pam, was her initial thought. Pam reminded her of a schoolteacher. This lady was more attractive and professional in a classy way. “Hello, Miss Burrows, is it?” She was hesitant. Typically, she was the one contacting family members, not the other way around.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she shook her head to stop her eyes from welling up. “I was away on business when my parents called me to inform me my sister, Pam DeFranco, had been killed.” Breathing deeply, she flung her hair off her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I’m not quite sure what I’m supposed to do here or what happens now, but...” She reached into the front pocket of her Coach bag and pulled out a business card, handing it to Elizabeth. “I found your card while going through her things this weekend. I’m afraid I felt more comfortable coming here than going to the police station.”
Elizabeth looked down at her card and back up to Janet, nodding sympathetically. “Of course. Let’s go back to my office where we can talk.” She waved at Andrea on the other side of the bulletproof glass window as a sign to buzz them in. She led Janet down the hall and into her office, shutting the door behind them for privacy.
“Please have a seat,” said Elizabeth as she sat down in her chair. She wasn’t sure at this point who should start the conversation but it seemed only natural to begin. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
Trying to remain strong, a tear fell from Janet’s eyelash. Elizabeth reached over and placed a box of tissue in front of her. “Thank you,” Janet said with a sniffle before continuing. “Pam had contacted me last week after she and Brandon had their little blow out. I knew they had been having problems and I told her she could stay at my place while I was gone. I left Sunday afternoon for Boston and she could have had the place to herself to sort some things out. Then she sent me a text and told me everything was okay; they were working things out. I never expected this. Can you help me fill in any of the blanks over the past week?”
Normally, Elizabeth would refrain from discussing her interactions with a victim due to issues of confidentiality. Normally also
