Page 4 of The Veteran

Thank God. I hated to think how Sage might blame herself if she’d rushed out of the house while her roommate was quietly dying in the bathroom.

“You did the right thing getting out and calling for help,” I told her.

Joanna’s eyes flickered to me and then back to Sage. “Kade is correct. You acted exactly as you should have.”

I got the sense her words weren’t any comfort to Sage, and neither were mine.

“The crime scene team are on their way,” Joanna continued, brushing a black lock of hair from her forehead. Her features were as inscrutable as always, with those near-black eyes and her flawless golden skin untouched by emotion. “We’ll need to get a full statement.”

I frowned. “Can it wait? She’s had a shock and needs to recover.”

Joanna arched a brow. “You know that it’s important for us to get the details as soon as possible, while it’s still fresh in her mind.”

Frustration simmered in my gut and I pressed my lips together to prevent myself from protesting. I knew it, but that didn’t mean I liked it.

Sage laid a hand on my arm. “It’s all right.” She took a deep breath. “Now is fine.”

“Good. Let’s go to the police station. Do you have a car?”

“We’ll drive her,” Ronan said.

Joanna agreed and we drove to the station in convoy. I sat in the back with Sage, who was frighteningly silent. She was usually so sunny that seeing her pretty face twisted with distress felt wrong. It made me want to hit something.

“You can stay with us tonight,” Willow said, breaking the tension in the vehicle. “We have plenty of space.”

“Thanks.” Sage’s reply was so quiet I nearly missed it. I barely restrained myself from taking her hand. I was glad she had Willow and Ronan for support, but a primitive part of me wished that I could be the one to watch over her and keep her safe. I’d given up that right when I decided not to pursue her, and I couldn’t change my mind now. There was a reason I didn’t date. I didn’t deserve love, and especially not with someone as wonderful as Sage.

When we arrived at the police station, the driver paused out front to let us out, and then headed elsewhere to find a park. Inside, Joanna ushered Sage into an interview room and instructed the rest of us to wait outside. I didn’t like it. Sage had been through enough. She shouldn’t be separated from her friends. At the very least, Willow should be able to accompany her, but she didn’t ask for any of us to go with her and I didn’t want to be pushy so I reluctantly let it go. Ronan, Willow, and I sat on uncomfortable chairs and settled in to wait.

“Do you think Jessica interrupted a robbery?” Willow asked Ronan after the silence had stretched on for a while.

“Maybe,” Ronan replied. “Did she and Sage keep any valuable items in the house?”

Willow scrunched her nose. “The most expensive things they had were Jessica’s paintings. It’s not like they had money or jewels hidden away.”

“What about technology?” I asked.

She shrugged. “The usual. Laptop, TV. Maybe a few other bits and pieces.” She hesitated, then added, “It seems more likely to me that either Jessica was in trouble or this is related to what Sage went through with her parents. Although, those men are supposedly all in prison now.”

I stared, having no idea what she was talking about. Something had happened with Sage’s parents? What was it and why was this the first I was hearing of it?

2

SAGE

I sat at a square desk opposite Detective Lee and another plainclothes cop who’d been introduced to me as Detective Hanson. Where Lee was a biracial Chinese American woman in her thirties, Hanson was an older white guy with a pot belly and a permanent scowl.

“Have you seen anyone unusual around your house recently?” Detective Lee asked. “Any cars that drove by regularly, or people you didn’t recognize from the neighborhood?”

I thought hard. Having been part of a court case, I knew how important the little details could be. “Not that I noticed, and I’m quite observant.”

Hanson cleared his throat. “Do you know if any of your neighbors have had break-ins?”

I shrugged. “I haven’t heard of any. If I had, I’d have been more careful. But we don’t talk to each other much so that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. It could have happened and I just never knew.”

He nodded. “Our officers will speak to them to confirm.”

“So, you think this is a burglary gone wrong?” I asked.