Page 60 of Target Acquired

“No ma’am, just that you were there when Cliff Hamilton was.”

“Yep.” Had her voice just gotten slightly guarded? “What about him?”

“Did he ever talk to you about his cases?”

“Of course. We talked to each other about them all the time.”

“I kind of thought you would.” He blew out a low breath. “See, here’s the thing, Sherry. I need to talk to him, but I can’t find him. Do you know where he went when he left the lab?”

“Nope.”

Her answer was a smidgeon too fast. “Okay, do you know why he resigned?”

A sigh greeted his question. “Why are you asking all of this? That’s all in the past.”

“True, but sometimes the present and the past wind up colliding, and when that happens, you have to figure out why.”

“You’re talking in riddles, boy.”

Only she could get away with calling him boy. And it had everything to do with the fact that she’d changed his diapers when he was an infant. “No riddles.” He was tempted to fill her in but didn’t want to put her in the position of having to keep secrets. And right now, he wasn’t ready to announce the evidence until he knew who he could trust. “I just need to talk to him about a report he did. I think it’s related to a cold case, and he’s the best one to answer my questions.”

“I took over his cases when he left, then passed them on to the new person who was hired after him.”

“Tabitha Lewis, right?”

“Yes. So why not go to her?”

“Why’d he leave, Sherry?”

“He had his reasons.”

“Sherry, I’m not in the mood to pull teeth. What were his reasons?”

“I’m not talking about it on the phone.” Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper. “You want to meet, I’ll explain a little more in detail.”

“Name the time and place.”

“Tomorrow morning at Cornerstone Café. Seven thirty.”

“I’ll be there.”

Kenzie stepped back into the room. “Tabitha said she would look into the case and see if she could find out anything, go over the pictures of the car. You find Hamilton?”

“No, not yet.” He told her about his conversation with Sherry.

Kenzie frowned. “You think she’d mind if I came?”

“I think it might be best if I handle this one alone.”

She looked like she might want to protest, but instead nodded. “All right.”

He glanced at the clock. “You ready to head to the lake?”

“Sure, but I can drive myself.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. You’re hurt, remember?”

“But I’m not taking any narcotics, so I can drive.”