Page 41 of Charmed Forces
“Yes. How’d you know?” Her eyes widened in panic and she glanced past me to the door, clearly assessing the predicament she found herself in.
“I’m Lexi Graves, a private investigator,” I told her quickly, showing her my emptyI come in peacehands.
“Daniel Graves’ sister?” she said. “I’ve heard about you. My husband told me some second-hand stories about you. Is Daniel here?”
“No, he isn’t.”
“They’re saying he did it, you know? Daniel! I don’t believe it but...” Suki glanced towards the door again. “It’s hard to argue with my husband unconscious. They say Daniel’s missing.”
“Daniel didn’t do it, and I’m really sorry about your husband. I hope he pulls through.”
“The doctor said last night it was touch and go but since he made it through the night, it’s a positive sign. Another inch to the right and he would have been dead. Instead, the bullet nicked his heart and gave him a collapsed lung. They’re keeping him sedated to avoid extra strain on his body.”
“I know this must be very upsetting for you.”
“You have no idea. Has Daniel been found? I overheard the officers on the door to his room say he’s a suspect.” She crossed her arms, not quite looking hostile but not overly friendly either.
“I’ve heard the same,” I said, wanting to connect with her. “Like you, I don’t believe Daniel would do anything as heinous as this either.”
“Shoot my husband, you mean?”
“Yes. I want to prove that beyond doubt and I need your help.”
“How can I help?” she asked, frowning. “I don’t know anything, and I’m not sure I should help you anyway. I know he’s your brother but...” She trailed off.
“I just want the truth, same as you do. What can you tell me about the case they were working on?”
“Nothing. Pete doesn’t tell me anything about stuff like that.”
“Like that?”
She sighed. “I think he was working a witness protection case. That’s the only reason he’s ever away a couple of nights or more and only then if it’s crucially necessary. Otherwise, he just makes a shift change with someone else on the squad and comes home.”
“But this time he was staying overnight?”
“Yeah. I think they’re short of detectives and there was something very hush-hush about this case so they had to keep officers on site as much as possible. That’s as much as Pete said but Daniel was over on the weekend and they sat on the patio drinking beers. I overheard Pete say the fewer people who knew about it the better so I figured it had to be something big. Are they really all dead?”
“Three people are dead,” I said. “One or two were the witnesses. Another victim was a police officer too.”
“I’m struggling to process it. I mean, I always knew something like this might happen one day. It’s part of the job but... all of them? And Daniel missing?” She frowned, shaking her head. “He and Pete were friends. I can’t help thinking he’s hurt somewhere. That makes more sense than imagining Dan shot him.”
“I agree,” I said. “It sounds like Daniel and your husband were friends as well as colleagues?”
“Oh, yeah, for sure. They got on well and Daniel and Alice both helped us out so much when they first partnered, back when we just moved here. I was really pleased about that because Pete’s last partner was an antiquated, old jerk. A relic of the old boys’ club.”
“When did you last speak to your husband?”
“Only yesterday. He called me when I finished work just to say hi. He said Frank left to get pizzas and everything was going okay.”
“Did he mention anything else about the case?”
Suki shook her head. “We talked about the usual stuff. Pete suggested we head up to Lake Pierce on the weekend to go hiking. He said he’d like to decompress. I asked him if it was hard work and he said it was dull but that’s how he liked it.”
“Frank was the other detective? Frank Desmond?” I guessed.
“That’s right. Pete, Daniel, and Frank were rotating shifts throughout the night. That way they could have some overlap. He said they were one short.”
“How well did you know Frank?”