Page 19 of A Moment Too Late

There was a lack of evidence left at the scene. No DNA to profile, even though they swabbed everyone when they were interviewed. Not a single hair or fiber found on Sam’s body. The rain washed it all away that night.

“Spencer tells me you interview crazy people,” I hear Jay say as I pick at the mashed potatoes on my plate with my fork.

“Something like that.” I keep my attention focused on my plate, afraid to look in his eyes. To see the surprise. Hell, to see any kind of reaction.

“Don’t let her downplay it, man. She psychoanalyzes killers. I have her looking at Sam’s case now. Maybe she’ll see something we didn’t.”

We?

Jay looked into Sam’s case?I thought he left town.

Would they even let him look at the files after he was a suspect? After meeting the chief, I have a feeling Jay would be blacklisted from getting near the case. He seems like an old-fashioned kind of guy. You know, the one who doesn’t like to try new things because the old way has always worked.

“This isn’t good dinner conversation,” Mia interjects. “Let’s talk about something else. Anything.”

“Okay,” Jay starts, placing his napkin on his empty plate. I’ve been so focused on spreading my mashed potatoes around my plate I don’t even know what he ordered. “You ever going to agree to marry this asshole?”

My head whips in Mia’s direction, excepting to see her roll her eyes, when instead she shrugs her shoulders and smiles. “Maybe one day. He knows what he needs to do before I agree.”

“What’s that?” I hear myself ask.

“He has to solve Sam’s case.”

That’s a tough request. One I know he wants to honor but if he falls short, ifwefall short, what then? They continue to live life the way they are now?

“Why?” I ask, astonished that her agreeing to marry Spencer has anything to do with Sam or any case Spence may be working on.

“I’ve lived here all my life, and when I dreamt of my wedding, I was always married in the park. Right now, it holds bad memories. I can’t even bring myself to walk through it. I keep the curtains in the apartment closed and I don’t look out the window. Once the case is closed, we’ll replace the bad memories with good ones. Right now, it feels like they’re lingering.

“These two have worked their asses off to try and find the tiniest break in the case. The longer this goes on, the harder it’s going to be to solve. That’s why the chief wants to put it to bed. He’s given up on solving it but I haven’t. Someone knows something, and I won’t rest until I can look out my window in the morning and watch the sunrise again.”

Mia lets out a frustrated breath as she looks across the table at Spencer. He’s watching her with pride in his eyes. He can see how much this means to her, and instead of being irritated she refuses to marry him until the case is solved, he’s proud of her for taking a stand.

So am I.

“You know, I barely made it through the newspaper articles this afternoon. There were a few questions I had about the crime scene I’m hoping the case files will answer for me. They didn’t keep much from the public it seems. That could work against us.”

“Do you have any idea who we might be looking for yet?” Spencer asks, shifting in the booth so he’s facing me. I can see the hope in his eyes, and it causes a heaviness to settle in my chest. He’s relying on me. He needs me to help him break this case.

“Not yet. If I had to guess, I’d say a male, probably late twenties, early thirties. He wouldn’t have to be that big to overpower Sam, especially if she was caught off guard. Or maybe she knew him and didn’t fight back, which would explain why there was no sign of a struggle and the lack of DNA evidence. The rain would have washed away anything on her body but not under her nails.”

“What about the rope?” Jay’s voice dreamily asks. Or maybe I’m just imagining it being dreamy because there is nothing about rope that should get my motor running. Yet I feel the stir of desire hit me like a sack of potatoes.

The deep timber of his voice paired with the depth of his stare always had me tied up in knots. It appears it still does.

“What rope?” I reply. “The papers didn’t mention anything about her being tied up.”

At least they kept that little fact to themselves. I was starting to think the chief handed over the file to a local journalist and let them print whatever details they wanted.

“There were a few key facts that weren’t released to the public. Did you look at the crime scene photos?” This from Spencer, whose knee is now bouncing up and down nervously.

“Not yet.”

“Her feet and hands were bound behind her body and then tied together. Her mouth was covered in duct tape. The teal tips of her hair were cut off.” Jay’s words hold no emotion behind them, as if he’s put up a shield to protect himself from his connection to Sam. The victim. “The main reason I was a suspect was because I worked at the hardware store and had access to the items used. Also, I’d bought a roll of duct tape the week before spring break to fix the ping pong table after Sam decided to dance on top of it.”

I can’t help but smile at the memory as it flashes through my mind. She was putting on quite a show. It was the last time all five of us were together. It’s also a night I’ll never forgive myself for. My smile immediately falls as the thought crosses my mind.

Shaking away the memories of that night, of Sam’ slamming back drinks and dancing, of sneaking off after she passed out, the images are replaced with something far worse.

Images of Sam bound together.