Awash in love and tenderness, her vision blurred with tears and her hands shook as her fingers ran down a stubbly cheek. She hadn’t known him long and the words shouldn’t have been that powerful, but they’d turned her world upside down. Her heart ached with emotions so strong she couldn’t even begin to name them; she only knew they were good and right.

“Thank you for saying it.” Her voice was choked but she managed to smile through the few tears that were falling down her cheeks. It had been too emotional a day and she was feeling the effects. “I would have waited, you know.”

“I’m sorry you had to wait this long. I’m just sorry for acting stupid, saying shit to push you away. You’ve made the last few weeks the happiest I can remember in a long time.”

“I’m not pushing here.” She needed to make him understand. “Let’s take this as slow as we need to. There’s no hurry. We’ve both come with baggage and we haven’t known each other long. I want you to know I have no expectations.”

Jason chuckled and gave her a wide grin. “Really? Because I do. I expect that I’m going to screw up more than once and you’re going to have to forgive me again.”

“I think I can do that. Are you coming to bed? Where’s Logan and West?”

“West went back to the office.” Jason’s smile fell. “The license plate you saw was on a stolen vehicle, so that was a dead end. But we’re going to get this guy, honey, don’t you worry. You – and your house – are going to have round the clock protection. In fact, Logan’s over there now settling in for the night.”

Brinley pressed her fingers to her throbbing temple, disappointment making the tears start all over again. She should have known it was too good to be true and that the killer wouldn’t make such a trivial mistake.

“I feel so badly that he’s been away from his wife for so long.”

“She’s finishing up a book, so when he’s done here they’re going to take the twins and head to Seattle for some fun. He’ll make it up to her.” He lifted her chin so she was looking into his eyes. “Are you going to be okay? I’m not talking about your cuts and bruises, honey.”

“I’m fine. Really, I am.”

She wasn’t quite but she would be. This case wasn’t going to beat her. They would find who was doing this and put them behind bars. She’d overheard Logan and Jason talking when she was supposed to be asleep and they’d said that the brazen attempt on her life meant the killer was getting desperate. Desperate men made mistakes and that was a positive development.

Jason stood and picked up the dishes. “If you’re sure. I’m going downstairs for a few minutes to clean up. I’ll be back with your pill and then maybe we can watch a movie or something.”

He leaned down and dropped a kiss on her forehead, the only place that wasn’t scratched or bruised, before bounding down the stairs. Brinley reached for the thick file folder of Anita’s papers and idly paged through them. She couldn’t begin to move forward with her life until this case was solved.

After all, it was her ass on the line.

*

Jason shifted the file folder on his legs and stretched his back and shoulders, careful not to wake the sleeping woman beside him. Brinley had dozed off in the middle of the movie thanks to a couple of pain pills, but as usual he was having trouble falling asleep. To pass the time he’d started examining the file that Lita had found in her apartment. West had retrieved it but with the incident with Brinley yesterday no one had been able to give it much time.

Brinley had started to but she’d been so tired she hadn’t been able to keep her eyes open long enough to make a dent in the paperwork. She’d said it was pretty much a repeat of what they’d already seen.

There were copies of the statements from the police file from all the relevant players – Wendell, Gail, and Damian. When Anita recovered, Jason would have to ask her how they got their hands on these.

There was an interesting drawing that perhaps Anita or Roger had made of the crime scene depicting where the body was located and then another of the surrounding area where Wendell was found by the police, complete with estimated driving times from the house to the lake and back.

Wendell could have easily committed the murder. He had ample opportunity and motive, plus the strange act of recreating his life with Linda – perhaps out of guilt. Love and hate were strong emotions and closely related enough for Wendell to have acted in a frenzy of passion.

That’s what the case came down to. Supposition. Hunches. Theories.

None of that was going to protect Brinley’s life.

He wouldn’t sleep a wink tonight so he might as well go downstairs and make a pot of coffee. He’d spend the hours until morning reviewing every piece of evidence they had. Slowly he levered up from the bed, trying not to shake the mattress although Brinley was deeply asleep and probably wouldn’t stir even if he made a racket. He picked up the file from the bed and tiptoed across the bedroom, cursing when a scrap of paper fell from the folder and fluttered to the floor.

Snatching it up, he made his way downstairs and into the kitchen, starting a pot of coffee and settling at the island. The small piece of paper was still in his hand and he flipped on an overhead light to examine it. The half sheet looked like it had been torn from a yellow legal pad and had a note scratched in black pen. Slipping on his glasses, he was able to make out the words more easily.

Need to talk to D. Barnes and friends.

Cop said alibi seems solid.

Jason read and re-read the note, something he couldn’t put his finger on bugging him, niggling in the back of his brain, the word “seems” jumping out at him. That’s how everyone’s alibi started out. They all seemed plausible. It was up to the investigator to make sure it was bulletproof. Beyond question. At least until the criminal was caught. A shaky alibi didn’t mean someone was guilty, but it also didn’t mean they could be omitted as a suspect either.

Had the cops twenty years ago simply assumed Damian Barnes’s alibi was strong? Because he was a kid? Anita and Roger couldn’t have talked to the investigating officer because he had passed away five years ago, so they could only be working off of the reports.

Jason reached behind him for the police file stacked on the kitchen table and plopped it down, flipping through it looking for Damian’s statement. He’d been at the movies with his friends. That seemed conclusive.

There was that word again.

The detective had a short report where he’d talked to the teenagers and they’d confirmed the four of them had all seen the seven-fifteen Braveheart. It was the film’s opening night and they’d been talking about going for weeks. They’d even waited in line for almost two hours and the theatre had been packed.

Jason had been at college at the time but he and his friends had also gone to see Braveheart on opening night in their own city. He too had waited in line and the theatre had sold out. When it came time to find a place to sit, the group of ten young men had to split up because the seats left were only singles and a few doubles. After the movie, they’d regrouped in the lobby and headed out for pizza and beer.

Son of a bitch. Had anyone bothered to ask those boys if they had all sat together for the entire three hours plus previews? If Damian Barnes had sat separately he would have had plenty of time to slip out, commit the murder, then slip back in to see the end of the film and meet back up with his friends.

Jason needed to talk to those young men and a quick glance at the clock on the wall told him that it would be indecent to phone this late at night. Shit. He’d have to wait until morning. The one decent idea he’d had in days and now he had to sit on his hands for the next seven to eight hours.