“Who?” he asked, as if not understanding what she was asking. Old busybodies were not his favorite people.
“It’s a good thing. Kate is a good person, and she needs somebody.”
“Oh? And why is that?” He studied her quietly.
“Because she does so much for everybody else.”
“Do you know her well?”
“Oh, I know her, though not as well as I’d like to, but only because she keeps everybody at arm’s length. People who do that are just afraid to get hurt more than they already have been.”
The truth struck him in the gut, and he thought about the older woman’s words, well after he’d left and started his day, because it was true. After loving her brother and her mother, only to be abandoned by one and then blamed for the loss of the other, Kate had kept herself behind a wall. Even in the relationship with the married cop, she took the blame. Now she preferred to keep herself safely away from everybody. So, in that way, the old lady was quite correct, and it spoke to how well she knew Kate.
Kate would want time and space and everything that was her own.
In all of his previous relationships, they’d all been very willing to move into his place, as it was obviously high-end, secure, peaceful, private, and gorgeous, with a view to match. There had never been any discussions about it. Kate’s place, while clean and neat, was a cramped little dump by his standards, but it was hers, and that mattered.
Chapter 11
Back at theoffice, tired and worn out, Kate sat at her desk, huddled over a cup of coffee. The others in the team came in bright and cheerful soon afterward. Rodney walked in and smiled at her. “Anything back from forensics on Candy’s and Paula’s rooms? At least we found Candy’s stuff. But having Candy’s boxes of her things in Paula’s room just adds to the mystery.”
Kate wondered about that. “Looks like a setup, pinning Paula’s death on Candy.” Kate hesitated, then added, “And preemptively pinning Candy’s death on Paula.”
“Uh-oh, looks like you guys got a call last night, huh?” Andy asked.
“Yeah.” Kate sighed, shook her head to wake up. “I’ll go over the related deaths as soon as everyone’s settled. You’ve got five to grab a coffee.”
When the rest of the team had their coffee and gathered around the bullpen, Kate stood and gave them all a rundown on the case they had caught overnight.
“So it wasn’t the woman you had spoken with, but it was her room?” Lilliana confirmed.
“Yes, not Candy’s body, although Candy’s room had been cleared of personal possessions—but we found them in the dead woman’s room. Compliments of assistance from the RCMP, as Paula’s dorm is on the campus.”
“Interesting,” Lilliana said.
“Yeah, that’s one word for it. I don’t know if Candy has skipped town, but I’m having forensics go over that carpet stain with a fine-tooth comb.” Kate hesitated and looked at her partner. “I don’t know if I’m projecting and seeing something I want to see—which, in this case, would be really sick—but it seemed to me that the bloodstains could potentially be from two different victims. Or at least spilled at different times. And given Candy’s possessions were in the dead woman’s room,… Paula could quite possibly have killed Candy. I expect we’ll get notice of her body soon.”
“So, you’re thinking the other female, Candy, was killed first?” Owen asked Kate.
“I suspect so, yes. I hope not. I really hope I’m wrong. But what are the chances that she was killed first, and then Paula was killed right afterward?”
Lilliana frowned. “But this known DB is one of the long-term members of the group of bullies though, right?”
“Yes,” Kate said, “but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t disposable as well.”
At that, Lilliana winced. “Hard to imagine people thinking like that about another person.”
“Maybe so, but remember. These are the same bullies who are knocking over disabled people for kicks.”
“Does any of this have to do with the cyclist killed on the street?” Lilliana asked her quietly.
“I don’t think so. I haven’t been able to tie any of it in yet. At any rate, I’ve barely even gotten through all the witness statements, and we’ve got nothing back from forensics yet. I did talk to the coroner about ice bullets though.”
“Right.” Lilliana nodded. “That was a good catch.”
“And I told Smidge about another similar case that happened ten years ago around the same area.” Her team stopped, looked at each other, and she nodded. “He’ll check into it.”
“He’s good,” Owen stated. “A bit like a terrier with a bone, honestly. So at least you can rest easy with that part in his hands.”