“Oh hell yes, I know so,” she said, “at least I’m hoping it’s only one guy. We know that David was targeted as well.”
“The guy’s laptop I’ve been looking into,” Bronwyn said, looking up.
Kate nodded. “Yes.”
“And that is a friend of Simon’s, which would explain how and why he ended up connected to this case then. There’s almost always a personal connection,” Rodney said in a knowing tone.
“Maybe,” Kate said, “I don’t know the details on something like that.”
“Well, think about it because chances are good that’s why this is all coming down now. You may need to rein Simon back in again. If he finds out that this guy is responsible for his friend’s death, can you really trust how he’ll react?”
She thought about that, as she raced out to the car, because the answer was no. Rodney was at her heels. Of course she didn’t trust how Simon would react. She had no idea how he would react under all this pressure. But it was something she couldn’t deal with right now, since she couldn’t even get him on the phone.
With Rodney driving, they pulled up to University Boulevard and into the residential area, before the entrance to the university.
“Is this the place?” Kate asked.
“Yeah. I got a text from Bronwyn. Walker’s mother was a professor and died recently.”
“What did she teach?”
“Psychology or something, and she was counselor, specializing in suicide and grief.”
Kate shook her head at that. “What the hell? We just keep getting suicides popping up all over the place in this mess.”
“That’s good,” Rodney said. “That brings us a lot of connections here.”
“I know. I know,” she said. “I just feel like we’re not in time.”
“In time for what?”
She shook her head and raced up the stairs of a beautiful townhome. She knocked on the door and heard only a hollowness behind it. She looked over at Rodney. “Okay, he’s not home. Do you see the red truck anywhere? What do you want to bet he’s not here?”
Then one of the neighbors popped out and said, “Hey, if you looking for him, he left about an hour ago.”
“Did he?” she said. “I guess you don’t really know where he went though, huh?”
“Well, honestly, ever since his mom took her life, he’s been pretty morose. Depressed, you know? I told him to get some help, and he just shrugged and said nobody really understood. I hope you find him,” he said. “He’s a really nice guy.”
“Did you say his mother committed suicide?” she asked, incredulous.
“Yeah, I thought that’s what he said.”
She nodded slowly. “Okay, I’d heard it was his brother.”
“Apparently, well, his brother did too, and I think it was too much for his mom. Anyway, that’s all I can tell you.”
“Do you know how long he’s lived here?”
“A while I think, but I don’t really know.”
“Interesting,” she said. “I’m surprised he’s still here.”
“She didn’t quite do the job.… That was the problem. She was in the hospital for quite a while, with a broken neck, but she didn’t survive.”
“Thanks.” Kate turned and bolted down the stairs.
Leaving the guy staring after them blindly, Rodney caught up with her and said, “What the hell did that just do?”