Silent Night 3(27)

Blake raised an eyebrow, as if he didn’t think it was very funny either.

Reva shrugged. Some people just couldn’t take a joke.

Blake stopped at a metal desk and gestured for Reva to sit in the chair across from it. As he pulled a form from one of the drawers, Reva glanced around.

Mustard-yellow walls, chipped brown linoleum, and grimy windows. It’s worse than tacky, she thought. How can he work in this dump?

Brushing dust from the chair, Reva sat down and sighed. The whole place smelled of burned coffee. Her stomach felt queasy. Her head started to pound. She wanted to go home. Hadn’t she done enough by coming down to identify Daniel?

Blake fed the form into a typewriter and began punching keys with two fingers.

Hello! Reva thought. Welcome to the twentieth century. Hadn’t the Shadyside police heard of computers?

“Spell your name, please,” Blake requested. “Last one first.”

Reva sighed again. “D, A—”

The desk phone rang.

Blake answered quickly.

Maybe he’ll have to leave, Reva thought hopefully. She tapped her burgundy-colored nails on the chair arm and watched Blake’s face for signs that he’d been called out on another case.

The detective listened for a few seconds, frowning. “You’re sure?” he asked. “No doubt?”

Another pause. Blake’s frown deepened.

Reva glanced at her watch and swung her foot impatiently.

“Okay. Thanks.” Blake hung up and puffed out a big breath of air. “Well. Looks like Daniel was telling the truth.”

“What do you mean?” Reva asked. “You mean he didn’t kill Traci?”

The detective shook his head. “He has an alibi for the night of the murder. He wasn’t anywhere near the store.”

“Are you sure?”

“My officers just confirmed it,” Blake told her. “The alibi is rock-solid. We’ll have to let him go.”

Reva’s headache suddenly throbbed harder.

Blake turned back to the typewriter. “We might as well take down your statement, though, so you can press charges on that phone call.”

Reva stood up. “I’ll have to think about that,” she told him.

“He threatened you, Miss Dalby,” Blake reminded her. “But we can’t do anything about it unless you tell us to.”

“Right now I just want to go home. It’s been a horrible night, and I’m exhausted,” Reva declared. “I’ll be in touch.”

As she hurried down the hall toward the exit, Reva fumbled in her pocket for the car keys. One of the keys caught on the lining. She bent her head to untangle it.

And crashed into Daniel.

Daniel reached out to steady her.

“Get away from me!” she snapped.

“Okay, okay.” Daniel backed away and zipped up his jacket. “Just listen a second. I’m sorry about the phone call. Really. It was stupid. I didn’t mean it.”

Reva gazed at a spot on the wall, as if Daniel didn’t exist.

“Oh, forget it!” he exclaimed. “I’m out of here. I don’t know why I’m wasting my breath apologizing to you.”

Reva didn’t know why either. Did he really expect her to forgive him? She held herself still, waiting for him to leave.

“Just remember this, Reva,” Daniel muttered as he turned away and shoved the door open. “Sooner or later you’re going to get what’s coming to you.”

A cold wind blew in as the door swung shut behind him.

He actually threatened me again! Reva thought with a shiver. Right here in the police station! The guy must be nuts!

Should she go back and tell Detective Blake?

Reva glanced down the ugly hallway and quickly decided to go home instead. She could call Blake from there, where it was warm and comfortable. If she had to stay in this place one more second, her head would explode.

Untangling the car keys from her pocket, she turned up her jacket collar and hurried outside.

The snow had started to stick. Reva made her way slowly down the slippery steps and onto the sidewalk. The wind howled, pelting her face with icy flakes. She’d be lucky not to come down with pneumonia before this night was over!

Bending her head and squinting her eyes against the stinging flakes, Reva hurried down the sidewalk. When she spotted her car, she began to run.

Her foot came down on a patch of ice. As she flung her arms out to keep from falling, the keys flew from her hand and landed in the snow at the edge of the sidewalk.

Just great! A perfect ending to a perfectly hideous night!

Shivering and disgusted, Reva began searching for the keys. As she scuffed at the snow with her shoe, she heard a sound behind her.

Footsteps.

She glanced around. “Hello?”