Nathan still held on to CeeCee, ignoring the blood pouring from his wound. “When Derek died at that farm, I worried. I knew Chris had a place nearby. But she seemed to be doing so well. She was working and hoping for a full-time position. But suspiciously, she was working at the very college where everything was going wrong. It was the angel pin, the one that went missing, that made me face the truth. Chris loved expensive jewelry. She could pawn it for top dollar. Still, I was hoping I was wrong. I mean, could I really have loved a killer? But the reporter this morning mentioned the pin, what it was worth, and I knew. I knew.”
He seemed to collapse, his voice growing softer. “I was waiting to speak with Chris. Then I heard the vehicle, heard it stop, and came to see what was going on. They had Janie. I’d figured it out, acted on it, too late.”
Rafe took one step in Nathan’s direction. The man was lying to himself; he’d figured it out before today.
Janie put a hand on his elbow.
“I’m all right.” She took his chin in her hands and turned him until he was looking her in the eyes. “Even more, we’re all right.”
“Forever,” he agreed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“BUT I REALLY don’t want to draw animals anymore,” Janie protested.
“We’re talking three months. This South Africa gig is the chance of a lifetime. You beat out five hundred applicants. That’s something.”
Janie shook her head. Just two weeks into a committed relationship and already Rafe assumed he knew what was best for her.
She gazed at the tablet in front of her. Then, she glanced over at Tabitha Jane Rittenhouse.
“I like drawing people. I’m good at it. I nailed Chad, didn’t I?”
Rafe frowned.
“I did,” she protested. “Amanda and I were spot-on. And the place where Brittney was buried, I had that, too.”
“And it’s given you nightmares ever since.”
Now it was her turn to frown. Her sister, Katie, was telling tales without Janie’s permission.
“I’ve never taken a vacation,” Rafe said. “I’ve got leave coming, and my chief of police has never been more capable.”
“Jeff will love that.”
Rafe walked over and set his chin on the top of her hair. Her pencil stilled.
“So,” Rafe continued, “I was thinking. I could go to South Africa, too. I’ve got the money. Maybe we could combine your residency with my vacation, get to know each other even more.”
The pencil fell from her grasp. Just her and Rafe, together, as a couple? Her and a cop!
She opened her mouth, but before she got her response out, Rafe’s phone rang. He rolled his eyes and answered it.
“Yes, doc,” he said.
It only took Janie a moment of listening to yet another one-sided conversation of cop-speak to figure out Rafe was talking to the police counselor from Phoenix. Rafe had already been put on administrative leave until the investigation into Chad’s death was concluded.