And there’d been no other female mentioned in Derek’s art book.
Nathan continued, “Now we have two art books with leads. Janie should do a comparison. I stopped by her hospital room this morning. She indicated that she’s familiar with Amanda’s drawing style, and could say whether this is legit or a wild-goose chase.”
“It’s a wild-goose chase,” Rafe said.
“Maybe,” Nathan admitted, “but Amanda’s parents are not returning my calls or emails, and Amanda’s account of what happened to Brittney is nothing like Derek’s.”
* * *
JANIE WATCHED AS her sister, Katie, went from the stove to the fridge to the sink and then started all over again. Soon, there’d be enough ham, mashed potatoes and green beans to feed the whole neighborhood. Today she’d also cleaned the house from top to bottom.
Her brother-in-law, Luke, simply shook his head and waited. He knew Katie would break any moment and whatever was bothering her would all come spewing out.
Janie figured whatever it was, it had to do with her. Katie had been on big-sister-overload ever since they’d driven home from the hospital. Janie almost wished she hadn’t spilled the details of Max and Nathan’s visit.
“I really need to call Rafe,” Janie finally said. “I want to find out what he thinks about Amanda’s art book showing up in Patricia’s apartment. Plus, I should tell him everything Max Carter said when he visited me.”
“I guarantee he already knows everything there is to know about Amanda’s art book.” Katie stuck a rack of rolls in the oven and shut the oven door with enough force to rattle the pot of gravy simmering on top. “Including that it’s just too convenient that it appears in Patricia’s apartment for no good reason right after her death.”
Janie rearranged the three green beans already on her plate. She covered them with a tiny shake of salt. Luke, who’d made the green beans, raised an eyebrow. Janie hated what was going on. Not only was it wrecking her life, but her sister and brother-in-law’s, too. Taking the smallest piece of glazed ham, Janie tried to pretend she was hungry, but food was the last thing she wanted. What she really wanted was for Katie to calm down and for Luke to quit hovering.
It was touching, really, but a bit overwhelming.
“I’m fine, really,” Janie insisted. She wasn’t about to tell them how very scared she was. They’d only hover more. “Really, I’m fine,” Janie repeated. “The Adobe Hills County sheriff is taking this seriously and that should deter whoever is pulling all these stunts.”
“I wouldn’t call murdering Patricia Reynolds a stunt,” Katie snapped.
“Stunt was a bad choice of word,” Janie admitted.
“Rafe’s not doing enough.” Katie pulled the rolls from the oven. “He’d better start doing mo—”
As if bidden, the doorbell rang. From the kitchen, there was a clear view of the front porch thanks to a large window.
“Doing more,” Katie finished. Her somewhat amused look wasn’t lost on Janie.
The Rafe Salazar who followed Luke into the kitchen was clearly tired. His hair badly needed trimming, and his uniform, usually spot-on, was rumpled and creased, as if he’d slept in it.
“Pull up a chair,” Luke said. “Katie somehow sensed you were coming for dinner. She made plenty.”