Dead Don't Lie

“Maybe you’re too close for this one.”

“What? Why?” She felt her cheeks flush. “Because tragedy struck my family? Is that it?”

“Maybe.”

He’d said it so softly as he sagged against the porch railing, watching her, that she almost missed it. Almost.

Rebellious tears gathered in her eyes. She couldn’t believe he’d thrown her family’s murder into her face like that and questioned her ability to do her job. He knew the job meant everything to her, kept her sane. She’d never jeopardize her position. How could he not trust her to handle herself and put her work first? Her heart stumbled and her shoulders sagged. How could he think she wasn’t okay?

But was she really fine? She’d already harnessed the ghosts of her past—and their occupying emotions—twice. In less than two hours. She grimaced. Okay, so maybe he was right. Still...she wasn’t ready to give in to that emotional tailspin. Not now.

“Don’t use that against me, Ryan. I’m a damn good cop, and you know it.”

He jerked back as if she’d struck him. “Evelyn. I’m your partner. I’m looking out for you. That’s what partners do. I’m concerned.”

She glanced up at him, heat rushing to her cheeks again. She shouldn’t have pushed Sanderson so far. She hung her head. “You’re right.”

“Sanderson’s an asshole. But I’ve never seen you react like that. The chief put you on this case for a reason, and it wasn’t because of your pretty face. You know these types of cases better than anyone on the force, and your instincts are right on target.”

She walked toward the open door. She peered through the grand foyer at the room that held the family and shuddered, a chill racing down her spine. “Just because it looks like a family annihilator, Ry, doesn’t mean it is. If the media even gets a whiff of that theory, they’ll run with it.”

“I know,” Ryan said.

“There won’t be anything sacred left for this family. Everyone will believe this man, this father and husband, killed his family—even if we’ve proved otherwise.”

Her throat closed around unspoken emotion. She knew all too well what the media could do. Her father’s name and dignity had been shredded once the media sharks had sunk their teeth into the “family annihilator” tag. The grisly video Evelyn had received from the killer came too late to clear her father’s name in the eyes of the public. She’d had to flee Phoenix, its warmth, its sun, its beauty—the media had seen to that. She shook her head and vanquished the dark, haunting memories that rose from the depths of her soul.

She faced her partner and stuck her hands deep in her pockets. “The first look doesn’t always mean everything. The dead don’t lie. We just have to see what they’re trying to show us.”

“You’re right. They don’t. So whatever ghosts keep surfacing, push back. Lock them down.” He took two steps to stand beside her and studied the house. “We’ve got a job to do. That family needs us. They need you.”

She nodded. She wouldn’t allow the horrors of her past to hijack her present. She was stronger than that. She had endured more than most people had in a lifetime and made it out the other side. Ryan was right: whatever dark shadows clawed at her needed to be caged. Permanently.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the grand foyer. “Okay, gentlemen. Show’s over.”

The officers chuckled.

Evelyn moved back into the family room and knelt beside the sisters, once more swallowing the rage and grief that gripped her throat as she stared into the faces of two innocent lives taken far too soon. “Ry—come over here. This is what I wanted to show you earlier.”

Ryan hurried over and squatted next to her. “Talk to me.”

“Notice anything different between these bloodstains?” She pointed to one area, then the next.

Ryan studied the blood splattered from the gunshot wound and that from the knife. He turned, horror in his eyes.

“Holy shit.” He sat back on his heels and motioned to the oldest. “Her sister bled out in her arms, and then she was shot.”

Evelyn nodded. Her heart twisted. What type of monster are we dealing with?

“I’m going to grab the coroner to get the time of death for both girls.” Ryan rose and walked out of the room.

The older girl’s face was frozen in panic and anguish. Evelyn knew that helpless feeling. Her sadness morphed into a fierce rage that simmered beneath her skin. No one should have to die like that.

She stood, pulled out a thin notebook and pen and scribbled a few notes. Snapping the book closed, she shoved it into her pocket and went over to the woman, their mother. Broken and riddled with a dozen or more knife wounds, she lay at her husband’s feet. Defensive bruising covered both arms and blood congealed above her split lip. She’d put up one hell of a fight. Evelyn knelt beside the body. “Good for you, ma’am.”

From her crouched position, she checked the man sitting in the recliner. From this angle, he looked to be asleep. She moved an inch to the left and saw the back of his head splattered against the artwork just behind him. She straightened. This wasn’t a family annihilator case. She knew it. But still...she needed to conduct a thorough examination of every inch of this family’s life.

“Fin?”

The officer to her right jumped. His young face lit up as his eyebrows scrunched together.

“I need you to verify if either parent had a lover on the side. Pull their phone records and check for large cash deposits or withdrawals. If either one of them had a secret life that would provoke all this—” she gestured around her “—I want to know about it.”

The officer nodded as he scribbled down notes.

If they were going to see this case for what it truly was, Evelyn needed to investigate all possible triggers. It was a long shot, but she knew finding out that a spouse had a lover was such a spark, and she wanted to rule it out. Hopefully, once they were done, they’d clear the man staring up at her with lifeless eyes.

Then they could focus on catching the sick, twisted bastard who had done this.

Sanderson rejoined them, face flushed. Evelyn could only imagine the tongue-lashing the chief had given him. Would he ever learn it wasn’t a pissing match?

“We need as many eyes on this as possible,” she said. “This makes two similar cases, and no one wants a third. If it’s not a family annihilator case and, in fact, the same guy, we want to catch him. And fast. So what do you see?”

He studied the room.

“It’s like he just sat, sucked the gun and blew his head off.” Sanderson walked over to her as he shoved his hands in his pockets. “It feels too easy, almost staged.”

“I agree.”

Sanderson eyebrows arched in disbelief.

“What else?”

He circled the husband, stepping around the wife.

“It’s strange that it doesn’t look like he put up a fight. At least...” He faltered, glanced at the two young girls and cleared his throat. “At least at first glance, but I don’t know.”

“The autopsy will confirm that tomorrow.” Ryan joined them again. He tipped his head toward Evelyn once, the muscle in his jaw jumping.

Her mind flashed back to the DVD of her own family’s brutal murder as she viewed the tragedy in front of her. In vibrant color, she saw her father begging the murderer for mercy, Olivia’s neck slashed, the defensive wounds on her mother. She had been a tigress until the end....

“Ev—” Ryan whispered.

Her eyes focused again on the vicious scene in front of her. Sanderson was right in his assessment. There didn’t appear to have been a struggle. But the autopsy would reveal what lay hidden beneath.

“Are you finished here?” she asked the CSI officer, motioning to the girls.

He nodded.