Chapter 17

The front door swung open as I drove up in the driveway, and there stood Mom, already with a disapproving tilt to her lips.

"Can you watch the kids for a few hours?" I blurted out, masking the urgency in my voice with a smile as I helped the little ones unbuckle their seat belts.

"Again, Eva Rae? You know I love them, but I had plans…." Her complaint trailed off into a sigh as she caught the look in my eye. "Fine, but you owe me."

"Thanks, Mom. You"re a lifesaver," I said, planting a kiss on her cheek as the kids wrapped around her legs, already chattering about their day.

With a wave goodbye, I dashed back to my car and headed straight to the station. The weight of the Chapman case pressed down on me like the relentless, stifling Florida heat.

The police station was quiet, the usual bustle of weekday crime reduced to a sleepy hum. Chief Annie"s door was closed, but light spilled from the crack beneath it, letting me know that my instincts were correct and she was there. I rapped softly, my heart thrumming against my ribs.

"Eva Rae?" Annie"s voice held a mixture of surprise and mild annoyance. "Come on in."

"You have a minute?"

"Of course. What can I do for you on a Saturday?" she asked, her eyes scanning me over the rim of her glasses.

"I"m worried," I said, stepping inside and closing the door behind me. "About the Chapman case."

"The Chapman case?" Her eyebrows shot up. "But that"s in the Cape Canaveral District. It"s not even our case."

"I know," I admitted, shifting uncomfortably. "But I fear that the detective on the case is about to make a huge mistake—one that might end up sending the wrong person to prison for the rest of her life."

"And what are you building this upon?" Annie leaned back in her chair, the leather creaking under her weight. "We have enough cases of our own," she added with a weary rub of her temple.

I was about to speak when she interrupted me.

"And please don"t say it"s a hunch."

I met her gaze steadily, the certainty in my gut too strong to ignore. "It"s a hunch," I answered.

She rolled her eyes, the ghost of a smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth despite herself. "You and your hunches…."

"Annie, I need to investigate further," I pleaded. "I need your permission."

"Okay," she sighed, her annoyance clear. "But no one can know, okay? It stays between the two of us. I don"t want to get in trouble with our colleagues next town over."

"Of course not," I promised, already halfway out the door. "I"ll be silent as a mouse."

"Uh-huh," she muttered, her skepticism ringing in the otherwise empty room. "Somehow, I doubt that, Eva Rae."