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Chapter 13

Hez settled into the chair in front of her desk. "Thanks for meeting with me. Yes, the university is investigating the theft of artifacts. We think there might be a connection to the Abernathy murder, particularly in light of the attack at the warehouse."

Richards nodded. "That occurred to me too. Do you have any hard evidence?"

"Have you pulled surveillance videos from the professors' visits to the warehouse?"

"Good thinking. Can you send me a copy of anything you find?"

She looked up from her notes, a hint of concern in her brown eyes. "Are you preserving the metadata?"

"We are—I thought of that too. We want to make sure any evidence we find is admissible."

Another encouraging sign. He decided to push his luck a little and see if she'd tell him anything about her investigation. "Of course. We're happy to help. Is there anything you can share that might make our investigation more efficient? For example, are there any indications that this might have been a burglary that went wrong?"

"Time of death?"

"Unless the murderer killed him somewhere else and used his card to get in and dump the body."

She glanced at her watch. "That's pretty unlikely given the amount of blood around the body."

"Good point. Did anyone else card in after him?"

"Got it. Well, I won't take up any more of your time. I'll let you know what we find."

He did his best to keep from grinning like an idiot until he left the station. The meeting could not have gone any better. Richards had given him more information about the case than she really had to, though he would have been entitled to it eventually if Savannah were charged. But more importantly—much more importantly—Richards didn't act like Savannah was likely to ever be charged. This had been a collaborative meeting between two investigators, not a cop meeting with a suspect's attorney. Hez had been in both types of meetings, and he knew the difference.

***

Jess's mansion on the outskirts of Pelican Harbor oozed privilege and power. The sunset painted the Greek Revival house in oranges and gold, giving it a warm and inviting look that Savannah knew was entirely external. Jess lived alone and only used the larger rooms when she was throwing upscale parties for donors or financiers. The only parts of the house that got regular use were the home office and pool, where Jess put in miles each day. The rest of it felt lifeless and dusty, even though Jess's maid service kept it spotless.

Jess eyed her warily. "What?"

Jess pulled the box of shepherd's pie toward her and lifted the lid. She inhaled and smiled. "No one makes shepherd's pie like Mac's."

Savannah crossed her arms over her chest. "Did you hear me?"

"I see more than you know." Savannah wet her lips. "You've always been there for me, and I need your help. I don't know where to search next if you say no. I might as well turn myself in and let them put me in jail."

Jess put a hand on Savannah's arm. "I'm sorry. Fortunately, he's only here for a few months. Once Christmas comes, he'll be out of your hair."

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