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She shook the hood from her head. “How’d you know where to find me?”
“As soon as I found out about Ashley’s death and thatyou were the one who found her, I raced to the mobile home park. The deputy on guard wouldn’t let me past the tape, but I saw Morse talking to you. Then I saw him lead you to a patrol car and followed you to the station.” He clasped her hand. “What happened? The Kitsap Killer didn’t lure you out there again, did he?”
“No, although I’m not sure Morse or my boss Michael believe that.” She tapped on the window with her knuckle. “They’re probably not going to allow me to get my car just yet. Can we go to that restaurant near my hotel? Dockside Fish Grill?”
“Patio should be a private place to talk.”
“He did it. I know he killed Ashley.” She set her jaw. “I just don’t know why.”
“What brought you back to Ashley’s?” He hit the steering wheel with the heel of his hand. “You were going to confront her about posting as Queenie.”
“Of course. I wanted to know why she’d been pretending with me that she believed Tiffany’s case was closed while posting clues on a discussion board.”
“Maybe it was the stolen scarf. She could’ve heard about red fibers found at the crime scenes and started putting things together.” Finn swung a U-turn and parked a block down from the restaurant.
There were a few more diners outside this time, but they still nabbed a table on the edge of the patio overlooking the water.
As Finn sat across from Jessica, he asked, “Do you want to tell me what you saw? Don’t if it’s going to upset you.”
“I honestly didn’t see that much.” She downed half a glass of water before continuing. “I knocked on her door a few times. Heard the TV and got an uneasy feeling. Iwent around to the front window and saw her lying on the floor in a pool of blood. I must’ve screamed because a couple of neighbors rushed outside. One of them called 911. I didn’t even know what had happened to her until Morse told me someone hit her on the head with a heavy object. They haven’t identified the murder weapon yet. Nothing left there with blood or hair on it. I didn’t even know if she was dead, although it sure looked like it.” She punched a fist into her palm. “Why? Why target Ashley at this late date? She couldn’t tell the cops anything last time, and she knows nothing about the current murders.”
“Where was Denny?”
The waitress interrupted them, and they ordered their food and drinks.
“I don’t know where Denny is. Thank God I didn’t find his body, too.” She chewed her bottom lip. “I hope he’s okay.”
“They might be looking at him for Ashley’s murder.” Finn held up a finger as Jessica opened her mouth. “Think about it. This is his second murdered girlfriend. What are the odds? The police don’t have anything to tie Ashley to the Kitsap Killer slayings. She’s not a student, doesn’t work on campus, didn’t know the victims.”
“She was Tiffany’s roommate.”
“And Denny was her boyfriend. I’m just throwing him out there as a suspect. You know they’ll be looking at him.” He thanked the waitress for his beer and waved off the icy mug. “How are you doing? Take a sip of your wine. Maybe it’ll put some color back in your cheeks.”
She pressed a hand to her face. “Do I look that bad?”
“You look tired and frazzled and a little green around the gills. Did Morse and Deputy Harris grill you?”
She followed his advice and took more than a dainty sip from her glass. “What do you think? They suspected that the Kitsap Killer had given me another exclusive, like I’m a freakin’ reporter instead of a forensics analyst. Michael, my boss, got in on the fun, too, calling the station while I was there for further questioning.”
“Did you tell them about the Cold Case website and Ashley’s posts? The Hunter’s private chats?”
“I told them all of that.” She swept her glass over the table, and her white wine sloshed inside dangerously. “I think I lost them at Queenie.”
“I’m sorry, Jessica. I think you need to back away for a while.”
“You’re probably right, and Michael just extended my involuntary vacation, but I can’t help thinking I’m the only one who can crack this. The Kitsap Killer is reaching out to me for some reason—whether or not he killed Tiffany. He’s taking risks by contacting me. He left his comfort zone by murdering Ashley. He’s going to make a mistake.”
“If he does, Detective Morse will catch it. Let the police handle this. If you had shown up at Ashley’s while he was there—” Finn shook his head “—he’s already shown he’s willing to hurt you to protect himself.”
“I know you’re right. You’re all right. I’m going to give it a rest tonight and email the PI about my brother instead. She must’ve thought I lost interest.”
The food arrived, and Jessica busied herself with tossing dressing into her crab salad and asking for another glass of wine. At least her appetite had returned, and she’d lost the haunted look around her eyes.
She even stole some fries from his plate, and he pretended to object.
As they finished their meal, Finn checked his phone. He still had grading to finish and online classes to plan.
Holding up his phone, he said, “We should’ve stopped before dinner to pick up a new phone for you. Everything will be closed now.”