Page 84

“Well, for all her strengths, Isabel is quite the liar,” Delaney said delicately, and Raisa snorted.
“Her strengths?”
“She does have some,” Delaney said. “But she has no relationship with the truth.”
“You think she lied to me?” Raisa asked, dubious despite the fact that she’d just had that thought. “But she was right.”
“The two things aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive,” Delaney lectured. She had a tendency to do that, but it was actually a good reminder, so Raisa couldn’t begrudge it this once. “Maybe she knew Conrad hadn’t killed Shay, but she didn’t want to tell you how she knew. She needed to convince you, though, so she found something that would.” She paused, and then repeated the sentiment from earlier: “It’s easier when you know what to look for.”
“Why lie, though?” Raisa asked, not expecting an answer.
She didn’t get one. “I don’t know. But it might be worth figuring out. I know you have limited time ...”
Raisa rubbed her palm against her forehead, the pain brewing there just a wisp now. But she could see it becoming a thunderstorm. “I’ve got quite the list going.”
“Let me know if I can help with anything else,” Delaney offered, then seemed to stop herself from hanging up. “Oh, but I found one more thing to add to your plate.”
“Oh lord,” Raisa muttered. “Okay, lay it on me.”
“I got curious.”
“Yes, you mentioned that,” Raisa said.
“One of the extra things I did, because I’m brilliant, was run a check on any kids that might have fit Conrad’s trajectory. So, a child who was a sole survivor of a mass-casualty event,” Delaney said without acknowledging the interruption.
Raisa made an approving sound. It was similar to their other search.
“The match wasn’t perfect,” Delaney continued. “But it was interesting. There were two survivors, but four other family members died in the incident. It was close enough that my filters caught it. And then once I saw who it was ...”
“Am I going to recognize the name?” Raisa guessed, bracing herself.
“Yes, ma’am,” Delaney drawled. “It was Kate Tashibi.”
Kilkenny knocked on Raisa’s hotel room door ten minutes later, holding out a coffee with a chain’s logo on the cup.
Raisa took it gratefully. She could never drink the cheap swill hotels provided. “Bless you.”
“I don’t think I’ve thanked you for coming down here,” Kilkenny mused as she grabbed her bag and headed into the hallway. “I owe you a lot more than coffee.”
“You don’t have to,” Raisa said. “But I’ll never say no to coffee.”
“Or Four Roses,” Kilkenny said, nudging her shoulder. She laughed softly.
“Or that,” she agreed. She’d wondered if they would be awkward with each other, a twist on the morning after, where the vulnerability had come from sharing emotions rather than sharing a bed. But Kilkenny looked loose, almost relaxed, and she thought she might have actually helped.
She grinned into her cup and then filled him in on everything Delaney had shared.
“Kate,” Kilkenny murmured when she wrapped it all up. They were by his car now, and he fiddled with the keys. “Might explain her interest in Conrad.”
“Yeah,” Raisa said as they climbed into the SUV. They were headed to the prison for one last talk with Conrad.
Once Kilkenny settled into his seat, she slid him a look, trying to assess if he’d had the thought she had when she’d heard Kate’s name. The woman’s red flags were starting to add up. She’d manipulated them yesterday, lied to them, wormed her way into Conrad’s life and into contact with the original investigators—something Raisa knew Kilkenny had suggested might happen in his original Alphabet Man profile.
And now this.
Kilkenny’s expression remained thoughtful, but not shaken.
“So, do you think she’s our second killer?” Raisa asked when he didn’t say anything.