Page 19 of Accidental Murder

Kayla peered through the glass. No one stood below looking up at the loft. No cops. No suspicious characters. She spun around. “Eve, it’s me. Kayla.”

“Don’t joke.”

“It’s true.” Kayla crossed to her friend. “Somebody killed my sister, and the police think I’m dead.”

“You’re alive? For real?” Eve clenched Kayla in a hug and abruptly pushed her away. “OMG! What a jerk I am. That means Ashley’s dead. Why have you dressed like her?”

“Because I’m pretending to be her.” Kayla explained about the fire, finding Ashley, the busted computers, and her interaction with Inspector Sergeant Hanrahan. “Everyone mistook me for her because she was in my clothes for some reason, and I was coming from the date.”

“You’ve got to tell them.”

“I can’t. Ashley said the killer asked for me. Said he knew my name. I need to find out who wants me dead. To do that, I need to pretend to be her. When I figure out the truth?—”

“Kayla.” Eve splayed her hands. “The police will protect you. They’ll solve this, you’ll see.”

“They didn’t solve my mother’s or brother’s deaths. They didn’t find the person who forced my father over a cliff. And did I mention Dennis Wald is now the head of Homicide Division?”

“Whoa.” Eve, not Ashley, had been the first person Kayla had confided in after Dennis lashed out at her. “You can’t think he?—”

“I don’t know what to think.”

Eve rounded the pass-through counter to the kitchen and pulled a mug from a cupboard. “Is Earl Grey okay?”

“Sure.”

Eve eyed her cell phone, which was lying on the counter.

Panic cut through Kayla. “Eve, please don’t call the cops.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to. However, FYI”—Eve put a tea bag into the mug—“you could be hauled in for impeding justice.”

“I know.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t a burglary like the news said?” Eve poured hot water from an electric water boiler into the teacup. Vapor rose in long streams.

Kayla was pleased with how rational her friend was acting. Maybe the journalist in Eve would take over, and she would help Kayla find answers. “I’m not certain of anything.”

Eve plucked a couple of napkins from a drawer. “Why would Dennis Wald want you dead? He loved you to distraction.”

“Because I rejected him.”

“And he would risk his entire career by offing you? Who else have you considered?”

“Because of the damage to the computers, I’m thinking it could’ve been one of my clients. I’ve been wracking my brain wondering whether I saw something or overheard a dark secret at one of their sessions.”

“If you did, the killer might think you told Ashley, and he’ll come after her . . . I meanyou. Please go to the police. Beg for protection.”

“I can’t.”

“Why trust me?”

“Because you and I have no history.”

“Ouch!” Eve joined Kayla in the living room and handed her the mug of tea. “No history? We’ve been friends for three and a half years. Together we’ve seen just about every classic movie ever made. I’ve even taken care of your cat.”

“What I meant was we don’t have history that involved Ashley or my family or my business. You don’t know any of my friends or clients. You don’t move in any of my circles.”

“Yeah, why is that?”