Page 26 of Accidental Murder

“I had an ex-boyfriend who did the same.”

“She got a restraining order.”

“Huh. He didn’t mention that.”

Kayla shifted in the chair. “Why did he come to the crime scene?”

Hanrahan cocked her head. “He told me Kayla was important to him, and whether or not the relationship with her was over, he wanted to see her murder taken care of in the proper way.”

Kayla stood and smoothed the wrinkles from her skirt.

Hanrahan rose, too. “You don’t think we have the right guy, do you?”

“You believe you do.” Kayla adjusted her purse strap. Coolly, she said, “Thank you for all your efforts on my sister’s behalf.” She headed for the exit.

“Ashley, wait.”

“Yes?”

“The datebook. We didn’t recover it. Are you sure it was there?”

Last time I checked,Kayla thought. “Yes.”

“I’ll have my people make another pass.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Megan watched Ashley Macintyre retreat.What an enigma she was. Unlike other models she’d met, Ashley seemed exocentric, if such a word existed. She cared about others, not only herself. Sure, she could have killed her sister, but why?

Someone tapped Megan’s shoulder. She whirled around and sneered at Rodrigo. “I hate when you sneak up on me.”

He snickered and perched on the corner of her desk. “FYI, I’m not sold on Ventano.”

“Who else is on your radar?”

“Ashley Macintyre.”

Megan folded her arms, surprised the idea had occurred to him, too. “Convince me.”

“I heard the name Macintyre before, so right before Ventano showed up, I did some checking. Turns out the father was pretty well off. He was an in-demand architect who designed primo estates in the Seacliff area. He also had a hand in the redesign of Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate Park.”

Strybing, one of Megan’s favorite places to visit, contained a vast array of trees, flowers, and walking trails. Something was in bloom every week of the year.

Rodrigo added, “He worked on a few unique buildings in Chinatown, too, and a number of restored buildings on Nob Hill. But get this, good old dad is dead.”

“Ashley told me.”

“Car accident about a year ago. Someone rear-ended his Volvo, sending the sedan careening off a cliff. No witnesses.”

Megan nodded. “The neighbor, Mrs. Tennyson, mentioned Ashley’s mother and brother were killed in a vehicle-related accident, as well. No witnesses. No convictions. Personally, that would make me pretty ticked off at the police.”

“Or was Miss Macintyre ticked off at her family?”

“She was a teen when her mother and brother died.”

“Yeah, but not her dad, and Papa was on his way to what you might call his finest hour. He’d been hired to redesign the Hunt House.”

Megan whistled. Every architect in California must have applied for the position.