Page 58 of Dead Love

But that didn’t mean that this was any better.

Once I entered Quiet Meadows, Catie handed me a stack of papers I had forgotten the previous week. Just then, the door to the front of the funeral home opened, and the clack of boots ricocheted down the hallway.

“The wake doesn’t begin until this afternoon,” I said.

“It’s too early, even for the family,” Catie said, raising her brow.

“Always a pleasure to see you, Miss Catie,” Officer Andrew’s voice called down the hallway. I clenched my jaw. Andrew needed to get a life. “Is Erickson in, by chance?”

I went past Catie and stood in front of Andrew. “How can I help you, Officer?” I asked. “I believe Regina James is too old to be an Echo victim.”

“You’re right. But she’s not why I’m here.” He tipped his imaginary hat, then stuck his thumbs in his belt loops, his gun visible to his side. “I’m here regarding Miss Kora Nova. Has she been around these parts lately?”

Blood thrummed in my veins. Catie flinched beside me, the words itching to come out of her. I held onto the hope that she had enough loyalty to me to withhold the answer.

“I hear she ran away from home,” I said plainly.

“Doesn’t appear so. Her mother says she was kidnapped.”

“You’d have to be a child to be kidnapped,” I corrected. “Kora is an adult.” Whether or not her parents believed that.

“You two are on a first-name basis, then?” Andrew forced a smile. “You are correct, though, Erickson. Always a clever man.Abducted,then.” Andrew turned his attention behind me. “What about you, Miss Catie? Have you seen or heard of Miss Kora in these parts?”

“Kora?” she asked, her voice rattled. “Who’s that?”

Andrew pulled out a picture from his pocket. In the photograph, his arm was around Kora, her shoulders shrinking underneath him. That bastard knew she was uncomfortable in that picture, the fucking prick. My jaw ticked.

“You might recognize her. Her mother, Miss Shea, has been calling every news station to find her daughter. Here’s the interesting part, though: one of the last places she was seen, was here. At your fine establishment.” He tilted his chin at me.

“Was she attending one of the Echo victim’s funerals?” Catie asked.

“Yes, ma’am. Nyla Nerissa, her best friend.” He crossed his arms. “I knew Miss Kora well. And I am sure you might have heard, but they found Echo in the Nova house. Seems that Miss Kora could have been murdered. Or—” Andrew faced me, “—someone thought it would be a fine idea to steal the girl away from her bed while she slept.”

“Or, she found an opportunity to run away,” I said. “If I’m remembering correctly, you and her father were the only men she was ever allowed to speak to.” I shook my head. “It’s a shame that she didn’t tell you anything before she left.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Precisely, Erickson. And that’s why I have always had the urge to protect someone as—” he paused, thinking of the word, “—asdelicateas Miss Kora.”

She might have been delicate, but she was more powerful than he could imagine.

“You seem to be awfully interested in Kora,” I said.

“It is my job. And my duty as an officer. Cut the bullshit, Erickson.” He sneered. “I know you’ve got her.”

I smiled at him. This was fun. “I have no idea of what you’re talking about.”

“Then you don’t mind if I look around?”

I spread my hand out before him. “Look away, Officer.” I had nothing to hide.

He strolled through the funeral home, whistling. The break room. The crematory. He went into Catie’s office, then mine. Next, he knocked on Lee’s locked door.

“Is this where you keep her?”

I unlocked Lee’s office, and he glanced inside, satisfied. Finally, he checked the viewing room.

He had found nothing. His jaw clenched tighter, and he stared at me.

“I know more than you think, Erickson,” he said. “And I suggest, if you want what’s best for you, then you let Kora go and stop us from adding another charge to the list we’re accumulating for you. Think of it this way.” He smiled. “A warning. Friend to a friend.”