Page 37 of Dead Man's List

Julie closed her eyes. “Goddammit. Her mom was always nice to me.” When she opened her eyes, they were full of misery. “Carol called me the day after I saw Shelley here at the mall. Begged me to help her. She knew Shell was using again. Ace dragged her back into it.”

Kit wondered what else Ace had done. They’d have to find him. “Do you know his real name? It’s not Ace Diamond.”

Julie rolled her eyes. “Of course it isn’t. The guy is as stupid as they come. Never was good for Shell. His name is Calvin Livingstone. Works at a butcher shop. He was her supplier. I’m sure of it.”

“We’ll find him,” Kit said. “Thank you. Can I see your texts?”

Julie opened her phone and handed it over. “Go ahead.”

Kit scrolled through the recent texts, noting the last one. “She texted you on Tuesday afternoon. Wanted you to go clubbing with her. You said you couldn’t afford it.”

“I said that because I didn’t want to go. Mostly because shewas using, but I didn’t want to get into a fight with her, so I told her it was because of money.”

Kit glanced at Sam. “Shelley tells Julie that she was coming into some cash and wanted to treat her.”

“That cash is what got her killed, isn’t it?” Julie asked sadly.

Almost certainly,Kit thought. “We don’t know,” she said, giving Julie back her phone. “But we’ll find out.”

Sam pressed a business card into her hand. “My boss is a good therapist. Call if you need someone to talk to. I can’t talk to you because I’m working this case, but Dr.Carlisle will.”

“I’ll think about it. I’ve got to get back on the floor.”

“Thank you,” Kit said. “We’ll be in touch if we have more questions.”

“I hate doing that,” Sam said when they were out of the store and could finally hear themselves think again. “How do you manage it?”

“I keep Snickers bars in my desk drawer,” Kit said. “Sometimes chocolate is the only thing that soothes the sting.”

“Where are you going next?” Sam asked.

Kit wished she had time to buy him dinner, but she didn’t. “I have to get back to the precinct. Connor and I still have a ton of interviews to do and I need to get this login information to the computer guys. Are…are you gonna be okay?”

Sam nodded. “Yeah. I think I’ll stop by Shady Oaks. I haven’t seen Georgia and Eloise in a week. I’m overdue.”

Kit smiled up at him. The elderly ladies at the retirement center were two of her favorite people. “Give them my best. Tell Georgia I still want to be her when I grow up.”

The old lady was grumpy as hell, but wicked smart. And she adored Sam.

Sam chuckled. “She’ll love that. Call me if you need me again.”

“I will. Be safe, Sam.”

“You too.”

She watched him walk away, her stomach going all fluttery again. He was a very handsome man to begin with, with his dark hair and green eyes. And his Clark Kent glasses. But he looked equally good from behind.

Which was objectifying him, but somehow Kit didn’t think he’d mind.

San Diego PD, San Diego, California

Sunday, January 8, 6:00 p.m.

“I heard you pulled the Munro case.” Detective Bruce Goddard folded his tall frame into one of the chairs in the conference room that Kit’s team had commandeered. “Can’t say I’m jealous.”

“We aren’t happy about it,” Connor said glumly.

“Same,” Kevin Marshall grumbled, and his partner Alf Ashton grunted his agreement. Marshall and Ashton were the two detectives whom Navarro had assigned to run down leads on the Munro murder. And now the murders of Shelley and her mother Carol.