Page 47 of Don't Say a Word

Someone knew. The more I thought about it, the more I believed that someone had been with Elijah when he died. Was that person guilty of indifference? Or murder?

Chapter Fifteen

Jack Angelhart

Jack stayed out of his mom’s way.

More than an hour had passed since Margo declined Ava Angelhart’s call, and she hadn’t called back. Ava grew angrier with each passing minute. He told himself he wasn’t hiding in his office; after all, he’d left the door open.

Tess had texted the family chat that she was working from home this morning, so Jack didn’t have a buffer with their mom. Still, he was surprised that it took Ava an hour before she stepped into his doorway to vent. “YouknowMargo called you about Lena Clark’s murder so she didn’t have to talk to me.”

“I know,” Jack said.

“You should have told me last night.Sheshould have called me. I can’t protect her if she doesn’t keep me in the loop.”

“Margo doesn’t need protecting, not on this,” he said.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“It’s what you said,” Jack countered.

Mom and Margo approached the same job differently. Ava was smart and methodical, a linear thinker who relied on tangible evidence. Margo was just as sharp, but trusted her instincts. Like abloodhound, she followed her nose, shifting course easily when the trail changed. She cared about evidence, but focused more on context and how people acted and reacted.

They both knew what Mom would’ve said last night if Margo told her about her conversation with Lena: Contact the detective, give her information. Ava believed in full transparency. Margo wasn’t dishonest, but she preferred to hold her cards and let others show theirs first. It was an effective way to get people talking.

“I’m concerned,” Ava said. “I know you and Margo are capable, but perhaps it would be better to let the police handle it.”

“We’re not investigating Clark’s murder,” Jack said.

“Yet, Margo has found herself in the middle of the investigation simply because she spoke to the victim minutes before she was killed. I don’t know what the conversation was about, or if Margo has any suspicions about why someone would kill that poor woman.”

“We need to debrief,” Jack concurred, “but Margo’s in the field and I think we let her do what she needs to do.”

Ava sighed. “Very well. I just want to make sure that we’re covered, but she hasn’t returned my call.”

Aw, the crux of the problem. Jack and Tess had worked with their mom for three years. He knew her pet peeves—she wanted to be in the loop with all the details of every case. It wasn’t that she micromanaged—she didn’t tell them how to do the job unless they asked for advice—but she didn’t like being in the dark.

Margo had worked with them for three months, and his sister would not share info until she was good and ready.

“WhatisMargo doing?” Ava asked.

“I haven’t talked to her this morning. She intended to find Elijah’s friends before school and go from there.”

“Where’s Theo? He’s supposed to be working Tuesdays and Fridays, correct?”

“He’s helping Tess with research. Mom, Margo has been a PI for eight years, she knows what she’s doing.”

Iris called over. “Ava, Rita’s on the phone.”

“Tell Auntie I said hi,” Jack said as his mom walked down to her office.

He had talked his mom down. Yes, she worried about all of them, but everything around Margo was still a bit prickly. He hoped things smoothed out over time, because he liked working with his sister. He needed to help restore the balance so Margo didn’t walk away.

Jack went back to researching the subject of the last subpoena he had to serve today.

The office doors opened and in walked Detectives Rachel King and Jerry Chavez.Oh, shit, Jack thought. Did King have the Lena Clark homicide?

Iris approached the detectives. “Hello, may I help you?”