Page 23 of Final Approach

“Definitely. Where’s Kristine?”

“Still in the room.”

Andrew stuck his head in and found her on the phone. “Right,” she was saying, “got it. Thanks.”

She hung up and looked at him. “You probably have the same message on your phones that I just got. Marcus Brown died in custody about thirty minutes ago.”

SIX

While Nathan and Andrew debated their options as far as the investigation was concerned, Kristine tucked away her concerns about the suspension, walked into the break room of the detention center, and checked on Emily and Ethan via text. Their responses were immediate. Emily was finishing up some last-minute packing, excited about her upcoming cruise, and Ethan was headed into an important meeting. She told them both she loved them, then debated about texting her dad. She decided against it. While he was being quiet, she wouldn’t rock the boat.

Her rumbling stomach signaled the blueberry bagel had long ago been digested and it was time to find something to eat. She walked over to the guys. “I need food.”

Andrew raised a brow. “Real food or cheesecake?”

“Cheesecake is real food, thank you very much.” She bit the inside of her lip, then frowned. “What are you going to do now that Marcus Brown is dead?”

“Take what he gave us and pray it’s enough. We still have Colleen Pearson’s testimony. We’re still digging through everything in Marcus Brown’s life and hoping something will turn up that will clue us in to who was behind all this.”

“But why open fire on his home?” Kristine asked. “That’s just weird.”

“Unless it was a warning.”

“A warning about what? He’s already told you everything.”

“Or so we thought. Now I wonder if it was a warning for him to stay quiet or his family would die.”

“Well,” she said, then sighed. “We might not ever find out.”

“We’ll find out.”

She raised a brow at the certainty in his tone. “All righty then.”

He chuckled, then shot her a grim smile. “I just can’t see not finding the person—or people—responsible. I’m meeting a contact tonight to discuss the Serpentine Network’s possible involvement—” His phone buzzed, and he glanced at the screen with a sigh. “And on that note, cancel lunch for me. I have a family errand I need to run. Catch up with you later?”

“Of course. Everything okay with the family?”

“Headed to find out.” He left, and Nathan did the same with a small salute.

Kristine debated making a visit to the hospital. Technically, she wasn’t investigating, but what harm would it do to visit a woman who had to be drowning in grief?

She hurried to her car, swept through a drive-through, and ate the burger and fries before she turned into the hospital parking lot. She wanted cheesecake, but at least she wasn’t hungry anymore.

Five minutes later, she found Tabitha Brown sitting up in bed, sipping from a straw. Most of the remains of her lunch had been pushed to the side and she looked up at Kristine’s entrance. Recognition flared. “You were at my house.”

Kristine introduced herself. “How are you feeling?”

“Dumb. Thank you for getting me help. I didn’t realize...” She rubbed her eyes with both hands, then dropped them into her lap. “I just wanted to forget for a couple of hours. I made sure the children were taken care of and just...”

“Took too many pills.”

“Yes. Not to kill myself or anything, only to sleep. I just wanted my mind to shut off for a little while. Definitely not permanently.”

“Understandable.”

Tears flowed and she swiped at them with her napkin. “They told me Marcus is dead,” she whispered.

“Yes. I’m so very sorry.”