Page 21 of Ghost of You (Haunted Souls #24)

Cope had ordered enough pizza to last a month.

Mushroom and bacon was his husband’s favorite.

There was also pepperoni, which he and the kids loved.

After dinner, the kids had their baths and were now sitting on the living room sectional waiting for Jude, who was cleaning up the kitchen and putting the leftover pizza in the fridge.

“Dada!” Lizbet called when Jude walked into the living room. She climbed out of Cope’s lap and crawled into his when he sat down.

“Hi, little girl.” Jude kissed his daughter’s head. Lizbet wore a pair of bright pink footie pajamas. Her blonde hair had dried quickly and almost reached her shoulders. As much as he hated to admit it, his little girl was growing up. He wished he could stop time and just revel in this moment.

“Memo!” Lizbet sang out.

Cope started the movie. Wolf munched on his popcorn, while Jude snuggled his daughter. After what he’d witnessed during the last few days with the Frankie Adams case, he didn’t want to let Lizzy B go. All Jude wanted to do was shove the case to the side and spend a night at home with his family.

“Uh, oh,” Cope whispered, reaching for Jude’s hand. He pointed toward the front door five seconds before the bell rang.” “I’ll get it.” When he opened the door, Ronan and Fitz were standing on their doorstep. “Come on in. I’ll start the coffee.” With a sigh, Cope headed for the kitchen.

Jude set his daughter next to Wolf on the sofa and hurried into the kitchen. “Is everything okay?”

Ronan and Fitzgibbon took seats at the table. “Did some research on Angie Melton.”

“You didn’t have enough of this case already?” Jude asked. He’d left it at the door when he’d gotten home. They would be back at it again in the morning, but Ronan was never one to let things go.

“Something was bothering me about Angie,” Ronan began.

“You mean how close she seemed to Oliver today?” Jude asked. He’d been bothered not only by the way she seemed to be comforting Oliver, but by the cold manner in which she treated Frankie’s parents.

“No. Yes.” Ronan shook his head, looking confused.

“Which one is it?” Jude asked.

“Yes, I was upset about what happened at the funeral today, but what was bothering me happened a few days ago. When we got to Oliver’s house to interview him with Reagan Pryce present, Angie was there, which I thought was odd.” He paused to take a cup of coffee from Cope.

Jude could see where Ronan was going with his train of thought. “Oliver was the obvious suspect when Frankie’s death was ruled a homicide. I don’t know about you, but as Frankie’s best friend, I sure as hell wouldn’t be at the house of the man who had the most to gain by killing her.”

“Where would you have gone?” Fitz asked.

“To Frankie’s parents’ house,” Ronan said.

“I would have gone there when the remains were discovered and then again when the news broke that she’d been murdered.

” Jude paused. “In addition to showing up to support Dante and Sofia, I would have also brought food. Casseroles, chicken pot pies, lasagna.”

“Tell him what you found out,” Fitzgibbon urged.

“I ran Angie’s criminal record which is spotless.

No great surprise there,” Ronan said. “The big surprise came from Facebook. You all know I hate the platform. I would never share pictures of my kids or posts about being on vacation, but from a law enforcement perspective, the website is gold.” Ronan tapped his screen and handed his phone to Jude.

Nearly every picture Angie had posted was of her and Oliver. “These go back years.”

“Did you tell them what I saw at the funeral?” Cope asked, taking the phone from Jude and scrolling through the pictures.

“You mean the mini porno?” Ronan asked.

“Yeah,” Cope agreed. “I saw him having sex with several women, none of whom were Frankie. Which might not mean anything. His wife has been gone for four years. Those liaisons could have taken place after Frankie disappeared. I might get a lot more information out of him now that you all told him you were looking at Watson for the embezzlement and the murder.”

“Who do we see first tomorrow, Oliver or Angie?” Ronan asked.

“I have a feeling that where we find one, we’ll find the other, especially if we show up around eight. Oliver’s vet clinic doesn’t open until nine,” Fitz added.

“What about Angie, does she work?” Jude asked.

“Yeah, she’s a medical transcriptionist for a practice of pediatric oncologists. Angie works in the office on Monday and from home Tuesday through Thursday. I say we start with her first thing tomorrow morning,” Ronan said.

“Agreed,” Fitz said. “What else have we got here?”

“Frankie’s parents didn’t do this,” Jude said. There was no way they’d kidnapped their daughter, bound her, walked her into the woods and shot her execution style. Lizbet’s laugh from the other room reached Jude. The thought of harming one hair on her head made him sick to his stomach.

“I don’t think Doctor Holbrook did it either,” Ronan said. “Although I do want to talk to Oliver about accusing Frankie of sleeping with him.”

“Not to mention the way he tracked her phone,” Jude added. He couldn’t imagine wanting to pin Cope down like that. His husband had a life he loved, friends he spent time with, and things he liked to do without Jude. Who the hell was Jude to follow his every movement?

“It’s also not Ambrose Watson,” Cope added. “I could read him clear as crystal. He’s an embezzler and a serial cheater, but he didn’t kill Frankie.”

“So,” Fitz said, blowing out a frustrated breath, “all we’re left with is Oliver.”

“Who doesn’t want to talk to us without his lawyer being present,” Jude grumped.

“Not true!” Ronan rubbed his hands together like a cartoon villain. “When we spoke to him earlier about Ambrose Watson, he was more than happy to talk to us. I bet you a dime to a donut that we’ll find him with Angie, so we knock on the door and say we’re there to speak to her.”

Jude could see where this was leading. “We go in guns blazing accusing Angie of being the killer. She was jealous of Frankie being Oliver’s wife. Jealous of the baby.”

“Maybe Oliver agreed to stay with his wife because of the baby. We make Angie feel alone and abandoned,” Fitz said. “All we have to do is hope Oliver takes the bait.”

Cope snickered. “Oh, I can guarantee he will.”

Jude eyed his husband, knowing that his gift may have offered them the opportunity to solve Frankie’s murder. “Tell us, Cope!”

“Angie’s pregnant.” Cope paused. “We’ll just point out that Oliver killed his pregnant wife. I’m sure it won’t be too hard to convince Angie she and her unborn child could be next.”

“All we’ll have to do is sit back and wait for the fireworks to start.” Ronan was all smiles.

“Sounds like a plan.” Fitz got up from his seat. “Get some sleep. I want to knock on their door around eight.”

“You got it.” Jude followed behind his partners as they left the house. He hurried back into the kitchen where Cope sat wearing a self-satisfied grin.

“Good work,” Jude said, pulling Cope into his arms. “How the hell did you know about the baby?”

“A little bird told me.” Cope waggled his eyebrows.

“Let me guess, Bertha?” Jude chuckled.

“Yup.” Cope chuckled. “Apparently she’s been stuck to Angie like glue from the moment she left Oliver’s house the day we interviewed him. She sings to the baby. Angie is obviously very attached. Promise you won’t go at her too hard. We don’t want to put the child in danger.”

“The only person who’s going to be in danger tomorrow is Oliver.” Not only had Oliver killed his wife, but their unborn daughter. Jude would do everything in his power to make sure that same fate wasn’t awaiting Angie and her baby.