Page 47 of Kiss of Deceit

“Adella.” Hadley frowned. “I don’t know her last name.”

It took everything to curb my shock. “The woman who works at the bar?”

“Yes.”

Interesting. I had no idea that Adella liked women, especially after she’d admitted that she and Kole hooked up in the past. Harry didn’t bat an eye at her answer, so I guessed it was something he already knew.

“Was Jillian seeing anyone?” I asked.

“Not that I knew of.”

I gave her a warm smile. “Thanks, Hadley. We’ll call if we have any other questions.”

She threw Harry a dark look before standing up and leaving the small room. I leaned back against the uncomfortable metal chair, stretching my arms above my head. After my altercation with Tristin yesterday, I hadn’t been able to fall asleep.

The fact that he knew I was the last one to see Lucas was giving me more anxiety than I’d anticipated. When I walked into the station today, he didn’t even look at me. His jaw was bruisedfrom Kole punching him, but when Harry asked him what had happened, he just said it was an accident. Which I hoped meant he wasn’t going to admit our conversation to anyone. Not that he had proof of anything, but I didn’t need anyone pointing fingers at me after Jillian was murdered. Tristin left his own marks on my neck when he grabbed me, but it wasn’t anything that concealer couldn’t cover up.

“Who’s next?” Harry grumbled, scanning the paper in front of him. “We need to fix the damn camera, so I don’t have to sit here all day.”

“Two of her coworkers are coming in,” I answered.

“Remind me again of the medical report,” he ordered, rubbing his temples.

I reined in my annoyance as I looked at the report again. Ever since working here, it was clear that Harry was lazy. Even with this horrible murder, he didn’t want to take any responsibility. He would be absolutely no help in solving this.

“The autopsy isn’t finished yet,” I told him for the second time today. “We did learn the cause of death was a stab wound to the heart. She wasn’t killed near the statue, since there was no blood other than the words. No prints on the weapon as of now. No DNA was found on her, but they are still working. We probably won’t have the official report for a week or so.”

It didn’t help that the doctor doing the autopsy had never done one before. Apparently murders didn’t happen here, so the medical examiner job had never been filled at the clinic.

“When will the state officials be here?”

My question had Harry’s eyes snapping to mine. “They won’t.”

I frowned in confusion. “What?”

“Why would they?”

“Because you don’t have the resources,” I said slowly. “No medical examiner to do the autopsy thoroughly. No detectives?—”

“You’ve never lived in a small town, have you?” he cut me off with a sharp laugh. “We don’t need outside help. We handle our own shit.”

“This isn’t just some random death,” I argued. “This was a calculated murder. With a stolen knife, and a note that has me guessing that it’s going to happen again.”

“That’s why you’re here,” he shot back. “Are you saying you’re not qualified for the job?”

Anger surged through me. “Of course, I am. But I don’t have a doctorate in psychology. This is aninternshipfor a reason.”

“If you help catch the person who did this, then I’m thinking you’ll have no problem finding a job in the real world.”

I raised an eyebrow. “In the real world?”

He stiffened slightly. “This place is cut off for months during the winter. It’s nothing like a normal city.”

A knock at the door halted our conversation, and Natalie stuck her head in. “The interns from the clinic are here. Ready for them?”

“Yes,” Harry answered, not hiding his impatience. “Let’s get this done.”

“Want me to get Kole?”