Page 25

FAITH

M y phone rang just as I turned into the station parking lot. Laura was finally calling me back after I’d tried her twice last night. Work could wait a few minutes. Sharing my news could not.

“Finally! I was beginning to wonder if you’d been kidnapped,” I chided.

“Sorry about that,” she said, “I had a hot date.”

“Tinder or Bumble?” I asked, since Laura was a dating app expert.

“Hinge. You should try that one.”

I told you, dating apps are useless in the Keys. It’s too small. But it turns out I didn’t need one. I had a hot date too.”

“What?!” Laura shouted so loud I recoiled, pulling the phone away from my ear. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

I couldn’t stop smiling, and felt like a giddy high schooler. “Believe it or not… Coulter Rodman. ”

“The one you said was off limits since he’s a suspect?”

“He’s no longer a suspect. New evidence cleared him. I went to give him the good news and ended up spending the night… and all day yesterday,” I blurted before sucking in a deep breath.

“Holy shit! That’s awesome, Faith. He’s a hottie, and he seemed like a really nice guy. That’s a rare combination.”

“You’re telling me,” I chuckled, “I’m the one who hasn’t had a date in over six months.”

“He’s a catch!” Laura said, before adding, “and so are you. I bet he knows that though. He was obviously into you on New Year's Eve.”

“I tried not to let myself think about him that way then.”

“Yeah,” she chuckled. “Aside from the possibility that he killed his ex-girlfriend, I thought he seemed perfect for you.”

I laughed. “I never thought he did it, really, but it’s good to have proof. And yeah, he’s pretty damned perfect.”

“Well…are you going to give me the deets on the hot date or do I have to extract them from you?”

I reached for the car door handle with one hand, balancing the phone on my shoulder while I grabbed my purse with the other. “I’ll happily tell you all about it, later. I’m on my way into work and I’m already late.”

“Alright,” Laura whined, “but promise me you’ll call as soon as you get off work.”

“I promise,” I said, kicking the Charger door closed with my heel .

The sun was shining and the birds were singing. I was on Cloud Nine, practically floating into the station.

“Morning, Louis,” I smiled, dropping a paper sack on his desk.

“Guava pastry?”

“Two of them,” I winked.

“Thanks, Detective. You’re a sweetheart.” Louis cocked his head, eyes narrowing. “You look…different. Did you do something different today?”

My cheeks grew warm. “Must be the facial I got yesterday.”

“It definitely worked,” he said with a broad grin. “You’re glowing.”

I struggled to maintain a straight face. “Well thank you, Louis. You’re the sweetheart.”

He smiled sheepishly. “Detective Ramirez is waiting for you in the conference room.”

“Good,” I said with a wink. “Enjoy the pastries.”

“Howdy, partner,” I said to Oscar, realizing immediately that I sounded far more chipper than my normal self. I’d better dial it back a notch. “How was your trip to Tally?”

“Long, and boring,” Oscar said gruffly. “Next time I’m sending you instead.”

I told him I’d be happy to go in his place. It’d sure beat the hell out of having to go with him and his negative attitude. But I was determined to focus on the positive news. “Did you see the DNA results? ”

Oscar didn’t even look up from the stack of papers he was shuffling on his desk. “Yeah, I saw them. Doesn’t help us much unless CODIS turns up a match.”

I blinked at him, dumbfounded, but he still didn’t bother looking up.

“This is the first solid piece of direct evidence we have in this case. It proves that Kylie had physical contact with someone before she died.” Despite my effort to keep my voice calm, it rose in pitch.

“And now we know for sure it wasn’t Coulter Rodman! ”

Oscar finally lifted his gaze, annoyed. “Faith, I know you really want to, but we still can’t rule Coulter out as a suspect,” he said, expression hard, jaw set.

“But the DNA doesn’t match,” I argued as calmly as I could manage.

“That has to mean something.” Detective Ramirez had apparently learned to abandon all reason at the symposium in Tallahassee.

In the whopping 15 minutes he had been in the station, he had completely shattered the peace I’d found in the Everglades with Coulter.

“There’s more than one way that DNA gets under fingernails,” he said with a sleazy look in his eyes.

I didn’t even try to hide that my face was surely showing exactly what I was thinking: What the fuck?

Was he suggesting that the deceased had dug her nails into another man’s back, despite all the evidence that suggested that she was a devoted fiancé planning her wedding?

My face flamed with fury. Oscar wasn’t a detective.

He was a fiction writer–and a bad one at that.

“Seriously?” I asked, my mouth hanging open. “There’s absolutely no reason to think what you’re implying. ”

His thin lips pursed under his mustache, feigning innocence. “I’m not implying anything. I’m saying that there’s more evidence implicating Coulter than there is exonerating him.”

So, despite evidence to the contrary, he wanted to continue to build a case against Coulter. Rage boiled up into my throat. “I’d love to hear what the DA says about that.”

“The DA is a buddy of mine, Detective.”

My mouth gaped. Nothing like pulling the small town boys club card. “Must be a really good buddy to put his ass on the line for such a flimsy case.”

“It’s not flimsy,” Ramirez insisted. “All the circumstantial evidence points right at Rodman. Breaking into the victim’s house. Fingerprints in the mother’s house that was ransacked. And he’s got motive for days.”

I blinked at him, incredulous. “The mother confirmed he helped her move a couch months ago, which would explain the few prints on the scene.” I shook my head, disgusted. “You’re ignoring the real evidence and focusing on the circumstantial, and you know it. Is this some kind of vendetta or what?”

Ramirez leaned forward, eyes narrowing. “All the reasons I have for going after him are in the evidence, Detective. The only bias here is yours,” he seethed. “You’re defending him because you got too close. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s guilty as sin.”

I clenched my fists, and bit back my instinct to call him a pig-headed idiot. The fact of the matter was I had gotten too close, but only after the evidence cleared him. “I’m not defending the guy because I like him. I’m defending him because the evidence shows that he’s innocent. ”

“Look, Faith,” Ramirez sighed and rubbed his temples. “We have to take all the evidence into account when we build our case. You know that. What upsets you is that we have a solid case against Coulter Rodman.”

The walls were closing in around me and crumbling to rubble at the same time.

This couldn’t be happening. I drew in a deep breath, mustering composure.

“What upsets me is that you seem hellbent on convicting an innocent man. If we want to solve this case, then we should focus on finding the man whose DNA was under Kylie’s nails. ”

“You’re the one who’s not being objective,” Ramirez mumbled. It took everything I had not to lay into him. Thankfully I controlled myself, so the Sheriff didn’t see me losing my shit when he swung the conference room door open.

Sheriff Bennett nodded, his face stern. “Detectives, Kylie’s funeral is this afternoon. You two should attend, see if anyone unusual shows their face.”

“Good idea,” I forced a smile, hoping to will the pulsing vein on my forehead into submission. “We will keep our distance, out of respect for the family.”

Oscar just nodded, his jaw clenched tight.

“No need for that,” Waylan sighed. “My sister will be happy to see you both. No one wants you to solve this case more than she does.”

There were at least a hundred people milling around outside the Island Community Church, but I spotted Coulter immediately, with an auburn-haired beauty on his arm.

I might have been jealous were he not also surrounded by his brothers and father.

Must be Ava. All the Rodman boys were the spitting image of their father, and they all seemed uncomfortable in their coats and ties.

Like fish out of water. Ava bore only a slight resemblance to them, and looked far more comfortable in her designer dress and pearls.

Coulter caught sight of me and our eyes met briefly before we both looked away and I pretended he wasn’t there. I couldn’t let my feelings show, this was not the time or place.

After the crowd filed into the church, I followed Oscar inside to the back pew.

Funerals are normally somber affairs, and this one was no different, but it was an especially stark contrast to the usually-colorful Keys atmosphere.

The dark clothing, the faces etched in grief, and the hushed tones gave me a chill.

Baskets of white lilies adorned the altar where Kylie’s mother and stepfather stood by the closed casket. Mournful music mixed with the sounds of Doreen’s sobs as they received condolences. Ed stood stoically at her side, exchanging hugs with the steady stream of mourners as they passed.

“That looks like the fiancé.” Oscar nodded toward the dark-haired young man approaching Kylie’s mom. He had puffy, red rimmed eyes, like he’d been crying all day. But even with a tear stained face, there was no mistaking him for the smiling young man we’d seen in the engagement photos.

“Yeah, that’s Jake Thompson.”

Watching the procession of friends and family paying their respects was almost endearing were it not so tragic.

A lump formed in my throat when Coulter approached Doreen, wrapping her in a strong embrace.

Her shoulders shook as he held her. After several seconds, they broke apart and he followed his sister who waited for him.

Glancing at Oscar, I saw him squinting to watch Coulter’s reaction. “Cool as a cucumber,” he said smugly, as though it proved his point. This was not the time or place to argue about it, so I bit my tongue.

After the service, Oscar made a beeline for Jake. I jogged to get ahead of him and run interference. The man had no filter, and these people were grieving. “Mr. Thompson, I am so sorry for your loss,” I began, trying to keep my voice gentle.

“Thank you,” Jake sniffled. “Did you know Kylie?”

“I’m Detective Pierce, this is Detective Ramirez. We’re the officers investigating her death.”

“Oh,” he wiped his eyes. “Good. I hope you find the asshole that did this.” His lips pressed together but they quivered anyway.

“I know this isn’t the best time,” I said softly, “but we need to ask you a few questions about the day Kylie died.”

“Of course.” Jake frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was in Minnesota with my family. Kylie wouldn’t put her foot down and insist on the time off at the Lorelei because so many other employees were out for Christmas.”

“I understand,” I said, shooting Oscar a look that I hoped he’d read as intended–pleading for patience. Turning back to Jake, I said, “There’s a call to you on her phone that morning. How was she? Anything strange about that conversation? ”

“No, nothing,” Jake replied, dabbing at his puffy eyes. “She was her usual bubbly self. Talked about flowers for the wedding.”

Oscar couldn’t contain himself any longer, oblivious to Jake’s pain. “We need you to come down to the station for fingerprints and a DNA sample. Standard procedure to rule you out.”

Jake hesitated, seemingly confused. “I was in Minnesota.”

“As my partner said, it’s just procedure,” I said, touching his forearm empathetically.

Jake lifted his gaze, tears brimming in his eyes. He nodded, resigned. “Of course, anything you need.”

“Can you come by the station tomorrow then?” I held out my card. “Call me, and I’ll meet you there. It will just take a few minutes.”

“Thank you, Detective.” He tucked my card in his pocket and turned away, immediately surrounded by friends and family.

“You ready?” Oscar asked. “I still have to finish my notes.”

“Yeah, let’s go, I don’t see anything suspicious.”

Oscar let out a sarcastic huff, his gaze turning toward Coulter.

I was grateful he kept his thoughts to himself for the time being.

After paying our respects to Doreen and Ed, we headed back to the car.

I peeled my button down shirt away from my chest, fanning myself while I waited for Oscar to unlock the doors.

Even winter in the Keys wasn’t cool enough for these uniforms.

I took off my suit coat and was stowing it in the backseat, when I heard a tentative voice. “Detective? ”

“Yes?” I stood and turned, one hand on the door.

“Um, Jake told me who you were. I’m Amber, Kylie’s best friend. I was wondering…Have you figured out who did it?”

“Hi, Amber,” I said, extending my hand, “Detective Ramirez. Doreen told me about you. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” she sniffled. “Are you going to catch who did this to her?”

“We have a few leads,” I said cautiously.

“Have you talked to that Coulter Rodman?” Amber turned to glance in the direction of where the Rodman family was still gathered outside the church. “He’s bad news.”

I stood up straight. “Coulter? Why?”

Amber’s expression hardened, and I caught sight of Oscar smirking as he made his way around the car.

Amber’s eyes darted as she stepped forward, lowering her voice.

“I think he was abusive. There was this one time they got into a huge fight at his shitty apartment on Coral Way. It was so loud the neighbors called the cops,” she said, hands on hips.

“He got hauled in for domestic violence.” Her face contorted in disgust. “Of course the charges were all dropped. His dad’s friends with the Sheriff, you know. ”

My heart sank, but I maintained an even tone. “When was this?”

“Christmas break… must’ve been our junior year. We were back from UM for the holidays.”

“What did Kylie say happened that night?”

“She didn’t say much,” Amber said bitterly. “She refused, changed the subject every time I asked. I was so glad when she broke up with him. She was so much better off with Jake.”

Oscar glanced over, I could see the ‘I told you so’ in his eyes. Coulter was innocent, I knew it in my bones. But with the mounting evidence against him, time was running out to prove it.