“What about the gas station on the corner?” I ask.

“We’ve looked at their video and didn’t spot anyone who matched up with this guy.”

“We have a vehicle anywhere that might be his?”

“No. This is all we’ve got so far.”

Still, this is something. This could very well be our man. “Can the lab enhance it?” I ask.

“Hopefully,” Bob says. “I’m sending it over.”

CHAPTER 15

Molly

LAKEN AND CAL SIT AT MY KITCHEN TABLE AND, UNLIKE ME, LOOK every inch in control of their lives. They are both strong and athletic. Laken, despite resembling a runway model, was a state tennis champion when she was in high school and then played on her college team. She and Cal ski, sail, skate, you name it. I sometimes envy their fortitude. I was on my high school swim team but didn’t collect many medals.

Laken has a loud, funny laugh, and it feels good, but strange, to hear her. It occurs to me that I haven’t heard anybody laugh since Saturday night. We’ve all gone along on tiptoe, whispering and sobbing quietly into wads of tissues.

Her boys run around the house, making laps from living room to foyer to dining room to kitchen. Laken grabs Liam (or is it Logan?) by the collar, and he skids to a stop.

“Enough! You guys take your dinner in the other room and watch TV, okay?” She removes slices of pepperoni pizza from one of two boxes on the table and lays them on paper plates.

“I’ll get the boys settled,” Cal says, going to the fridge, filling two glasses with milk.

They troop into the other room, and the TV comes on. Channels switch until landing on some loud kids’ program. Laken blows out an irritated breath. “Sorry, Molly. The sitter was busy tonight.”

“They’re fine.” They are too. A distraction.

Laken fills a paper plate with salad and adds a slice of veggie pizza next to it. I do the same and pour us each a glass of red. Cal returns and gets another beer from the fridge and joins us at the table.

“Have the cops found anything, Molly?” he asks.

“Not that they’ve told me.”

Cal heaves a breath and takes a long sip of his beer.

“They think it was a robbery maybe?”

I shake my head. “Who knows? Jay didn’t talk to you about anything, did he? Anything bothering him?”

“I really hadn’t spoken much to him the past couple of weeks. I’ve been really busy at the lab, and Josh . . .”

Laken throws him a look.

“What?” I ask.

“Josh’s been calling out a lot. And when he’s there, his work is less than stellar. I’ve been kind of focused on that situation.” Cal rubs his fingers over his eyes, making his glasses bounce precariously. “I shouldn’t talk about this. Maybe something is going on with him. Maybe he discussed it with Jay.”

Laken swallows, sips her wine. “What’s that got to do with who killed Jay? I’m sure Josh will get things sorted out, Cal. His sister’s got cancer, you know. Maybe that’s weighing on him. I don’t think it would be the best time to fire him.”