Alyssa extended her hand, mindful of the nervous energy emanating off Sandra beside her. ‘Detective Wyatt. We spoke on the phone.’ She tipped her head. ‘And this is Officer Falwin.’

Elizabeth gripped Alyssa’s hand, then Sandra’s. ‘Of course. Please come in.’ After closing the door, Ms. Monroe led them into a spacious room with a colorful burgundy wall. Scattered in a circle around a young boy were hundreds of Legos. His tongue poked out one side of his mouth as he studied the model in front of him.

‘Brandon, honey, my company’s here, so it’s time for you to head over to Nate’s now.’

Brandon’s head snapped up, his eyes brightening as he jumped up, whooping as he did. ‘Can I—’

Elizabeth’s smile removed five years from her face as she interrupted whatever her son was about to ask. ‘You cannot.’ She wagged her finger at him. ‘You’re eating dinner at home, so don’t go getting yourself invited over there.’

The freckles sprinkled across his cheeks and nose were accentuated by the way he crinkled his face. ‘Aw, Mom, it’s fish sticks Friday,’ he moaned.

Elizabeth raised her hand, stopping his protest. ‘It’s that or don’t go. You can always just take your Legos up to the loft to play.’

Brandon scuffed one foot, then perked right back up when a notification chimed on the phone that had magically appeared in his hand. ‘It’s Nate.’ He flipped his phone around for his mom to see.

‘Remember what I said, Brandon.’ This time Elizabeth’s voice carried a hint of warning as her son raced across the room.

‘Got it. Eat here not there. See you later, alli-greater!’ he hollered just before the front door slammed.

Elizabeth laughed as she moved to the front window, flicking the curtains back to watch her son run across the lawn to his friend’s house. ‘As a toddler, he could never pronounce alligator, and over the years, it just kind of stuck with us as our own inside joke.’ A few seconds later, the curtain fell back into place, and she turned back to them. She waved her hand to a navy-blue sofa. ‘Please have a seat. Is there anything I can get you to drink?’

Alyssa settled next to Sandra. ‘No, thank you.’

Simultaneously, Sandra shook her head. ‘You’ve got a handsome little boy there. You’re a single mom?’

A curtain fell over Elizabeth’s eyes as she answered. ‘Yes, I am. And thank you.’

Alyssa waited until Ms. Monroe settled onto a loveseat across from them. ‘I’d like to talk to you a little about the reason you hired Kensington Investigations.’ From the leather bag beside her, Sandra retrieved a notebook she’d snatched on the way out of the precinct, bringing a smile to Alyssa’s face because it reminded her not of herself this time, but of Cord.