“Yeah, she told me that. The woman was picked up at Kennedy’s apartment on a day we both know Kennedy should have been out of town. And drugs?” He shook his head. “Nah, I don’t believe that. Did they do the fingerprints on the woman? Or anything else to ID her other than you?”

“They found her wallet,” Deven said, suddenly remembering. “They said the ID matched Kennedy with that woman’s picture. But they’re going to run some more tests. One of the officer’s said the fingerprinting would only come back if it matched in the public database. They’re going to do a toxicology and some other stuff, but I don’t know how long it would take.”

“Yeah, too damn long. We got to go.” Benji was already getting up and fishing in his pocket. He pulled out three twenty-dollar bills and tossed them on the table between their untouched dishes.

Deven slid from the booth. “What do you mean? Where are we going? To the police?”

“Kennedy’s apartment,” he said. “I’m thinking there are some answers there.”

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Deven was already prepared to drive away. She was sure Kennedy’s apartment would be barricaded with crime scene tape or something (though she wasn’t sure an actual crime had been committed). Or at the very least, cop cars or news trucks swarming the complex. She was surprised to find none of the above. It looked like a typical afternoon with no signs of any unusual activity. Deven didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. Then, she had to remind herself that Kennedy wasn’t some kind of prominent figure, except in her eyes. So, there would be no manhunts, no press conferences, no news stories covering what had happened. To everyone else, Kennedy’s life and death weren’t important enough to warrant media coverage.

Deven pulled her car behind Benji’s rental SUV and scanned the parking lot. Part of her almost expected to see Kennedy strolling up the sidewalk headed to her building. Sorry to worry you guys, she would say with a smile as she stood with her hand tenting her eyes from the sun. That was all a big misunderstanding. Deven knew it was just wistful thinking.

Benji was waiting at the door once she climbed the stairs to the second floor of building B. “You got the key?” he prompted.

She didn’t say anything, only reached in her purse for the key Kennedy had given her after she’d moved in. As she put the key in the lock, she suddenly felt nervous. A dead woman had been found here. What would they find?

Benji noticed her hesitation. “You okay, ma?”

Deven forced a nod and turned the key, the lock popping open with a resounding click. The door eased open without so much as a squeak.