She lowered herself onto the chair, her gaze flickering over her new partner. His eyes had bags under them, his skin grayish. A pang of concern for her mentor overrode her curiosity about the criminal file. “You should have come to Italy with me.” She and Nat had originally planned to go together. But Nat had unexpectedly needed to replace her car, and could no longer afford the trip. So Kate went solo.

“Why is it I never take good advice?” Eddie’s tone was wry.

There was a tinge of sadness to his gaze that gave Kate pause. What was going on with her new partner? “Don’t worry. I plan to go back.” She kept her tone light, slipping a notepad from her briefcase, and pushed away a pile of papers on Eddie’s desk to clear a spot to take notes. “Okay, I’m dying to hear about our new client. What was she doing in Harry’s house?”

“His parents’ house,” Eddie corrected. He leaned back in his chair and absently patted his shirt pocket again. “And her parents don’t know why Leah was there.”

“Have you spoken to her?” The news report indicated the suspect was in bad shape in the hospital.

Eddie shook his head. “Not yet. She was under sedation this morning.”

“Does she have a criminal record?”

“Here’s where it gets interesting, Kate. She is clean as a whistle. Top student, scholarship, has a good job in information security.”

“Over-achieving millennial who turns to drug addiction and steals to finance her habit?”

“Either that…” Eddie leaned back in his chair. “Or she knew one of the Owens. And was in the house for a reason. She had darkened her eyebrows and hairline.”

Kate tapped a pen against her bottom lip. Eddie reached over, took it from her fingers and flipped it around. Then he handed it back to her. “You were giving your lips an interesting tattoo.” He gave it a critical eye. “Looks a bit like Alaska’s paw print.”

Just the mention of a tattoo made her skin crawl. Kenzie Sloane had left a permanent mark on her soul, even if it wasn’t outlined in ink. “I’m still jet-lagged.” She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Leah Roberts must know Harry. It seems unlikely she would know the elderly parents. And she’s in information security, right? He’s the Chair of the national Public Safety Committee.”

Eddie leaned toward her. “He is?”

“Ever since he gave Frances Sloane the brush-off, I’ve followed his career closely.” Kate arched a brow. “It’s amazing the kind of people who get ahead in politics.”

Eddie shrugged. “No one else wants the job. The trolling and attacks have gotten so vicious. Case in point. Have you checked out the social media trending today for Harry Owen?”

Kate shook her head. “I try to avoid all that stuff. It clutters my brain.”