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Chapters (73)
  1. Goodbye to the Dead
  2. Also By Brian Freeman
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Epigraph
  7. CONTENTS
  8. PROLOGUE
  9. THEN
  10. 1
  11. 2
  12. 3
  13. 4
  14. 5
  15. 6
  16. 7
  17. 8
  18. 9
  19. 10
  20. 11
  21. 12
  22. 13
  23. 14
  24. 15
  25. 16
  26. 17
  27. 18
  28. 19
  29. 20
  30. 21
  31. 22
  32. 23
  33. 24
  34. 25
  35. 26
  36. 27
  37. 28
  38. 29
  39. 30
  40. 31
  41. 32
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. NOW
  46. 36
  47. 37
  48. 38
  49. 39
  50. 40
  51. 41
  52. 42
  53. 43
  54. 44
  55. 45
  56. 46
  57. 47
  58. 48
  59. 49
  60. 50
  61. 51
  62. 52
  63. 53
  64. 54
  65. 55
  66. 56
  67. 57
  68. 58
  69. 59
  70. 60
  71. 61
  72. FROM THE AUTHOR
  73. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

‘This ring came from a stash of jewelry stolen nine years ago,’ Maggie told him. ‘The husband of the woman it belonged to got his head blown off during the robbery. People have been looking for the jewelry ever since, Curt. And now it shows up in your hands? That’s not a good thing. It makes me think you needed money back then, so you drove up there with a gun—’

‘No way!’ Curt retorted. ‘You know that’s not my scene, Sergeant. No violence. Not a chance.’

‘So where did you get the ring?’ Serena repeated.

‘Okay, somebody sold it to me. I gave them fifty bucks. And then I sold it to the accountant for two hundred. That’s commerce. Nothing wrong with that. Although now I wish I’d asked for a lot more.’

‘Who sold it to you?’ Maggie asked.

‘Just somebody I know.’

‘Who?’

Curt winced. His wet hair was shiny. ‘Look, are you sure you guys want me to tell you? Because I don’t think Stride’s going to be too happy about this. You neither, Serena. If I tell you, don’t blame me, okay?’

‘What are you talking about?’ Serena asked.

‘The girl who sold it to me,’ Curt said, ‘it was your girl. Cat. She’s the one who had the ring.’

He repeated her name, and it echoed.

Cat Cat Cat Cat Cat.

51

51

‘I’ll talk to her,’ Stride said.

He studied the closed door to Cat’s bedroom at the front of the cottage. He was seated in his red leather chair near the fireplace, and Serena stood against one of the dark wood columns that framed the nook where the fireplace was located. They could hear music through Cat’s door.

‘Do you want me to do it?’ Serena asked.

Stride stood up. ‘No, I want to deal with this myself.’

At Cat’s door, he knocked and heard her young voice answer from inside. He opened the door. Cat’s bedroom was small, with chambered windows facing the street, and two twin beds on the left and right. Cat was stretched out on her back on one of the beds, working on a book of Super-Advanced Brain-Tingling Sudoku Puzzles. She always did them in pen.

It was a reminder to him. This girl was smart. She had a gift, if she ever wanted to use it.

‘Hey, Stride!’ she said happily.

Cat rolled off the bed and gave him a hug. She did that most nights when she saw him. He felt bad that he wondered sometimes about her sincerity. He didn’t doubt that Cat loved him and Serena, but love was a complex thing for a girl like Cat, who’d been caught up in years of guilt, shame, and fear. He didn’t know if she could love anyone without trying to manipulate them.