Sam wrote down the numbers as Freddie stepped into the room with a paper he handed to her and a bottle of water he put in front of Wes, who didn’t seem to notice it.

A Patrol officer came to the door with a tearful young man. “He’s here for Wes Hambly.”

Sam nodded and gestured for Wes’s brother to come into the room. Like Wes, his brother had dark hair and eyes.

Wes shot out of his chair and met his brother with a sobbing hug.

“This can’t be happening,” his brother said.

“I saw her. It’s real. I can’t…”

Sam gave them five minutes before she cleared her throat. “I’m so sorry to have to do this right now, but as I said to Wes, the early hours of a homicide investigation are critical.”

Chapter Eleven

The two men released each other and wiped their faces.

“Your name?” Sam asked the brother.

He sat next to his brother. “Brecken Hambly.”

“And you’re in college?”

“Yes, I followed my brother to American.”

“What year?”

“Sophomore.”

“And you’ve been in class this afternoon?”

“Yes, since two.”

“Aren’t you on winter break?”

“We can take intensive classes during the break, and I’m taking two. One of them started today.” He glanced at his brother. “Why?”

“Ruling you out,” Wes said with a world-weariness he most likely hadn’t had before Sam and Freddie had shown up with soul-crushing news.

“Oh, okay. Yeah, I was there from two until about twenty minutes ago.”

“Is there someone who can verify that?”

“I have a friend who’s in the class I had this afternoon.”

Sam pushed the notebook across the table. “Write down his or her name and number for us.”

Brecken did as she asked and then returned the notebook to her.

“Wes said he can’t think of anyone who Audrey might’ve had a problem with in recent days or weeks. How about you?”

Brecken rubbed his palms on his jeans. “Wes would certainly know better than I would, but no, I haven’t heard or seen anything unusual recently.”

“When was the last time you saw Audrey?”

“Last Sunday,” Brecken said. “We watched football at their place, like we do most Sundays. Audrey always makes us snacks.” His voice caught as he seemed to realize that would never happen again. “When I came to college, she helped me set up my dorm room and went to the store to buy me stuff she thought I needed.” He wiped away a tear. “She was very sweet and made me feel at home here.”

Sam ached for the violent loss of such a wonderful young woman. “Talk to me about her family,” she said to Wes. “You said she’s the only child of a single mom, right?”

“Yes,” Wes said.

“Any family members—cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents—she was close to?”