This house, the only one occupied.
Ellen opened the door, jerked her head to the side to indicate they should come in, but she didn’t speak.
Garrett opened the storm and he and Mike went through, following Ellen into the living room.
As he went, he took in as much as he could.
The place was nice. Clean. Furnished a helluva lot better than Garrett’s condo.
Pride there.
Pride in taking care of a house that the owners were probably so upside down on, it’d take decades to get right side up.
Pride in the travels the occupants had taken to Disney World, Atlantic City, the Sears Tower, and more, these declared through the snow globes, plastic banks, and other cheap souvenirs displayed throughout the home.
Also pride in family. Framed pictures everywhere and more shoved into the edges of the frames or propped up against them. Pictures that held the image of the woman pacing the room. Some men. Other women. Relatives. Friends.
And pictures with the woman sitting dead in a pool of her own blood in a compact car at the curb.
Garrett took in the woman pacing. She was still in her pajamas. The family resemblance was unmistakable. Dark hair. Curves. Olive skin. Fine features. But definitely older, at least by a decade. Wendy Derian appeared to be in her late twenties; this woman was in her late thirties or even having hit her forties, and she took care of herself like she did her house.
She didn’t stop pacing when they hit the room.
She also didn’t stop muttering. “Knew it. Fuckin’ knew it. Knew it with that dickhead. That dickhead douchebag. That dickhead douchebag asshole loser. Fuckin’ knew it.”
She might know whatever it was she was muttering about, but she had no clue Garrett and Mike had joined her and Ellen, that was how far she was in her head.
And her anger.
Which meant the grief hadn’t hit her yet.
This was unusual. It had to have been over an hour since she called it in. Grief was mighty. It typically powered through the initial anger easily…and quickly.
This was also good. It was difficult to get statements from sobbing, hysterical people.
Angry people let it all hang out.
Garrett looked to Mike to see Mike’s eyes on him.
“Ms. Derian,” Ellen called. The woman jerked to a halt and turned narrowed, pissed off eyes on Ellen. “This is Lieutenant Garrett Merrick and Lieutenant Mike Haines of the Brownsburg Police Department. They’re here to ask a few questions about this morning.” Ellen turned to Garrett and Mike. “This is Marscha Derian.”
“Thanks, Ellen,” Mike muttered.
Garrett caught Marscha Derian’s dark brown eyes, held them, and communicated with his own.
So when he said unemotionally, “We’re sorry for your loss,” even though it didn’t sound it, she might understand he meant it.
“Yeah,” she spat. “Me too.”
She didn’t understand he meant it. Nothing was penetrating her rage.
“Would you like to sit down? Get a cup of coffee? If you don’t have a pot going, we can make one,” Mike offered.
“No, ’cause, see, got three brothers, another sister, and my mom and dad, which means I got a shit-ton of calls to make today and I’m not lookin’ forward to any of ’em,” she bit out. “So I just wanna get this done and want you to get that shit,” she tossed a hand toward her front window, “outta here.”
That shit.
Nope, the grief hadn’t hit her yet.
Either that or she and her sister weren’t the best of friends.
Garrett and Mike exchanged another look, then both of them pulled out their notepads and pens.
Hold On
Kristen Ashley's books
- Holding the Dream
- Dance Upon the Air
- High Noon
- Moon Island(Vampire Destiny Book 7)
- Illusion(The Vampire Destiny Book 2)
- Upon A Midnight Clear
- Son Of The Morning
- MacKenzie's mission(MacKenzie Family Saga #2)
- Loving Evangeline(Patterson-Cannon Family series #1)
- A Billionaire's Redemption
- A Convenient Proposal
- A Dishonorable Knight
- A Headstrong Woman
- A Passion for Pleasure
- Atonement
- Beyond a Doubt
- Beyond Control
- Cavanaugh on Duty
- Colton's Dilemma (Shadow Breeds)
- Conceal, Protect
- Conflict of Interest
- Confessing to the Cowboy
- Dreams Don't Wait
- Explosive Attraction
- Find Wonder in All Things
- Forbidden Fires (Bondage & Breakfast)
- Galveston Between Wind and Water
- Game On
- Gone with the Wolf
- Honor's Players
- Illusions of Love
- Intaglio Dragons All The Way Down
- Just One Song
- Living London
- Lone Wolf (Shifters Unbound)
- Love Resolution
- Lyon's Crew
- Mountain Moonlight
- Need A Want Companion Novel
- Of One Heart
- Once a Bad Girl
- Once a Thief
- Once Again a Bride
- Once and Again
- Once Touched, Never Forgotten
- Once Upon a Kiss
- Once Upon a Prince
- One Desert Night
- One More Kiss
- One More Sleepless Night
- One Night of Misbehavior
- One Night Standoff
- One Texas Night
- Only Love (The Atonement Series)
- Operation Endurance
- Primal Bonds
- Questions of Trust A Medical Romance
- Reflection Point
- Retribution
- Savage Redemption
- Second Chance
- Secure Location
- Someone I Used to Know
- Son of a Preacher Man
- Soul Bonded
- Sunset Seduction
- Sweet as Honey (The Seven Sisters)
- Sweet On You
- Tempting Cameron
- That Carrington Magic
- The Bridgertons Happily Ever After
- The Demon's Song
- The Dragon and the Pearl
- The Lone Rancher
- The Millionaire Cowboy's Secret
- Translation of Love
- Twisted Perfection
- Vision In White
- When Love's Gone Country
- The Lost Tycoon
- Down on Her Knees
- Love, Your Concierge
- A Demon Made Me Do It
- Campbell_Book One
- The Lady of Bolton Hill
- Born to Ride_A Clubhouse Collection
- A Question of Honor
- Blood on Copperhead Trail
- Passion and the Prince
- Top Secret Twenty-One
- Dungeon Royale
- Make Me Bad(Private Lessons)
- My Fair Billionaire
- Writing Our Song:A Billionaire Romance
- Kissed by Moonlight
- Redemption in Love
- The Masterful Mr. Montague
- Diamonds are Forever
- Every Second with You
- If You Only Knew