“Thanks,” Laura said, taking a note of the name and the details. “And how long ago did you last see him?”
“Oh, I think it was at the start of last summer,” Caleb said.
“So, about four or so months ago?”
“No, I mean last summer,” Caleb said. He had the grace to look a bit sheepish. “More like a year and four months.”
Laura set her pen down. “That doesn’t seem as promising as we might wish,” she said, choosing her words carefully. She didn’t want to put him off telling her things he did know, because any lead could be a lead. “But thank you for bringing that to our attention. It’s something we can keep in mind as we go forward.”
“Sure,” Caleb said. He glanced down into his mug of coffee, spinning it slowly between his fingers for a moment. Then he carefully looked up, as if he wasn’t sure he wanted to make eye contact for the next part. “Actually, I kind of thought it might be a bit out of date. Truth is, I wanted to see you again.”
Laura blinked at him. She wasn’t even sure she had heard him right. “Sorry?”
Caleb broke out into a grin, which was accompanied by a very slight flush, as he looked away and out across the café. “Uh, yeah. It was a stupid idea, I guess. I just felt… drawn to you, somehow.”
“Drawn?” Laura repeated, then shook her head as she realized she was probably starting to sound a bit like an idiot. “I mean… what do you mean?”
“I can’t explain it,” Caleb shrugged. “It was just a kind of… a flash of inspiration. Being an artist, you know, sometimes inspiration just strikes you in ways you can’t explain. We have to get more in tune with our intuition, you know. Follow our guts.”
“You wanted to see me again… to help with your acting?” Laura said, not sure if she was following him correctly. Inspiration from nowhere – that, though, she could identify with. Except there was a lot more to her inspiration than she usually let on.
“No, no,” Caleb said, laughing self-consciously. “Sorry, I’m probably not explaining this right. I wanted to see you. Like, as in, maybe after this case is done, we can go out and get a drink together.”
A drink?
Something in Laura wanted to accept, but there were many reasons why that would be a bad idea. First of all, he was a suspect in a murder inquiry, and even though his alibis appeared to clear him, Laura still hadn’t had them checked out. And even if he did have alibis, it didn’t mean that he couldn’t be somehow connected to the case, perhaps as an accomplice.
Secondly, she should not be going out to get a drink with anyone. Not an alcoholic drink.
And thirdly…
“I’m not from Seattle,” she said. “The FBI kind of sends us where we’re needed. I actually live closer to the national headquarters.” She refrained from quite saying the name of the location. Of course, it was only a Google search away from being easy to find, but you couldn’t be too careful. At least this answer was vague enough that she could be from any one of the towns or cities around Washington, D.C., not just the city itself.
“Will you be going back home right away?” Caleb asked, still toying with his coffee cup. It was kind of cute. The way he’d been smooth and charming, and yet had a little bit of bashfulness when trying to ask her out. “I’d really like to see you when you’re not, you know. Chasing down a murderer.”
Whatever thoughts she might have been having were chased out of her head fairly easily by that. The thought that, yes, there was a murderer still to be found. And if she didn’t do it, it wasn’t likely that anyone would for a while, because there was too much legwork for Nate to do alone. Which meant she had to concentrate – and, yes, try to get home as soon as possible.
“I don’t know,” Laura hedged, sipping her coffee. “It depends on what the case demands. Whether we have to stay and help them prepare for trial after the case is solved. Sometimes we’re away for weeks or even months, sometimes just days.”
“Then, maybe we’ll get lucky,” Caleb said, smiling over the rim of his coffee cup. “I’d love to help out more if I can, too. I’ll let you know if anything comes to mind. Don’t hesitate to call me if there’s something I can help with.”
“Sure,” Laura said, about to say more, but her cell phone lit up from where she’d left it on the table. It was Nate’s number flashing up on the screen, and she grabbed it up to answer.
“Laura, you need to come and pick me up from the precinct,” Nate said, his voice urgent and clipped. “They’ve found another body.”
Laura ended the call immediately, leaping out of her seat before she even had time to lower it from her ear. She started to dig in her pocket for some change, but Caleb raised a hand. “I’ve got the coffee,” he said. “If you have to go, go!”
She nodded her thanks and turned to dash through the café and back to the car, her heart thundering in her chest at the knowledge that her worst fear for this case had come true.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Laura and Nate pulled up outside the house, only to find that the majority of the activity was focused on the sidewalk in front of it. There was an ambulance and several other police cars parked around, blocking their way. Laura swore under her breath and pulled up a little further down the road, managing to get parked in a position where they could quickly dash back to see what was going on.
“This isn't good, Laura,” Nate said as they got out. There was a brief pause as they both closed their doors, then hurried around along the sidewalk. When he caught up with her, he continued. “If this just happened, then it means we haven't got the right guy in custody.”
“You don't need to tell me that,” Laura said, her steps turning into a run as they drew close to the scene. Now she was wondering if she had made the right call about Caleb's lead. Yes, it had seemed inconsequential, and so long ago. But if they didn't have the right suspect in custody, then any lead was a lead, no matter how dubious. She was beginning to doubt herself in all kinds of ways, including whether she was ever going to get another helpful vision. What did she need to touch in order to get a glimpse of the killer?
Captain Mills was waiting for them, standing with his hands crossed over his chest and watching