Rachel held up a hand. She smoothed the man’s shirt, and he visibly quivered. She leaned in close. “I think you and I might have more to talk about later.” She gave him a coy smile.
He grinned and backed away, almost stumbling but not falling. He turned and hurried from the room.
“What a newb,” Seth said.
“He might be useful. Don’t alienate people like that, Seth,” Rachel said.
“He hit on you, on the job, while your brother is being detained for murder. Idiot.”
Rachel paced the room and then said to Luke, “Give me your computer.” She settled in and started typing while the rest of the family got involved in different conversations.
Rachel was singularly impressive. Obviously, her facial scars hadn’t hurt her confidence.
Emily noticed Eve still by her side and said, “She’s amazing.”
Eve smiled. “It seems like she’s recovering. I hope so. She hasn’t left the house much since the accident.”
“I was so sorry to hear she got burned last year.”
Eve nodded. “It’s been rough. She was a model in college. She’s never put much stock in her beauty, but it’s still rough to feel like you’re deformed. She always wanted to go into family law and we thought she was going to start at Harvard last fall but … something happened.” Eve gave her a chagrined smile. “Sorry I’m saying too much, but I worry about her.”
“No worries. Thank you for trusting me.” Emily could understand Eve worrying about her sister. Rachel seemed so capable and confident but Emily could imagine it would take a very strong will to get back to ordinary life after an accident like Rachel had experienced. The hair in front of her scarring was a pretty telling sign that she might not be dealing with it as well as she appeared to be.
Emily excused herself to go to a corner of the noisy room and call Mylee and check on Krew. Before she could push the number, she felt someone close and turned.
Rachel was staring at her. “Could Caleb have hit your ex hard enough to kill him?”
Emily shrugged. “He hit him hard, and quite a few times, but it would’ve had to be a fluke for it to kill him. Jeff wasn’t unconscious or anything and walked away on his own. He’s had many, many worse hits to the head.”
Rachel’s lips pursed. “I need to find people who might know what Jeff was up to, what he stood to gain from accusing Caleb.”
“Well … me,” Emily admitted. “Who knew his reasons because he didn’t seem to love or even like me anymore but he also didn’t want to let me date anyone else. We were fighting about custody of my son. He knew I had …” She lowered her voice and admitted, “Kissed Caleb, and he was bitter about it.”
“That’s all pretty natural, but not a reason to kill himself and frame Caleb.”
“You think …” Her stomach churned.
“What else? Who are his friends?”
“He’s gotten so angry lately, I don’t know that he has any friends.”
Rachel lifted an eyebrow. “Everybody has friends.”
Emily tried to think. “When we got married our senior year of college, he was this big, friendly athlete, but he has had so many concussions with football that it changed his personality. He started lying back in college about the symptoms or pain when he got hit, so they only diagnosed the ones that were really obvious with him puking or passing out. Anyway, I think he hangs out with some of the other football players. Let me look through my contacts and send you who I can find info on.”
“Okay, or even just any names you think of. I can find their info,” Rachel said confidently. She didn’t walk back to her computer, even when Emily pulled out her phone and started typing a list in her notes and scrolling through her contacts. She included some of the neighborhood people, like Vivian across the street, who always treated Jeff like he walked on water.
“Emily.” Rachel’s voice was low, beseeching.
“Yes?” She glanced back up.
“Do you know who Jeff’s doctor is?”
“Well, we had a family doctor we both liked, Dr. Gussman, that he might still be going to, and then there’s the team doctors.”
Rachel’s eyes lit up with excitement but also cunning. “Gussman will know who Jeff changed to if the records are moved, and I have a contact with the Broncos.” She smiled. “Text me that list. I think it might be time to talk to my new friend, though.”
Emily watched her go back to her computer, tap away, make some phone calls, and then leave the room, apparently in search of the young officer. The poor kid wouldn’t know what had hit him with the likes of Rachel Jewel using him for help.