“Uh… well…” She literally laughs. “First of all, you don’t get to tell me where to go or what to do. Secondly, I’m working. Melissa Boyd’s case is done on my end, and I had a new file come through. So that’s what I’m doing. What’s up?”
“I need to know Melissa’s blood type. You’d have that, right?”
“Sure.” She stops to think for a second. “O negative, I believe. Rhesus negative.”
“And the baby?” I try my luck. “I know we don’t have the baby, but could you pick anything up during autopsy?”
“Yeah, actually.” Her voice comes slower. “The placenta remained, so I was able to take a lot of data from there. Baby is A negative.”
“Which makes the father blood group A as well, right?”
“Right. Also means Melissa was administered Anti D somewhere in her second trimester so her body didn’t attack her baby’s blood cells. It also means the baby you’re trying to find now may be anemic, more so than normal. The sooner you find it, the better.”
“Doing our best. Where are you headed for your current case?”
“To the bay. And since we’re being all truthful and loyal and committed to each other, I’ll tell you now, I’m with a couple of cops who aren’t you and Fletcher.”
I chuckle. I’d prefer she was working withonlyme, but it’s best she has them there, holding guns and having her back. Just in case. “Stay safe onsite, okay? Get the body up, get your ass back to the George Stanley as soon as you can.”
“Why the rush?” I hear theclick-click-clickof an indicator. The rev of her engine as she moves around a corner and continues on. “What’s going on, Archer?”
Tell her? Don’t tell her?
Fabian was right, in that whoever the murder-suicide killer is, they’ve been local for weeks. There’s no logical reason to panic yet.
And still, to not tell her, to leave her a sitting duck, is unforgivable if something were to happen to her.
“I have reason to believe my family may be in Copeland.”
“What?”
“It’s just a hunch for now. Just a suspicion. But you and I are public record, Mayet. We’ve been too noisy, so I need you to stay alert. Eyes open. Be smart, and if at any point you have to choose between staying or running, you run, okay? No matter what.”
“I mean…” Her breath comes a little heavier now. “Okay. I’ll keep myself safe. But, Archer…”
“What?”
“If your family is here, they’re here for you, right? I’m not the one in danger.”
“I’ll take care of me as long as you promise to take care of you. If anything feels fishy, cut and run and get the fuck outta there. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“And by ‘take care of the rest,’ do you mean you’re gonna be the Cop Archer, or the Malone Archer? And if you’re the Malone Archer, then am I gonna have to be the Minka the cops are searching for?”
I glance across to Fletch, thankful I didn’t put her on speaker. “Like I said; cut, run, get the fuck out. That’s all you’ve gotta do. Do you understand me?”
“Arch—”
“Do you understand me?!”
I hate to snap at her. I’m an asshole for shouting when it’smyfamily causing this mess. But I need to know. I need to make her safe.
“Minka?”
“I understand you.” Growling, she goes quiet for a moment. “I’ll run the scene, I’ll put a rush on transport. I’ll get back to the George Stanley. Where are you right now? What’s your next step?”
“Melissa had a third fuckbuddy, so we just left his place.”
“A third?”