Page 57 of Accidental Murder
“We went to a movie on Sunday, whichwason the calendar.”
“Okay, given the deaths of the others, the killer or killers believe you learned vital info on Monday or Tuesday.”
Kayla darted to the foyer, retrieved Ashley’s black tote, hurried to the bedroom, and lifted the cell phone off the bed.
“I’d leave that,” Eve warned. “We’ll get you a burner phone.”
Kayla released the cell phone and reached for the laptop computer. She paused. Had it been compromised because she’d connected to the Internet? She abandoned it but collected the client thumb drives and her toolkit, stuffed them into the backpack along with the purse, and slinging the pack on, hurried to the front door.
A far distantmeowcarried down the hall.
“Crap! Java!” Kayla tore down the hallway, opening doors. “Here, kitty.” She hunted under cabinets, in the kitchen, in the closets.
Eve trailed her. “How did you acquire your clients?”
“I went to college with Jacob. My uncle introduced me to Trask. Sara Simmons hooked me up with most of my other clients, like Phyllis and Mary.” Kayla gasped. “What if Sara’s the thread linking them all together?” She shook her head, discounting her theory. “Except Sara didn’t refer Fred. He came through Cindy.”
“And how did you meet Cindy?”
Kayla swallowed hard. “Sara.”
Anothermeow.
“Java, show your face now!” Eve demanded. “Amazing how when you don’t want a cat, they’re underfoot.” She smacked her hands together. “Tell me again about Sara.”
“She was a bioethicist. She made it her mission to put a spotlight on bad practices.”
“Maybe you saw something on her computer.”
“I didn’t work on the internal part of her computer. Ever. The last time we met, I fixed a wobbly USB hub.”
“Something on her desk then.”
Kayla pictured Sara’s two offices, one at Wilkerson Hospital and the other at Bioethics Coalition. Because Sara’s computer at the hospital had been networked with the rest of the hospital computers, Kayla hadn’t needed to do anything to it. With all the latest updated software programs, the system had worked problem-free. However, because no instructional booklets had come with the computer and the tech people had been disinclined to teach Sara—a bioethicist was considered a nuisance—on occasion, Kayla visited Sara at the hospital to spruce up her skills with various applications. Sara’s personal desk had always been pristine, like her husband’s, with files in their places, papers in drawers, a picture of her darling daughter in full view. Sara’s computer at Bioethics Coalition had been another story. Working on a shoestring budget, all the coalition had provided was a dinosaur computer with insufficient memory, a weak modem, and a loose USB hub. On that desk, Sara had kept tons of papers regarding causes she’d been pursuing, but Kayla couldn’t have seen anything relevant to Ashley’s murder because she hadn’t visited the coalition’s facility in over a month.
“Java, here kitty.” Kayla entered the foyer and made kissing noises.
“Give up on the darned cat. He’ll be fine.”
“I can’t.”
Eve blew out a long stream of air.
“What if I overheard a phone call?” Kayla theorized as she crouched on her knees and patted the floor with her fingertips.
Java shot out of the kitchen and sprang into her arms.
“Finally,” Eve carped.
Kayla caressed the cat while assessing Eve for the first time since she’d arrived. Her face was wan, her eyes pinched. What had Kayla put her through? How could she continue to ask her for help? She rested her hand on Eve’s shoulder. “You’ve done enough. Go home.”
“No way. I’m in this as much as you now. You can’t get rid of me.”
Kayla froze. “Do you hear that?”
Footfalls on the front steps. The doorknob rattled. The cat collar jangled.
“Fire escape. Now!” Kayla pointed down the hallway. While running, she tried to shove Java into the backpack, but he squirmed out of her grasp and dashed into the kitchen.
