"We can do that, but I really don't remember packing up a half-dozen black notebooks. However, my mind was in a fog then, so it's possible I just thought they were class notes and no longer important. I haven't looked in those boxes in probably five years."
"Let's do it now. Are you hungry?" he asked. "We could pick up a pizza on the way to your place."
"Okay," she said, a little surprised he wanted to do it now. But that was probably because he didn't want her looking into Landon's boxes without him. "What do you think about what we just heard?"
"That we have more to figure out."
"Because I found AJ. I told you I could be a valuable asset."
"You did," he acknowledged. "AJ was helpful. But you still need to stay in your lane, Haley."
"I'm not very good at that," she said candidly. "And I hate to make a promise I know I can't keep, because I'll do whatever it takes to find Landon's killer."
"That's what I'm worried about. Becausewhatever it takescould put you in danger."
"I'm willing to take that risk. Why don't you get the pizza? I'll eat anything, and I'll meet you at my apartment in an hour or whenever you get there."
"All right. But if you get into those boxes before me, don't hide what you find. I'm on your side, Haley."
She gave him a long look. "I hope so, Matt. I really need law enforcement to step it up this time. I'll see you in a while."
As Haley got into her car, Matt headed toward his vehicle, already having second thoughts about suggesting dinner together. He wanted to see what was in her brother's boxes, but spending more time with Haley felt like a bad idea. They were getting too close to each other, too involved. She was a witness, and he was an FBI agent. They weren't friends. They shouldn't even be calling each other by their first names. But that wasn't what was bothering him the most; it was just—her. She was pretty and smart…fierce at times, vulnerable at others. And he found that both attractive and a little too dangerous.
He never mixed business with pleasure, not unless he was undercover, playing a role. But that wasn't happening here. He was himself. She was herself. And there was an unexpected attraction between them. He'd seen the recognition in her gaze when they'd bumped into each other in the escape room. But he wasn't going to act on it. And neither was she. They were investigating two murders: one old, one new. There was no time for anything else.
He needed to get his head together before they met up again, and the best way to stop thinking about her was to focus on the case. He believed that Landon's death and Sabrina's were tied together. But he didn't have the piece that connected them. What he did have was more information about Landon. Maybe he had to start in the past in order to figure out the present.
AJ had raised some interesting possibilities: Landon's passion project that might have been of interest to someone, and the cheating operation that had been part of the fraternity culture could have contributed to his death. A lot of fraternities seemed to be able to get their hands on prior tests and worked together to keep their GPAs high enough to avoid probation. But Landon's fraternity had had an even better option: a TA who was one of them, who could actually change grades.
Landon had balked at that request. That provided at least one motive for murder but seemed like an extreme resolution for a problem with a grade.
He pulled out of the lot and headed back to Santa Monica. About a mile away from the club, he saw Haley's car stopped at the nearest light, a black SUV behind her.
The light changed, and both cars proceeded through the intersection, as did he.
For the next ten minutes, despite several turns, the SUV stayed right on Haley's tail, and as Haley entered the Hollywood Hills, his gut tightened.
His phone rang, and he took the call on speaker.
"Matt?" Haley's voice was tight with tension. "I think someone's following me."
"So do I," he said grimly.
ChapterEight
"What should I do?" Haley asked. Her heart hammered against her chest as her gaze darted to the rearview mirror.
"Just keep driving for now," Matt told her. "It could be a coincidence. Leave your phone on."
She prayed it was just a coincidence, but as she navigated the twisty curves of the Hollywood Hills, the headlights of the car behind her loomed large in her rearview mirror, a constant, menacing presence.As she got deeper into the hills and away from the city lights, the road narrowed, with one lane in each direction, the canyon walls pressing close on either side.
"I don't like this, Matt. It's getting darker, and there's no one on this road but us."
"Just keep driving. Once we get through the canyon and into West Hollywood, we'll go somewhere very public and lit up."
"Okay," she said, forcing herself to focus on the road ahead. The guy behind her probably wouldn't try anything with someone else behind him, even if he had no idea it was an FBI agent. But as his lights suddenly blazed in her mirror, she realized he was very close.
"He's right on my bumper," she said, her voice rising in pitch.
