It was only a short drive to the Arnold home, and cars were parked up and down the suburban street. Cat paused to refresh her lipstick in the sun visor mirror before turning toward him.
“How do I look?”
“Absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous,” he replied.
He was completely serious. She made it hard to breathe. How on earth could one woman be that beautiful?
“You might be biased but thank you. Are you ready?”
“Let’s do this.”
As expected, it was a full house. Family, friends, neighbors. Tate recognized almost everyone, but there were a few unfamiliar faces. He assumed they were friends of Tyler’s from Seattle, as they were chatting with Greg, who had spoken at the service.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to talk to Winnie,” Cat said. “I won’t be gone long.”
“I’m going to grab a drink and go outside to get some fresh air.”
“Too many people?”
“Too many people,” he agreed.
Grabbing a water on the way, he headed for the patio doors to the back deck. There weren’t many people outside, one stubbing out a cigarette and brushing past Tate to return to the warmth of the kitchen.
“I don’t think he likes me very much.”
The voice came from behind Tate, but he’d heard it many times before. It was Finn, nodding toward the retreating figure of the man.
“He doesn’t like you? Is he avoiding you?”
“He is,” Finn agreed. “I arrested his brother about a month ago for cooking meth. He told me that I’m an asshole out to ruin a young man’s life.”
“What did you say?”
“I said that I wasn’t the one who decided to cook meth. It went over about as you’d expect. He hates me, and I guess that includes not wanting to breathe in the same oxygen.”
“You don’t seem bothered by it,” Tate observed.
“I’m not. Just part of the job. It’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last.”
Tate and Finn stood off to the side, where the hosts had set up a portable heater for those who came outside to smoke or escape the crowd.
“How is the investigation going to find who did this?”
“That’s a tough question,” Finn replied with a loud sigh. “We’re in the midst of it. The forensic team feels like they’ve pinpointed where the shots came from, and we have several suspects with no concrete alibi, but I don’t feel strongly about any of them at this point. They don’t have a strong motive for wanting to kill Josh.”
“Where did the shots come from?”
“There’s a group of large oak trees across the street,” Finn replied. “They think the shooter was hiding behind them.”
“The person who hit Josh on that road could have killed him that day, but they didn’t.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Finn agreed. “I’ve been thinking about it a hell of a lot. There was no one around. That vehicle could have simply backed up and taken another shot at Josh.”
“But they drove away instead,” Tate said. “Are you sure no one else was around?”
“That’s what Josh says.”
“Is he a reliable witness?” Tate queried. “He was heavily sedated at the hospital.”
