You Can't Run by Hope Davis (best way to read books .txt) 📗

the server had set in the center of the table. Naya did the same and passed the basket to Kevin.

“Hmm…would my brother deceive me? Nah! I don’t think that’s a possibility.” She bantered back, glad when she found herself smiling for real this time.

“But really. I don’t like what this case is doing to you. You’re starting to look as bad as me.” He motioned to his pale face and sunken eyes.

“Geez, thanks. I’ll work on that.” She rolled her eyes, she wanted to tell her family that another girl had just died and that was why she was late, but she couldn’t disclose that sort of information until the girl’s family had been notified.

The rest of dinner went smoothly, but Naya had been right, and Vance barely touched his half of the eggplant parmesan. She was positive she only saw him have two bites, if that. Kevin on the other hand, had somehow eaten almost all of his clam spaghetti by himself. It was quite the feat.

Naya thought her parents would ask for the check, but when the server came back, they ordered another bottle of wine instead. When Naya raised her eyebrow, her mother simply replied, “When in Rome” and patiently waited for the server to refill her glass.

It was already almost ten though and Naya had to leave. “Well, if you will excuse me, I’m going to head out. I’ve got a long day ahead.” She announced to the table as she stood, surprised to see Kevin stand too.

“I’ll hitch a ride back with you, if that’s okay?” When Naya nodded in agreement he turned to her father. “Can you manage the wheelchair on your own?”

“Yeah, we got it. You worker bees go ahead and get home.”

Naya gave her parents each a hug and headed for the door, Kevin wasn’t far behind. Once they were outside she turned to speak.

“I’m sorry.” When Kevin didn’t answer she elaborated. “For not answering your texts. Yesterday was rough and then today was worse. But thanks for being there, last night I mean.” She felt silly babbling and tripping over her words as if she was still a teenage girl.

“No problem.” He replied as they got into her car and left. “I get it. Life isn’t really going your way right now.”

“Still. I should respond to your texts. It’s disrespectful when I don’t.”

“It would be disrespectful if you were doing nothing, but you’re busy with work. And your work is important to the city. I understand.” He reached over and ran his hand gently along her arm. “I’m the last person you have to explain yourself too.”

“I appreciate that.” And she did, it was such a nice difference from her parents.

When they pulled up in front of the house, Naya turned off the ignition and took a deep breath, hoping some of the tension from her shoulders would release.

“Come on. Let’s go upstairs and I’ll give you a backrub.”

“How did you know?” How did this man always seem to read her mind?

“You were rubbing your shoulders all through dinner. Last I checked, I don’t think people do that sort of stuff unless they’re sore.” They stepped out of the car and made their way towards the house, Kevin using his key to unlock the door for her.

She smiled as he held the door for her then followed her in and locked it behind them. They walked up the stairs and Naya collapsed on her bed in exhaustion.

Kevin sat down next to her, patiently waiting as she rolled over on her side. Before she knew it his strong callused hands were making quick work of the knots in her shoulders and upper back.

“You’re so good at this.” She almost moaned as he worked out a particularly bad knot near her right shoulder blade.

“Thanks.” She could hear the smile in his voice.

Naya closed her eyes and could feel herself drifting towards sleep. She almost wondered if Kevin had offered the back rub in order to make his move, but if that were the case it would backfire, she would be asleep before that happened.

Just before she entered the world of dreamland, she heard a car door. Her parents and Vance must be home. Kevin stopped the massage and laid the throw blanket from the end of the bed on top of her since she was laying on top of the comforter. She wanted to thank him, but she was too close to sleep.

The last thing she heard was the creak of the top step as he headed down the stairs.

It wasn’t until Friday that the autopsy report landed on her desk. And it was a bit of a welcome relief to confirm what Atlas and she had already assumed.

Naya yawned as she read through the documents, it had been a long week with her parents in town. She has assumed they would spend most of their time with Vance, but they also seemed to want to spend an inordinate amount of time with her as well. And a case like this as well as family demands was messing with her sleep schedule big time.

She continued to skim the document, stopping as she noticed something she hadn’t noticed in the field.

“Puncture wounds?” She whispered mostly to herself.

“I thought the same thing.” Atlas pipped up next to her, either eavesdropping, or her whisper had been louder than Naya thought. “Two of them too. What do you make of that?”

“I think it solves our question of what he’s doing with the blood.” Naya jotted some notes down on a sticky note. “He’s not doing anything; he’s just disposing of it to hide evidence.”

“Which means whatever he is doing, could be seen in the blood.”

Naya pulled out her notes from the last two autopsy reports. “Can you call down and have them find