Never Happened by Debra Webb Read Free Book Online Page A

into her bag, thanked him and made her way through the maze of cold metal desks and warm bodies without stopping to chat with anyone. She wanted to get out of here and to some place where she could think. The idea that just yesterday Henson had been hanging out here had her on the verge of hyperventilating.
    A detective who looked vaguely familiar almost bowled her over as he bounded past her. Alex felt like slugging him but didn’t want the hassle. She needed out of here. She couldn’t breathe.
    â€œPatton,” she heard the cop who’d been in such a hurry say, “I’ve got the preliminary on that house explosion on Morningside.”
    Alex’s feet slowed. Maybe it was oxygen deprivation. Morningside? Wasn’t that where Henson had said the whiz kid lived? She lingered, wanted to hear the rest of what the detective had to say.
    â€œThey found a body, but it was burned so badly it’ll take some time to ID it.”
    Alex told herself she was probably overreacting.A lot of people lived in Morningside—this explosion could have nothing to do with Henson’s friend who lived there. It could be anything from a meth lab to a gas leak.
    â€œYou take a ride over there,” Patton suggested. “I’ll join you after my meeting.”
    Alex turned around, waited for Patton and the other detective to catch up to her. There was one more thing she had to know. “By the way, where was the scene of Henson’s crash?” The paper hadn’t given the location.
    Patton looked mildly annoyed that she had waylaid him or maybe the exhaustion was making him testy. “Over on I-95 near Hallandale. Why?”
    She shrugged. “Just wondered.”
    Patton eyed her suspiciously. “If you have other information, Jackson, I need to know. He was my partner.”
    She shook her head. “It’s nothing like that.” The white lie felt bitter on her tongue. She should just tell him. “I was just curious that’s all.” But she couldn’t. He already didn’t really believe her. What was it he’d said? If you think of anything else Henson said that might sound relevant…? Until she could make sense of this herself, she was wasting her time trying to clarify it to anyone else.
    â€œSee ya around,” he muttered.
    Watching Patton go, she realized what she had to do next. She had to know why Henson’s vehicle had been found way north of where he’d told her he was going. But first she wanted to know if a computer genius had lived in the Morningside residence where the explosion had occurred.
    She also wanted to know if the crime scene techs had found the contact lens in Henson’s car. Or if they’d found anything at all that suggested the accident wasn’t an accident.
    She wanted to know a lot. She needed enough to give Patton reason to consider Henson’s death suspicious. And since she wasn’t a cop, the chances of Patton telling her were slim to none.
    But she had her own sources and methods. Patton wouldn’t like it if he found out. She’d never let a man stand in her way before. She wasn’t about to now. She owed it to Henson to look into this. Patton wasn’t taking her seriously. He was preoccupied, she understood that, but he clearly thought what she’d told him was nothing of consequence. Convincing him might just be impossible, but she had to follow through, either way.
    She might not be a detective, but she definitely knew her way around the scene of the crime.
    All she needed was access.

CHAPTER 4
    Alex called her office as she climbed into her 4Runner. Shannon answered on the first ring. Alex waited patiently while she went through her Never-Happened-we-can-make-anything-go-away spiel. “Hey, do me a favor, will ya?”
    â€œI was just about to call you.”
    Damn. Alex didn’t have time to respond to a call right now. Not that she resented plenty of business, but this just