Silenced by Allison Brennan Read Free Book Online

less experienced on a homicide investigation than either Noah or Slater, she looked at the crime scene far differently than most cops. And here, Noah methodically searched and assessed what he saw, but Lucy pictured Wendy living here. If she really had.
    Of course she did. She has a cat. Makeup. Medication.
    Something she said to Noah came back to her. When he’d said his apartment was just like this, she’d been flip that he was never there because he worked so much.
    She turned around, almost ran into Noah. “Excuse me.”
    “What are you looking for?”
    Frowning with concentration, she went through each drawer in the closet, every article of clothing. The suitcases. She went back to the bathroom, looked through the drawers again.
    “How long did her affair with Crowley last?”
    “According to the media, a little over a year.”
    “And he’s never been here?”
    “I have no idea,” Noah said. “They could have stuck to hotels.”
    “More likely for him to be recognized going into a hotel in DC, don’t you think?”
    “What’s your point?”
    “She’s here, but she’s not. She doesn’t work here, she doesn’t bring men over here—there is nothing in her bedroom, closet, or bathroom that is masculine. No forgotten shampoo, socks, tie.”
    “You said she was OCD.”
    Lucy didn’t realize that Noah had heard her talking to herself. “I suppose … but no pictures? No mementos? How long has she lived here?”
    “The manager is pulling her records and security tapes.”
    They walked back to the living room and Josh Stein stood in the middle, his lips a tight line. “Slater told you I would be here, and you’re already done with the search? This is my case.” He glanced at Lucy, but addressed Noah. “I don’t think you understand the sensitive nature of our pending investigation.”
    Next to her, Noah straightened his spine, the tension rolling off him, but physically she hardly noticed the difference in his stance.
    He put his hands out, palms up. “It’s yours, absolutely. Slater called in the tech team to access the computer, we needed to secure the apartment and do a cursory search.”
    Stein seemed irritated that Noah hadn’t argued with him. “Find anything?”
    “She’s a good housekeeper, and she likes her sex toys.” Noah gave Stein a wry grin. Lucy had never seen him joke, but she could see the humor wasn’t in his eyes. Josh Stein, however, didn’t seem to notice.
    “I’d expect no less from someone like her.” He chuckled and glanced around the spacious living room.
    “S—” Lucy stepped forward, furious, but Noah stepped in front of her and cut her off immediately.
    “Kincaid,” he said sharply, “find a neighbor who will take the cat.”
    She bit back her anger and walked out without comment.
    She stood in the hall a moment to calm down. Someone like who ? It took two to have an affair. Two to play sex games. Why was it always the female who was ridiculed and blamed? Alan Crowley was just as responsible for the affair, and he was solely responsible for the lies he told to cover it up. Would Josh Stein be making cracks about Crowley if he’d been the victim?
    And Noah had started it.
    I’ll handle Stein.
    Lucy breathed deeply, held it, and slowly let it out. Noah had never been crude, it had to be part of his plan. If Stein cut them out, the case would be all about political corruption, not the brutal murder of a twenty-five-year-old secretary.
    Lucy knocked on each door on Wendy’s floor, but no one answered, not unusual for mid-morning on a weekday. She went downstairs to the security office to see if they could house the cat until next-of-kin came to pick up her belongings. She reached into her pocket to text Noah, then realized he still had her phone.
    “Agent—?” The manager, a sixty-year-old woman with gray hair and sharp blue eyes, questioned Lucy.
    “Lucy Kincaid,” she said, extending her hand.
    “Betty Dare.” She handed her a tape and file.