Free A Dark Mind by T. R. Ragan

asked.
    “Precisely.”
    “I haven’t requested assistance because there is absolutely nothing to connect Jennifer’s murder with the cases currently attributed to the Lovebird Killer.”
    “For starters, Michael and Jennifer were a couple,” she reminded him.
    “And Michael Dalton is alive and well.”
    It was quiet for a moment before Greer added, “I would love to hand the Dalton case over to the feds. I have plenty of other work to keep me busy, but as things stand, there is too much evidence against Michael Dalton. Fingerprints on the knife used to cut her body. Fingerprints on the needle plunged into her heart. Tire tracks outside belonging only to Jennifer and Michael’s vehicles. Nobody else. Same can be said for footprints and fingerprints inside the home. The same superglue used to glue her eyes closed was found in Michael’s glove compartment. Neighbors saw Michael arrive. According to witnesses, nobody else came or left. Should I go on?” Lizzy sighed as she shook her head. “Is there any way I could talk to Michael?”
    Greer rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment. “There’s nothing I would like more than to get that man to talk to someone, but since his arrest, he’s pleaded the Fifth.”
    “Maybe if Michael knows I think he’s innocent—if he knows I’m on his side—he’ll agree to talk to me.”
    “It wouldn’t be a private affair,” Greer said matter-of-factly. “Your conversation would be taped…and that, of course, is only if he agrees to talk to you in the first place.”
    “I understand.”
    “I’ll see what I can do.” He stood and offered her his hand.
    She stood too. “Aren’t we going to the Daltons’ realty office?”
    His hands fell to his sides. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Lizzy.”
    “Come on, Greer, let me in the office for five minutes so I can show you exactly what she was doing the last time I saw Jennifer alive.”
    “Channel 10 News has been camped outside for days,” he said. “If they see you here, they may become even more disruptive.”
    She angled her head. “The media? Disruptive?”
    “It’s been known to happen,” he said with a sparkle in his eye.
    “I know you don’t eat well,” she said, glancing at his half-eaten pastry, “but worrying about things you can’t control isn’t going to help your insomnia and—”
    He shook his head. “Your boyfriend has been talking too much, I see.”
    “Jared’s worried about you, that’s all.”
    Greer gestured a hand toward the door.
    “Does that mean we’re going to the realty office?”
    “Do you think I would dare say no and risk having an ex-judge and the FBI snapping at my throat?”
    Before he changed his mind, she grabbed her bag and followed Greer out of his office and through a sea of desks and cubicles. They stepped through the double doors and outside onto the wet sidewalks and into a media frenzy. Scores of reporters and photographers swarmed the area, making it difficult for Lizzy and Greer to get to their vehicles.
    Two news stations followed Greer to the right, while the rest stayed glued to Lizzy as she tried to cut a path across the parking lot.
    Reporter Stacey Whitmore was one of the new gals anchoring for Channel 10 News, which meant she was hungry…like a shark. Stacey’s assistant held an umbrella over her head while Stacey shoved a microphone toward Lizzy. “Is it true that you knew Jennifer and Michael Dalton?”
    “No comment,” Lizzy said as she pushed through the crowd toward her car.
    The woman stayed glued to her side. “Rumor has it you met them both weeks ago when they hired you to investigate a workers’ compensation claim.”
    “Whether I knew the Daltons or not has no bearing on this case.”
    “You believe Michael Dalton is innocent, don’t you?”
    Lizzy flinched and immediately regretted it. How could Stacey Whitmore or anyone else know she had her doubts about Michael Dalton’s guilt? William Greer was the only person, other