Free Split Second by Douglas E. Richards Page A

Nathan was gone and she had blown her best chance to get
to the truth. Maybe her only chance.
    “So what now?” she asked,
self-disgust still written all over her face.
    “I’d like to take a drive to
Palomar Mountain. Recon the site and gather evidence. And let’s see just how
good these guys really are at cleaning up after themselves.”
    She had a visceral aversion to
the idea of retracing her path of the night before, of revisiting the site of
Nathan’s death, but she pushed through it. Of course that’s what they needed to
do. What detective would take a case without first visiting the crime scene?
    “Okay,” said Jenna softly.
“Palomar Mountain it is.”
      “Before you commit, I should mention that it
would be safer if I went alone and you stayed here. I just thought that since
we want to get a handle on this quickly, going together will allow us to get to
know each other better and discuss the case. But if you’d rather not take this
risk, I understand. Are you certain you want to come?”
    Jenna desperately wanted to take
the out Blake was offering, but instead focused on turning her feelings of
sorrow into a more useful emotion: Hate. A transformation that did the trick
almost immediately. “I did mention that these assholes murdered the love of my
life, right?” she replied in a guttural growl, wearing an expression intense
enough to intimidate the hardest of men.
    One corner of Blake’s mouth
turned up in just the hint of a smile. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he said
simply.
    He made a show of looking her up
and down once again. “But before you go anywhere we need to change your
appearance. Every cop in the area is on the lookout for you. So while I was out
getting the car cover, I picked up a long blonde wig.”
    As he said this he lifted a glossy
white paper bag and set it on his desk. The word “Macy’s” was printed at the
bottom of the bag and a giant red star above this. “I got lucky,” he added.
“I’m told only three Macy’s stores in the country carry them.”
    The pained expression on Jenna’s
face indicated that lucky was not the
word she would have used. “How long a wig are we talking about?” she asked
suspiciously.
    “Halfway down your back.”
    Jenna groaned, but otherwise
remained silent.
    “I’m sure it won’t be your
favorite,” acknowledged Blake, “but this way we avoid dying your hair, and you
won’t have to duck down every time we pass a cop.” He paused. “Would I be right
in assuming you aren’t big on makeup or jewelry? Or was your appearance when
you arrived on my doorstep not typical for you?”
    “No. You’d be correct,” said
Jenna. Her ears were pierced but she rarely wore earrings. “My engagement ring
is the only jewelry I usually wear, and little or no makeup most of the time.”
    “So we’ll do the opposite. Don’t
wear the ring. Leave it here or put it in your pocket. And I bought a few pairs
of large hoop earrings,” he said, nodding toward the Macy’s bag. “I also got
some vivid blue eyeshadow I want you to apply—liberally.”
    “Great,” said Jenna, rolling her
eyes. “This just keeps on getting better and better. Good thing we don’t have
time for me to get a boob job,” she added wryly
    Blake laughed. “There is one last
thing I took care of while I was out running . . . errands,” he said, serious
once again. “I was able to find a business supply store that carries the same
brand of flash drive Nathan used. I bought three of them. I saved large files
on each, so they don’t appear empty, and then password protected them the best
I could.”
    “Outstanding,” said Jenna admiringly,
her mood improving immediately. This guy seemed to think of everything. Maybe
if she would have slept longer he’d have the entire case wrapped up by now.
    Blake rooted in a desk drawer
for several seconds and produced a pen. He removed the cap to reveal a tiny,
chiseled blue tip. “This is standard issue equipment in my line