Free Annie Seymour 01-Sacred Cows by Karen E. Olson Page A

to see if she’d tell me.
    Finally she turned back to me. “Those guys, the McGee guys, they always had coke on them, and once they tried to get me to do heroin. But I’m not into all that. I’m not sure about Melissa. We didn’t talk about the drugs. But I think maybe she got off on it. She got off on a lot of bad shit.”
    “Do you know David Best?”
    “Sure. He was at that party that night, bugging her again.”
    “Bugging her about what?”
    “Oh, she let it drop what she was doing later that night, and he was pissed. He didn’t want her to see anyone else, even though they broke up. He was really possessive.” No news there. “When she called me later, she said he’d followed her from the party.”
    “She called you?”
    “She was out with Mark. He wanted a threesome.”
    I tried not to let my shock show. “So.” I kept my voice even. “Did you go?”
    Allison shook her head. “I couldn’t. I had a test the next morning and had to study. But she was upset about David. Said she thought he was outside the building.”
    No shit. “I wonder how he got in,” I mumbled to myself, and Allison frowned.
    “What?”
    “They arrested him tonight, David. Didn’t you know? They found his fingerprints in the apartment, someone saw him in the hallway.”
    “But that’s not possible.” She seemed so sure.
    “Why not?”
    “She wouldn’t have let him in. Neither would Mark.” She had a point.
    I needed to talk to Mark Torrey and the other McGee guys. I had a nagging feeling in my gut that something was very wrong with all this. “If you see Mark again, or any of the others, could you let me know? I want to talk to them.”
    Allison frowned. “I’m not sure I can do that.”
    Now she gets a conscience.
    “Listen, I don’t think these guys are on the up-and-up, I’m not sure what it is, but it could be dangerous for you.” I needed to talk to them and I wasn’t above scaring her.
    She shrugged. “I’ll see.”
    I handed her my business card. “I’d really appreciate it.”
    I finished my tacos and margarita after she left. I hoped she’d reconsider.

CHAPTER 7
    I found a pair of black trousers in the back of my closet and put it together with a white short-sleeved blouse. It was too warm for a blazer, but I figured it looked solemn enough for the memorial service. As I ate a bowl of Rice Krispies, I remembered my mother said something about the Peabodys contacting her firm. Maybe I could try to find out something at this service. It would be crass to talk to the parents, but there was always a close friend or relative who might know something and would be willing to talk.
    I tried to call the City Hall reporter before I left. I needed to ask him if he’d heard about McGee in all the discussions about Lundgren, but he wasn’t home, even though it was a Saturday morning.
    The newsroom was a wasteland of piles of paper, idle computer terminals, and a faint smell of Chinese food and popcorn. Dick Whitfield sat in my chair, typing furiously. I threw my purse down on the desk.
    “A roomful of computers and you pick mine?”
    “I didn’t think you’d be in.” But he didn’t seem surprised to see me.
    “Save that and get into the electronic library. Do a search on Lundgren and McGee.”
    He stared at me. “Are they connected? I mean, no one has made that connection.”
    At least he knew who Lundgren was. “Just do it.”
    No hits on both together. Only on Lundgren, nothing on McGee. We stared at the screen.
    “What’s going on?” Dick asked.
    I shrugged. “Beats me. But my source says McGee is involved somehow in the project.”
    “No shit.”
    I skimmed the latest story about the city’s redevelopment plans. Lundgren’s design and engineering studies were completed a few months ago, and the city was trying to secure some grants for the project. Where would McGee come in? Maybe Torrey was just talking out his ass when he bragged to Allison. But I couldn’t help but think there was