Free Real Murder (Lovers in Crime Mystery Book 2) by Lauren Carr

across from him. The woman looked very familiar to Cameron. An older woman who wore her silver hair in a straight cut down to her shoulders. The silver in her pantsuit matched the tone of her hair, along with her blouse and   silver jewels. Her tall, slender—even regal bearing—made her age difficult to pin, though Cameron estimated that she was in her sixties. She had a tall, slender bearing.
    The man sitting next to her wore a dark suit and had black hair with a touch of gray at the temples. His hard-looking face had a square jaw.
    Curt introduced the couple. “Congresswoman Hilliard and superintendent of the West Virginia State Police, Colonel Henry MacRae, have flown in from Charleston for a briefing on Deputy Gardner’s murder. I invited Phillip to meet with us to go over what his people have put together from Gardner’s cruiser.”
    “Boy, you people sure got here fast,” Cameron said. “All the way from Charleston?”
    “Deputy Michael Gardner was a police officer,” the congresswoman said in a firm tone. “That gives this case the highest priority in my book. We need to send a firm message to the public that people don’t go taking out law enforcement officers, even if they are from the smallest of small towns. No matter how long ago the crime occurred, we will hunt down the perpetrators of these crimes—”
    “I’m not a resident of West Virginia,” Cameron cut her off. “So you can save your campaign speech for someone else. I’m still voting in Pennsylvania.”
    For the first time, the congresswoman turned to meet Cameron’s gaze. The smirk on the homicide detective’s lips served to set fire to the politician’s cold, pale blue eyes.
    Sitting on the outside of the booth, Colonel Henry MacRae, who was between Cameron and the congresswoman, broke off the stare down. “Actually, we came up here because this case is personal to me. I taught Mike Gardner at the police academy. I was sort of his mentor. I’m very interested in finding his killer.”
    “So is my husband,” Cameron said, “which makes me want to find him.”
    “Cameron is a homicide detective with the Pennsylvania state police,” Curt said.
    “Hey,” Phillip said, “I’m from Pennsylvania.” He told Cameron, “I started out with the state police.”
    “How did you end up in West Virginia?” Cameron asked.
    “I was offered the position of heading the crime lab,” he said. “Granted, we aren’t as big as the Pennsylvania crime lab, but there’s something to be said about being in charge.” The geeky-looking man grinned. “I guess I’m just a power hungry kind of guy.”
    “Well, Mr. Crime Lab, have your people found anything to tell us who killed Mike Gardner?”
    “We can’t find Gardner’s gun,” Curt said. “He was shot in the head, and they recovered the slug, which is a match with his weapon, but the gun itself is missing.”
    “I think we need to find out what case Gardner was working on,” Cameron said.
    “Good luck with that,” Curt said.
    Congresswoman Hilliard said, “I suggest that you not go jumping to conclusions. This deputy was only on the force for six months. He was a patrolman. Have you ever given any consideration to the possibility that it was a random hit by someone who had a thing against police officers, or maybe someone who had a personal grudge against him?”
    Cameron felt like reaching across the table to slap the congresswoman. What is she doing coming all the way up from Charleston to stick her nose into our murder case? Why doesn’t she go to Washington with the rest of the troublemakers and screw things up there? As much as Cameron wanted to announce that Mike was on his way to the park to meet with a confidential informant, she held her tongue. That information wasn’t for public knowledge. If the sheriff chose to share it with the congresswoman, he could, but Cameron wasn’t going to do it.
    “Hey, Cameron, are you with us or not?” Lorraine called out in a harsh