Chapter 37
Leaning back in her work chair, Krystal grinned at the long chain of texts on her siblings’ group thread. They were all ridiculous in the best way possible and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“What are you still doing here?” Peter stalked by, his lunch bag in hand. More often than not, her partner brought in his lunch every day but ended up eating out with her. Or stealing from her lunch.
“Heading out now. You finish the paperwork?”
“Not yet, and don’t rub it in.” He held up his blue and gray zippered bag. “I’ve got snacks though.”
Laughing lightly, she grabbed her purse from her locked desk drawer and headed out. Since it was summer it was lighter later. Something she loved because she wasn’t driving home after dark. As far as she was concerned, they should get rid of daylight savings altogether. It was nonsense.
When she stepped out of the sheriff’s building, there was a woman sitting on a bench. When she saw Krystal, the older woman popped up with a smile on her face.
Based on the eye contact, it was clear the woman wanted to talk to her. She had dark curly hair pulled back into a ponytail, dark eyes and was wearing yoga pants, an off the shoulder yoga-style top and sneakers. She looked as if she was coming from or heading to the gym.
“Krystal Knight?” she asked, even though it was clear she recognized her. Before Krystal could answer, the woman murmured, “You really do look like her.”
“Who?” Krystal kept her guard up even though she was right outside of work. The odds of someone trying something at the sheriff’s station were slim, but she was still wary. The last few months had been a lot.
“Oh sorry, you look like Yvette. Your mom.”
The mention of her mom threw her off, but it triggered something in her brain and she realized why the woman looked familiar. Krystal had seen her in her mom’s photographs. They’d been friends. The woman looked young to be in her early fifties but yeah, it was the same woman.
“Sorry, I’m Pilar Vasquez.” She held out a hand, which Krystal took.
“I recognize you from some of my mom’s old pictures.”
Pilar gave her a ghost of a smile. “Feels like another lifetime. I guess it was,” she murmured. “I saw you on the news a few months ago and then again after the whole Morrow thing and…it felt like a sign.”
“A sign?”
Pilar nodded slightly as she straightened.
“Yes. I wanted to meet you. And belatedly apologize for not reaching out sooner. I should have, but after your mom…” Raw pain flickered across Pilar’s delicate features, as if it had just happened yesterday.
“I didn’t handle things well. Not that it matters now, nor is it why I’m here to see you. ”
“Okay.” This was weird.
Pilar cleared her throat. “I know a lot of time has passed, but I’m dying. Cancer,” she added. “And I don’t want to die without knowing who killed my best friend.”
Krystal’s mouth fell open. She couldn’t stop it, but she recovered quickly. “What?”
“I’m going to solve her murder. And I wanted to ask if you’d like to help.”
There was a whooole lot to unpack with that question.
Part of her wanted to walk away, to never see or talk to this stranger again.
But the truth was, she wanted to know who’d killed her mom too.
Her mom’s murder was the reason she’d become a detective.
She’d wanted to help give closure to other families in a way she and her siblings had never had.
“I know it’s a lot to drop on you at once right as you’re getting off work,” Pilar continued. “And I’m sorry for that. I just wasn’t sure how to approach you and I’m running out of time. Would you…like to get dinner and talk?”
“I really would,” she found herself saying even as she questioned her judgment. But who was she kidding—she wasn’t going to walk away from this stranger who’d known her mom in a way she never had or would.
She wanted answers. Maybe she and her siblings would finally get them. And just maybe her mom would finally get justice.