Autry Holton, her chestnut hair swinging about her jaw, leaned against the wall outside Blake’s room. Barbara had checked in on him when they’d arrived. He slept under the watchful eyes of his grandmother. For Barbara, putting on a cheerful face for Lenora Calvert after the morning’s events went beyond the definition of torturous.Barbara rubbed at her temples, doing little to assuage the nagging pain there. “Basically, Tick’s looking at him as a suspect.”Just saying the words hurt. Thinking about them, really thinking about them, what they meant, was unbearable.“Well, the good news is that he’s a great cop. He’s fair and looks at all the angles, and I’ve never known him to railroad anyone.”“What’s the bad news?”“He’s an aggressive investigator, he plays his cards close to his chest, and he builds a really tight case.”None of which surprised her. Barbara blew out a long breath and ran a hand over her eyes. Her cold fingers trembled and fear settled in an icy lump in her stomach.
