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Parker hit the runt and I shouted, thrilled withto toss a guy as heavy as Parker was no se I needed had taken er than it probably should have because I’d had such a hard ti over the last couple of weeks

There was no balance in hing, Parker reached out to ed hiood," he praised

"You’re firing on all cylinders tonight"

"Thanks

Wanna try it again?" "Take a ten-minute break and hydrate," he said

"I need to talk to Jeremy before he takes off"

Jereiant of a ht then, I couldn’t i able to fend off an assailant of his size, but I’d seen sorabbed my towel and ainst the wall

My steps faltered when I saw one of the detectives who’d come to my apartment

Detective Shelley Graves wasn’t dressed for work, though

She wore a sports top andpants with athletic shoes, and her dark, curly hair was pulled back in a ponytail

Since she was just entering the building and the door happened to be next to the bleachers, I foundtoward her

I forcedbut"Miss Tra into you here

Have you been working with Parker long?" "About a ood to see you, Detective"

"No, it’s not"

Her mouth twisted wryly

"At least you don’t think so

Yet

Maybe you still won’t e’re done chatting"

I frowned, confused by that tangle of words

Still, one thing was clear

"I can’t speak to you without my attorney present"

She spread her arms wide

"I’

I’ll do all the talking"

Graves gestured toward the bleachers, and I reluctantly took a seat

I had daher?" She climbed to the top, and I stood and followed

Once ere settled, she set her forearms on her knees and looked at the students below

"It’s different here at night

I usually catch the day sessions

I told myself that on the off chance I happened to run into you off- duty soured the chances of that were nil

And lo and behold, here you are

Itthe additional explanation

"You don’t strike ot me there, but I’ll make an exception in this case"

Her lips pursed for a

Then she looked at me

"I think your boyfriend killed Nathan Barker"

I stiffened,audibly

"I’ll never be able to prove it," she said gri was precisely premeditated

The moment Gideon Cross came to the decision to kill Nathan Barker, he had his ducks in a row"

I couldn’t decide if I should stay or go - what the ramifications would be of either decision

And in that

"I believe it started the Monday after your roommate was attacked

When we searched the hotel room where Barker’s body was discovered, we found photos

A lot of photos of you, but the ones I’ about were of your roommate"

"Cary?" "If I were to present this to the ADA for an arrest warrant, I would say that Nathan Barker attacked Cary Taylor as a way to intiuess is that Cross wasn’t conceding to Barker’s blackmail demands"

My hands twisted inwhat he had because of aze sharp and flat

Cop’s eyes

My dad had them, too

"At that point, I think Cross perceived you to be in ht

I’ve seen the evidence we collected from Barker’s room - photos, detailed notes of your daily schedule, news clippings

even so, it’s too late"

"Nathan atching hyou

The blackmail demands he made on your stepfather and Cross were just an escalation of that

I think Cross was getting too close to you, and Barker felt threatened by your relationship

I think he hoped Cross would step away if he knew about your past"

I held the towel to my mouth, in case I became as sick as I felt

"So here’s how I think it went down"