How could he be sure? He knew better than most that the world didn’t work that way. Hadn’t past experiences taught Derek to grab on to the good and hold on tight?
Sawyer hopped into the passenger side of Lexi’s car, buckled her belt, and hardly had a chance to wave at Derek before they drove off.
“You’re seeing Derek Coleman?”
Sawyer looked at Lexi. “No, we just like making out every once in a while for fun.”
Lexi’s smile wasn’t genuine; there was nothing in her eyes. It was a “You’re cute” or “Nice try” sort of smile. “Good for you,” she said into the silence.
“What do you mean?”
“After his wife died, there wasn’t a female within a ten-mile radius of that man who didn’t go after him. Baked goods left in his office, homemade dinners brought to his doorstep, pictures of women in negligees sent via email and text.”
How would Lexi know what was sent over his cell phone? Sawyer wondered, but didn’t ask.
“But Derek wasn’t interested,” Lexi said. “He didn’t bat an eyelash. Just kept to himself. Put all his energy into his work. He was in robot mode, and he had blinders on. I should know. I was more patient than most. I waited a year before trying a few of my best moves on him. I also sent a text or two, along with a photo.”
Sawyer lifted an eyebrow.
“I’m only six years older than him. Anyway, I wasn’t offended by his noninterest. I used to be friends with his wife. So I understood.”
“Understood what?”
“That the woman he’d lost was a natural phenomenon that doesn’t come around often. You know, like fire rainbows—a painting in the sky that’s not caused by fire or rain. Or the blood falls in Antarctica, or seventeen-year cicadas.” She looked at Sawyer. “Google it. Anyway, you get my drift.”
“I do. She was one of a kind,” Sawyer said.
“Exactly. And she was beautiful, smart, and kind. But somehow you managed to catch his eye.”
“He’s just a man,” Sawyer said, refusing to be offended. “He puts on his pants like every other male.”
This time Lexi’s laugh was real.
Sawyer looked her way. “Are you ever going to fill me in on where we’re going, or are you more interested in my personal life?”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
It took only twenty-four minutes to get to Fallview Way in El Dorado Hills. Sawyer figured it would have taken most people longer, but Lexi was an aggressive driver with a lead foot.
She pulled over a block away from the house where emergency vehicles with flashing red lights were parked. They climbed out of the car and walked together toward the one-story home with its low-maintenance landscape—a tiny square of lawn, a few decorative rocks, and a row of nondescript greenery. The garage was open. Yellow crime tape had yet to be secured around the scene. The reason could have something to do with what Lexi had told her on the drive from Sacramento. Apparently the first uniformed officer to arrive on the scene had called in a 10-56, a suicide. That was before an elderly neighbor told the officer about the person she saw wearing a black wig, leaving Bruce Ward’s home. That bit of news changed everything, and a detective in the El Dorado Hills CSI Unit was called in.
Lexi gestured toward a man Sawyer didn’t know or recognize. “That’s John Hughes, detective with the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office,” Lexi said. “I’ve known John for years. He’s the reason we’re here. He trusts me.”
Standing next to John Hughes was Detective Perez. Sawyer was surprised to see him but knew she shouldn’t be. Although El Dorado Hills wasn’t his jurisdiction, it was in the detectives’ best interests to work together and share information to see whether there was any connection to the Black Wigs.
Bruce Ward. The name sounded familiar. She wished she had her files with her. The past few days had been a whirlwind of activity, and her mind was spinning.
The detectives were standing just outside the open garage. It was dark now and outside lights were being set up. Inside the garage behind the two men, Sawyer could see an old Buick and a body near the tailpipe. A woman wearing a lab coat hovered close to the deceased.
Detective John Hughes, average in height and wearing a rumpled suit, was gray-haired and shaggy-faced. The smile that spread across his face when he saw Lexi lit up his eyes. Most detectives Sawyer had met since working at the Sacramento Independent had serious expressions permanently etched across their faces.
Introductions were made. Sawyer shook hands with Detective Hughes, then said hello to Detective Perez.
He tilted his chin in greeting but didn’t look pleased to see her there.
Lexi stepped to her left to get a better view of the dead man. “Suicide or homicide?”
“Too soon to say,” Detective Hughes said. “We certainly haven’t ruled out the possibility of either.”
“Is it true someone wearing a black wig was seen leaving the premises?” Lexi asked.
Detective Hughes nodded. “Correct. The witness lives across the street. She’s getting up there in age, so I’m not sure how reliable she is.” He looked at Sawyer. “I was told you’ve been working on the Black Wigs story for a while now. What are your thoughts?”
Caught off guard, it took Sawyer a second to pull herself together. “It’s true. I have been researching and writing about the Black Wigs for months now. Something that stands out is that the vigilantes work as a team. Lexi and I interviewed Brad Vicente at the prison earlier today, and he confirmed this when he said four or five women were in his house for days. In the case of Myles Davenport, the man attending his ten-year reunion, the video shows multiple women wearing identical wigs as they take Myles Davenport captive.”
Detective Hughes rocked back on his heels. “What about Nick Calderon’s murder? Do you believe that was the work of the Black Wigs?”
“No,” Sawyer said. “I don’t. Just like this case, it seems only one person was seen coming and going on the security camera.” She shrugged. “But I’m not a detective, and my opinion is based on what little I’ve been told.”
“Anything else?” Detective Perez asked, sarcasm lining his voice.
His attitude grated on her nerves. “Yes,” Sawyer said. “I guess there is something else. The Black Wigs abduct their targets and take them to a secret destination.”
“Not true in the case of Brad Vicente,” Lexi said smugly. “He was bound and tortured for days inside his own home.”
“True,” Sawyer said, wondering why Lexi would bring her along and then try to undermine her.
“Even the best-laid plans can go awry,” Detective Hughes said.
Sawyer smiled at the detective. “Exactly. Instead of abducting Brad Vicente, something might have gone wrong, which set the Black Wigs’ Plan B into motion.”
Detective Hughes nodded. “The woman’s teammates, or whatever you want to call them, could have been watching and waiting. They followed him home, rescued their friend, and decided it was too risky to move Brad Vicente from his residence.”
“That’s an interesting theory,” Detective Perez said.
“All of this is just conjecture at this point,” Lexi chimed in.