He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not

been slumming in Louisiana for the past few months. Haven’t decided where I’ll go next. Wherever the road takes me, I guess. But I didn’t drive from Louisiana. That would take way too long, and my curiosity was killing me. I jumped on the first plane available to Pensacola, then rented a car and, well, here I am.”
    Amanda studied the bubbly woman in front of her. On the surface, she seemed carefree, but Amanda sensed there was far more to her, a depth and seriousness she tried to hide that stared out from eyes that looked much older than they should. She was the opposite of Logan, who was serious most of the time and hid his carefree side.
    Madison noticed the stack of albums on the side table where Amanda had left them. “You’ve been looking through the family albums?” She hopped up from the chair and grabbed the top album on the stack.
    “I hope you don’t mind,” Amanda said.
    Madison plopped down on the couch next to her. “Don’t be silly. I’m sure my brother doesn’t mind one bit and I sure don’t. Want to look at the pictures together? I can tell you all the family secrets, all those little details we sisters like to use to embarrass our big brothers.” She winked and flipped the album open, and started to tell Amanda all about Logan Anthony Richards.
    L ogan glanced in his rearview mirror to back out of his parking space, but a commotion outside the police garage on the other side of the parking lot caught his attention. Riley was standing on the side of the building in an obviously heated discussion with one of the mechanics. Riley, like Logan, chose to drive his personal car rather than a patrol car or one of the Crown Vics the department offered. So why would Riley go to the police garage? And why would he be upset with one of the mechanics?
    Something about the mechanic seemed familiar. He was too far away for Logan to see any details, or read his name printed on the front of the tan jumpsuit he wore, but his shaggy, shoulder-length hair sparked a memory. He was the same mechanic Logan had seen hanging around the side of the police station the day of the press conference.
    Logan threw his car into park and cut the engine. He got out and jogged across the parking lot. Riley looked his way, waved, and said something to the mechanic. The mechanic nodded and slipped around the corner into the garage. Riley stepped forward to meet Logan as he reached the garage entrance.
    “Hey, chief. What’s up?”
    “Who were you talking to?” Logan asked, peering past Riley into the garage, trying to catch a glimpse of the man he’d just seen.
    Riley raised a brow. “One of the mechanics. Why?”
    “Looked like you were arguing. Everything okay?”
    “Oh, that. I asked him if he does work on the side. Some of the mechanics do. He wanted to charge me a fortune for an oil change. Screw it. I’ll do it myself. Hey, if you don’t need me for anything, I’m meeting one of the Feds to re-interview someone about Carolyn O’Donnell’s abduction.”
    “Sounds good,” Logan said, without any real enthusiasm. None of the O’Donnell interviews had yielded any viable suspects and he didn’t hold out much hope another re-interview would yield anything better.
    Riley’s silver Chevy Malibu was sitting a few feet away. The paint gleamed with a fresh coat of wax, and Logan knew from experience the inside was just as neat and clean. “Hear you had some car trouble the other night, when Branson escaped.”
    Riley followed Logan’s gaze. His grin faded and the skin around his eyes tightened. “Flat tire, no big deal. But I didn’t have a spare so I called Triple-A. Took forever. I didn’t think you needed me, not with Pierce there. Was I wrong?”
    Logan studied Riley’s face. He looked genuinely concerned, as if he was worried he’d let Logan down. The sincerity in the other man’s eyes had Logan feeling silly for his misgivings. Riley wasn’t the killer. He had an alibi for Carolyn’s murder. Logan knew that. So why did he feel so unsettled and suspicious? “No, no, of course not. You’d better get going. Those Feds don’t like to be kept waiting.”
    Riley laughed and clapped Logan on the back. “You got that right. I’ll catch you later.”
    Logan stood by the garage while Riley got into his car. He rolled his window down and waved as he exited the parking lot and turned onto the street in front of the police station. When Riley was out of sight, Logan turned around and headed into