Tracy Hayes, P.I. with the Eye (P.I. Tracy Hayes 4) by Susanna Shore

Author:Susanna Shore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery, amateur detective, woman sleuth, detective, crime fiction, sleuth, mystery humor, private investigator, mystery crime, detective duo
Publisher: Susanna Shore

Chapter Thirteen

A surge of adrenaline sharpened my senses and I paused on the threshold, letting the light from the hallway illuminate the dark apartment as I listened to what had alerted me to the presence of someone inside. A few frantic heartbeats brought clarity. I hit the lights, marched to my roommate’s door, and threw it open.

“Jarod! What the hell are you doing here?”

He didn’t react. He was sitting at his desk, his back turned to me, headphones over his ears. The room was dark save for the light that came from his computer screens, so I switched on the lights in there too. He shrieked in fright and almost fell off his chair in his attempt to face the door.

“Tracy, you almost gave me a heart attack,” he managed to say, taking off his headphones. “What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here? Weren’t you supposed to be in Aruba with your parents over the holidays?”

Jarod was twenty-one, a grad student in computer science at Brooklyn College a block away from our building, and a security expert at Lexton Security in Dumbo. Technically, he was a grownup who was allowed to do what he wanted, but that wasn’t the point here. He’d told me clearly he would spend the weekend with his parents.

He blushed and ran his fingers self-consciously through his overgrown mop of hair. He was tall and scrawny and tended to ignite what maternal feelings I had with his total inability to comprehend anything that wasn’t computer related, but I wouldn’t let him off easy this time. Even if he gave me a pleading look with his brown puppy dog eyes.

“I told them I had to work through the weekend.”

“When instead you’ve stayed here, in the dark, playing the whole time?”

“We have a raid going,” he defended himself.

“Then why couldn’t you just tell me you were staying home?”

“Because you would’ve worried about me and insisted I join your family for dinner.”

Since that was true, I had no comment. “Do you know Steve Clark?” I asked instead.

“Yes. He’s one of our undergrads. I teach him occasionally. And he’s part of our WoW raid.”

I hadn’t expected it to be that easy. “What character does he play?” I asked to make sure. Anyone could impersonate someone else online.

“This mage called Arugal. He’s great.”

“And I take it he’s been playing the entire two days too without interruptions?”

“Pretty much.”

That wasn’t good enough. “Pretty much?”

“He had to have dinner with his mother at some point yesterday, and he popped off a couple of times today, but otherwise yes.”

That confirmed Steve’s alibi, then. “Mom gave me some leftovers. Come on, I’ll heat them up for you.”

The next morning, Jackson drove us straight to the hospital where Melody was being treated. “The doctor has cleared us to ask her some questions, but nothing distressing.”

“Difficult to avoid that,” I said, my heart aching in sympathy.

We found Melody alone, her mother not having arrived yet. She was calm, but her dilated pupils indicated it was medically induced.

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