French Kiss

Chapter 19

Laura Delarico has finished her story.

“So that’s it. The clients don’t pay us girls directly. It’s all online, I guess. I don’t really know. When it was over, I just left.”

Burke speaks. “Detective Moncrief and I want to thank you. We know this has been tough.”

“I wish I could have helped more,” Laura says. “I’m not afraid. I just…well, that’s what happened.”

“You’ve helped us more than you can imagine,” I say. Sincerely, softly. “What you gave us was big. I’m fairly certain Maria Martinez visited Paulo’s room as well.”

Burke agrees. “There’s a very real possibility she was the dark-haired girl he rejected before you.”

“You don’t know that for sure,” Laura says.

“You’re right,” I say. “Not yet. But it is a logical deduction. He may have killed her and disposed of her. Or he may have put her body in the bathroom.”

“The one he wouldn’t let me use,” she says quietly. “I guess that makes sense.”

K. Burke holds up her hand. “Or we may be completely off base. Maybe it was not Maria Martinez. Maybe we’ve got it all wrong.”

I cannot resist. I say, “Ah, K. Burke, ever the jolly optimist.”

I reach over and gently touch Laura Delarico’s hand. She does not pull away. She is so much less frightened than she was a few hours ago.

“And that is why…” Suddenly, I must stop speaking. Oh, shit. Oh, no.

I feel my throat begin to burn. I’m having trouble breathing. Maria is on my mind, in my heart. Because of Laura’s information, we may actually have a shot at solving Maria’s murder.

K. Burke senses the emotional hole I’ve fallen into. She finishes my remarks.

“And that’s why…we need you to help us just a little bit more.”