Don't Touch Me! - 18

 

On his drive to Cody's house, Brent thought about what he and Walt had discussed. He was almost certain he had found the key to the killings—and to proving to Walt beyond a shadow of a doubt that Cody was innocent of his mother's death. He prayed he was right, because something Walt said had hit home.

Is Cody more important to me than a client, a man, I want to help? He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. Am I feeling sorry for him because of his situation or is there more to it than that?

He shook his head. "He's only my client, nothing more. All things considered, there can't be anything more, even if I am attracted to him—which I'm not. He's not my type. Not even close."

Brent had himself convinced that was the truth until the moment Cody opened the door to let him into the house.

"You're here," Cody said, a smile lighting his face. "I did it. I worked on my book again."

Brent so desperately wanted to hug him at the moment. Not being able to, he did the next best thing, saying "That's fantastic! Is it finished? Can I read it now and not wait until it comes out?"

Cody laughed happily. "It still has a way to go but at least now I feel like it's going to be good."

"All your books are good, so that's a given."

"Shush. You're going to make me blush."

Brent grinned. "Going to? You already are."

"Jeez." Much to Brent's amusement, Cody turned an even brighter red.

"I have some good news for you, too," Brent told him. "At least potentially good news."

"What?" Cody asked, his smile fading.

"When I was talking with Detective Milburn, I had an idea. Do you have any coffee made?"

Cody nodded, grumbling, "You're going to make me wait to find out what it is."

"Yep," Brent replied, following him into the kitchen. "No, not really." he admitted with a smile when they got there. "It occurred to me, maybe there really isn't a serial killer. At least, not in the classic sense of the word."

"Huh?" Cody poured two cups of coffee, putting Brent's down on the table.

"Okay. The first victim? The one who didn't have a doctor in the medical building?"

"Yeah?"

Brent took a drink of coffee. "She was well off—or at least from her address she was. And she was married."

"Okay. So?" Cody's eyes widened. "What if her husband killed her then went after the other women to make it look like part of a serial killing?"

"Exactly what I suggested to Walt."

"Wow. Does he think it's possible?"

Brent waggled his hand. "He's iffy, but he is going to check out her husband more thoroughly."