her lithe frame, strong from the kickboxing she loved so much, graceful amid the chaos of the meeting. Trey gestured one of the room’s moderators toward her with a microphone. Once she had the mic, she waited a few extra seconds until the room quieted enough.
“Sheriff Colton is correct.” Aisha let her words stand and echo from the speakers for an extra few beats before speaking again. “For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Aisha Allen and I’m a clinical psychologist with a practice here in Roaring Springs. I’ve consulted on cases throughout more than a decade of clinical work, and the thoroughness Sheriff Colton and his deputies are using to work this case is by the book.”
“We don’t have time for by the book!” Evigan shouted. “Not with a killer on the loose!”
To Aisha’s credit, she barely looked at the man. Instead, she pressed on, her tone authoritative and her focus absolute. “Identification is crucial to a successful outcome in this case. The care taken to preserve the crime scene and the bodies, in spite of a major natural disaster, is first-rate. The quick identification of Miss Gilford was solid forensics work. And the focus on keeping peace and order while hunting a killer is a testament to the man we elected. I’d suggest we allow Sheriff Colton and his deputies to do their work without our interference.”
Trey’s gaze drifted to Daria, sitting proud and tall in the front row, and saw the subtle, barely there smile that ghosted her lips. She rarely smiled but Aisha’s endorsement had seemingly struck a nerve. His gaze drifted on to Stefan Roberts a few seats down. The man had played fair with Trey so far, but he had little expectation the FBI wasn’t running its own op as quietly as possible, more than prepared to take all the credit for closing the case.
In all honesty, Trey couldn’t care less who got the credit—he wanted this done and a killer caught—but he had toyed with asking to collaborate. In the end, however, he’d decided he and his team would get further working their own side of things, bringing the FBI in when they finally had something to collaborate on.
In the meantime, Aisha was his girl and she hadn’t failed him once. Her insights were spot-on and even her ability to diffuse the tension filling the room was first-rate.
She maintained that strong posture as she held the microphone, her professionalism more than evident. “This is a difficult time for all of us. I have several patients who’ve expressed their concerns and the emotional impact of what we face as a community. Furthermore, I’ve spoken with my fellow medical professionals and we’re all focused on extending help and care to those who need it.”
The deliberate approach and Aisha’s willingness to make the discussion caring and compassionate took the rest of the bluster right out of the room. The murmurs quieted and Trey saw how people turned toward their companions, considering her words in low, quiet voices. The mayor took the opportunity of that lull in the discussion to bring things back on track and readdress the purpose of the session. Within a half hour, Trey had what he’d come for:
An expanded remit to add on overtime as needed.
Additional deputies sourced from surrounding counties.
And the agreement he’d wanted most of all: the ability to add on a civilian consultant to the work as he saw fit.
* * *
Aisha stood in the back of the meeting room with Calvin and Audrey Colton as they all waited for Trey. His parents had found her the moment the session ended, weaving their way through the throngs of people who hurried forward to the elevated dais in front.
She’d loved Trey’s parents since she was a small child, their home always a place of warmth and welcome. And animals. Oh, she’d loved the horses that had made their home along with the Colton family on a large spread just outside the Roaring Springs town limits. She’d always been welcomed with open arms, spending her carefree summers playing with Trey and his younger sister, Bree.
Aisha had worked hard to make friends at school as well—and had succeeded over time, still cherishing several friendships she’d had since grade school—but there had always been something special about Trey Colton and his parents.
For one, his mom looked like her. It was a funny thought—one she’d had less and less as she’d grown up—but one that had been important to her as a child. Attending college in New York had helped expand her social circle wider, but Roaring Springs, Colorado, twenty years ago wasn’t a particular hotbed of diversity. To have a woman in her life besides a family member who was also a woman of color had meant a lot to her.
As a result, her own mother had always understood and accepted her bond with Audrey Colton.
Although they’d remained close, Aisha had seen less and less of Trey’s parents over the past few years. The busyness of her practice and her ever-growing list of patients had made free time more of a luxury than she’d like, and it was lovely to sink right back into conversation.
“I saw your mother at the market a few weeks ago. She said Tanisha is expecting.”
“Late winter,” Aisha added. “She’s been on my mom to keep quiet about it and let her get to three months but has pretty much accepted that’s not going to happen.”
“Not if the broad smile and big gleam in your mother’s eye was any indication.” Audrey pulled her close for a warm hug. “Congratulations on becoming an aunt.”
Aisha accepted the affectionate hug and thought about her baby sister, planning the arrival of a new life early next year. They were all so excited, but it was hard to imagine bringing a child into the world when so much of it seemed so out of control. As a psychologist, she knew the desire to hunker down and shelter in place was a fight-or-flight response to the scary reality of a killer on the loose. But as a sister and a soon-to-be aunt...
She’d been struggling with how scary it all was. She could only hope Trey got a handle on the killer before anything else could happen. Or anyone else could be harmed.
“There he is. The star of the show.”
Calvin slapped his son on the back and Audrey waited before pulling Trey close for a kiss. Trey went willingly, sinking into the warm acceptance of his parents, and Aisha noticed, not for the first time, what a unit they were.
She had always been lucky to have her mother and her sister. They had struggled for money but never for love, the three of them forging a bond that would never be broken. It had been one of the hardest things ever to leave Roaring Springs and go two thousand miles away to college, but it was her mother who’d encouraged her every step of the way.
And it was her mother who, even now, pushed her to tell Trey how she really felt about him.
Aisha hated that she was so transparent and hoped that it was only a mother’s love for her daughter that made her quite so perceptive. She hated to think that Trey knew how she felt. Or worse...that his parents sensed the same and felt sorry for her.
How embarrassing.
Turning away from the threesome, she’d nearly made an excuse to go get something from the refreshment table when a loud, booming voice floated over them all.
“Well, look here.”
Barton Evigan had ditched his campaign manager somewhere in the room—or if the manager was smart the man had ditched his unworthy candidate—and had only his wife on his arm. The woman had the decency to look slightly embarrassed but it was quickly overshadowed
