Tony’s eyebrow shot up. “Pumpkin spice? That’s new. I know it came in that big collection of flavors my parents gave us for Christmas, but I figured it would sit in the drawer and turn to dust.”
River shrugged. “I’m feeling a little sad now that the holidays are over. I really enjoyed being with your parents, even though we didn’t actually spend Christmas Day with them. Your mother made it seem like Christmas every day we were there. It was perfect. The best Christmas I’ve ever had, in fact. Well, except for the crazed serial killer part.”
Tony’s loud laugh made her smile.
“I can understand that,” he said, still chuckling. “Maybe this year we can celebrate the holidays without the threat of death.”
“That would definitely be a holiday miracle.”
“Something to shoot for, forgive the pun.”
“My arm is still sore from the last encounter, thank you.”
While at Tony’s parents’ house, River had been shot in the arm, trying to protect Tony. Thankfully, it was more of a grazing wound than a penetrating one. Although it was still healing, the pain had lessened considerably.
He brewed her coffee and brought it to her. It smelled so good. Just like Mrs. Weyland’s pumpkin pie. It was the best she’d ever tasted. River had even eaten a slice for breakfast until it was all gone. She wondered if asking the elderly woman to bake another pie would be out of line. She’d already made several.
“You’re thinking about that pie Mrs. Weyland makes, aren’t you?” Tony asked suddenly.
River’s mouth dropped open. “Quit reading my mind. It’s disturbing.”
“If you don’t stop asking her to make more pies, we’ll need to get you a larger desk chair.”
River stuck her tongue out at him. “I haven’t gained an ounce. I know how to keep my servings small.”
“I’m just teasing you. My mother’s a great baker, but I have to admit, Mrs. Weyland’s pumpkin pie is the best I’ve ever had.” He pointed at her. “If you talk her into another one, you’ve got to bring me some, okay?”
“We’ll see. If you help me come up with whoever killed Kevin Bittner, I’ll get Mrs. Weyland to bake you your very own pie.”
Tony finished brewing his own cup of coffee and carried it to his desk. Then he pulled up a chair. “You just made me an offer I can’t refuse. Let’s get busy.”
River punched a key on her keyboard to bring up the image of April’s site. At first, she thought she’d made a mistake.
“Is something wrong?” Tony asked.
“Wait just a second,” she said, clicking the keys underneath her fingertips. Finally, she stopped. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Or rather, what she wasn’t seeing. She turned to meet Tony’s eyes. “It’s gone,” she said. “All of the episodes on April’s podcast are gone.”
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
Tony’s mouth dropped open. “How could that happen? Who would be able to do that besides April? They’d need her sign-in information.”
“I can only think of one other person,” River said.
“Nathan? It can’t be.”
River leaned back in her chair. “I’m trying to wrap my head around this. Before we accuse Nathan, we need to see if the electronic-crimes task force can figure out who removed all those episodes.”
“So now what do we do?”
River smiled at him. “Repeat after me. My partner . . .”
Tony looked confused. “Not sure why you’re smiling, but I’m a little frightened.”
“Do what I asked,” River said.
“Okay, okay. My partner . . .”
“Is the best partner in the world.”
Tony crossed his arms and stared at her. Finally, he said, “Is the best partner in the world.”
“Because . . .”
His eyes widened. “You have all the information from her site, don’t you?”
“Well, not all of it, but quite a bit.” She picked up her notebook. “I already told you I took pictures of all the pages and notes in April’s notebook, but I also took pictures of the podcast pages. Of course, they only contain a general description of the case. But I listened to each podcast and made additional notes. I just felt like the way things were going, it was best to make sure all the information stayed with us. I’m pretty sure we have everything we need.”
“You really are brilliant,” Tony said. “You know what this proves, right?”
“I’m not sure.”
“It proves that no one is smarter than I am since I picked you as my partner.”
River laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”
“I know, but I’m really cute, so that makes up for it.”
