“Botanical Place in Mountain Brook.” He moved up beside her. “For the record, that’s why I was looking for you.”

She paused at the stairwell door. “Good to know. I’d hate to think you were spying on me this early in our relationship.”

“Relationship.” He winked. “I like the sound of that, Devlin.”

God help her. She might have to kill this guy herself.

Botanical Place, Mountain Brook

There were mansions in Mountain Brook, and there were mansions. The Abbott home was a mansion. A stunning European-style estate nestled amid the majestic trees on one of the community’s most prestigious streets. The property was fenced and gated with a purportedly state-of-the-art security system. Yet somehow a killer had found his way inside and murdered two people, possibly three.

Kerri grabbed shoe covers and gloves from the repurposed tissue box that sat next to her on the classic vehicle’s bench seat. She shoved them into the left pocket of her jacket along with her notebook. She kept her keys in her right. Her driver’s license and necessary plastic were in a thin credit card case in an interior pocket. She never bought jackets without sufficient pockets because she hated carrying handbags or anything else on the job that set her apart from the male detectives. Whatever else she needed was in her Wagoneer. Made life far less complicated.

Kerri was all about uncomplicated, particularly these days.

She hit the lock button and closed the driver’s-side door. Falco rounded the hood, and they crossed the strip of grass that separated the street from the sidewalk. Yellow crime scene tape draped across the front perimeter of the property, starting where the cobblestone driveway met the street. Kerri nodded at the uniform maintaining the perimeter and showed her credentials. She squinted to see his name tag. No matter that she was still four whole years from forty, her vision was already going downhill. The optometrist would say it was time to accommodate her astigmatism rather than ignore it, but it didn’t give her enough consistent trouble to bother with glasses or contacts just yet. Either one would be annoying. Maybe not as annoying as adjusting to a new partner, but then the partnership between detectives was a special bond. She glanced at Falco. Whatever her misgivings and concerns about him, he’d made the grade somehow. She should give him the benefit of the doubt. She tugged on her gloves. It was amazing what a large extrastrong black coffee could do for her attitude.

“Morning, Detective Devlin.”

The uni’s broad smile jogged her memory about the same time his name came into better focus. “Morning, Baker.”

Baker had been first on the scene at Councilor Hayden’s homicide scene three weeks ago. She remembered thinking he’d likely been teased as a kid about being a baker or a cake maker. Not such a bad nickname either way. At least he hadn’t been called a devil. Sometimes Kerri wondered why she’d chosen to reclaim her maiden name after the divorce.

Oh yeah, the bastard she’d married had cheated on her. She wanted no part of him attached to her—except their daughter, Victoria, of course. Tori was the only good thing to come of that doomed fourteen-year union.

Why had it taken her so long to recognize what Nicholas Jackman was? Or maybe he was right in his accusation that she had driven him to cheat because she’d been too obsessed with work.

Of course, it couldn’t possibly be his fault.

Kerri ducked under the yellow tape and resisted the urge to groan as the thought of the divorce and her cheating ex trickled down to a more recent and pressing issue: their thirteen-year-old daughter had decided she wanted to spend the summer with Daddy in New York. Really, what young girl wouldn’t want to trade Birmingham, Alabama, for Manhattan? Especially since Daddy’s new firm had put him in an Upper East Side apartment with amazing views of the city.

The shock Kerri had felt when Tori had broached the subject this morning reverberated through her now. Thankfully she had been so startled by the idea she’d said little, but she felt certain her daughter was aware they would be revisiting the subject very soon. No way was Tori spending the whole summer with her dad. Not in New York at his hip apartment and especially not with his beautiful young girlfriend with whom he had cheated.

Not happening.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want her daughter to have quality time with her father. The trouble was the games Nick liked to play. He loved nothing more than using their daughter as a way to manipulate what he wanted. Kerri hadn’t figured out exactly what he was up to with this “summer” proposition, but there would be a self-serving motive. Whatever that motive turned out to be, she didn’t want Tori to be the one hurt by it. There had to be a workable compromise in the situation somewhere.

Officer Baker and Kerri’s new partner were still chatting as she moved toward the home’s front entrance. The arched opening leading to the front door was covered in ivy, adding to that European ambiance. From the minimal but lush front lawn to the iron flower boxes on the windows, the exterior was beautifully appointed and expertly manicured. Another uniform waited at the door. Kerri recognized the officer immediately: Tanya Matthews. Kerri had worked with her numerous times. Very detail oriented. Kerri liked that about her. The young officer’s attention was focused on the notepad in her hand as Kerri approached.

“Morning, Officer Matthews.” Kerri showed her credentials out of respect. No matter that Matthews would recognize her as had Baker; it was SOP before entering a crime scene. “What do we have inside?”

Matthews smiled in recognition. “Detective Devlin, good morning.” Her smile promptly faded. “The husband and his elderly mother-in-law were shot to death. The wife is missing. Most of the house has been ransacked to some degree. Can’t really tell if anything was taken. Crime Scene Unit is five minutes out. Medical examiner is on his way.”

Damn. Kerri hated cases like this. No matter how many years she worked homicides, she would never understand how anyone could hurt a child or an elderly person. There was a special place in hell for those people. “Let’s have a look.”

As they started in the door, Falco hustled up to join them. “What’s up, Tanya?”

Matthews gave him a nod as she continued to go over the details of the scene. “The master suite is on the first level. I’m guessing the shooter hit there first.”

The front door led into a spacious entry hall. The stairs were a sharp left from the door. There was a bench, a closet, and then a powder room before the hall on that side of the entry disappeared into the depths of the home’s east wing. To the right, the hall meandered toward the kitchen. The main living space or great room lay directly ahead. Kerri pulled on shoe covers as she mentally inventoried the rest of the layout visible from her position.

Falco tugged on his protective gear as they moved on, hopping on one foot and then the other behind Kerri. Matthews led the way. The officer had not exaggerated when she’d stated the house appeared ransacked. Doors stood open. Shelves had been swiped clean, scattering the books, framed photos, and knickknacks over the floor; drawers were pulled out, as if the perp had been looking in every imaginable hiding place for anything of value.

Or maybe for something specific.

They passed a laundry room and a door that led to the garage before the hall ended at the entrance to the master suite on the west side of the enormous house. The metallic odor of blood trickled into Kerri’s nose as they reached those towering double doors. Her muscles tightened with that old familiar mixture of dread and anticipation.

This room had been searched by the intruder or intruders as well. Closet door opened. Elegant dresser drawers dragged forward with their contents strewn over the floor.

As they approached the king-size bed on the far side of the room, near the french doors, Matthews said, “Benjamin ‘Ben’ Abbott, forty. He’s some kind of software guru. Got megarich before he hit thirty. He started his company in San Francisco, but he’s originally from Birmingham. He moved back about a year ago. His father is the Daniel Abbott. He’s the principal reason MID has the case.”

“Top of the food chain around these parts.” Kerri’s gaze met the other woman’s.

“The very top.”