Killing Me Softly (#Wattys2016)

FORTY-EIGHT

FORTY-EIGHT

Carol Henderson's family had been notified and asked to look at the autopsy photos that had been identified as Tracy Ellis. They confirmed that, indeed, it was Carol.

Tracy's case had been reopened, and though the police were taking extra care to keep the story quiet, Sondra knew it was a matter of time before the shit hit the fan and the story was everywhere. Mimi had fainted when Sondra called her to tell her what was going on and Gordon could only respond in sputtering disbelief.

Sondra was determined to talk to Carol's husband on her own and though Detective Wallace had told her to stay out of it, she took it upon herself to track him down and get in touch with him. It had taken Sondra a few tries, but she had finally gotten a hold of Kevin Henderson.

Sondra sipped her iced coffee and checked her watch again. Kevin had said he would meet her at two-thirty and it was already three. She hoped he hadn't changed his mind. Sondra took another swallow and waited. Finally, a handsome, mahogany-colored man with a shiny dome of a head pushed open the door to the Starbucks. That had to be him. She threw up her hand to signal to him. He gave her a stiff nod and made his way over to the table.

"Ms. Ellis?"

Sondra nodded and held out her hand. "Yes, please, call me Sondra."

The pair shook hands and Kevin eased his army green newsboy bag to the floor and sat in the chair opposite Sondra. "I'm sorry I was late. I... I was at the police station."

Sondra was quiet. "I'm so sorry," she finally said.

"Yeah, well, now at least I know what happened to her," he said.

She gestured to the front counter. "Did you wanna grab something?"

Kevin twisted around. "Yeah, if you don't mind waiting." He chuckled, catching himself. "I mean, any more than you already have."

"Go right ahead."

A few moments later, he came back with some mocha tall grande cinnamon something or other. He slid back into the chair and stared at his drink without touching it.

"Do you mind my asking why you wanted to meet with me?" he inquired, never taking his eyes off his coffee. "Since you never really said on the phone."

Sondra sighed. "I'm trying to figure out if there was some connection between your wife and my sister."

Kevin sighed and went to take a sip of his drink when he stopped and snapped his fingers. "Wait a minute. Sondra Ellis. You're not the filmmaker, are you?"

"Guilty as charged."

Kevin leaned back in his chair, grinning, his demeanor suddenly much more pleasant. "Awwww man! This is crazy! I saw The Deepest Cut with Carol-" Kevin's face clouded momentarily as he mentioned his wife's name. "Carol and I saw it when it came out. We both really enjoyed it. Damn. I'm sorry."

"I wish I knew what to say," Sondra said.

Kevin looked down at the table, his finger running up and down the length of his coffee cup. "Yeah, well..."

Sondra was silent for a moment before she spoke. "Would you like to see pictures?"

He smiled and nodded.

Sondra pulled Tracy's small purple photo album from her bag and flipped it open to the first picture of the family at Christmas. She tapped her finger on Tracy's image.

"That's her. That was taken probably four years ago."

Kevin did a double take as he lifted up the small book. "Oh, she looks just like Carol," he uttered in stunned disbelief.