Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 136507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 683(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 683(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
“Yeah. Shut the door.” I wave him in to take a seat.
He drops into it with a heavy thud. “I heard you had an exciting weekend over at the Landrys.”
“What?” My stomach drops. “What does that mean?”
“Uh … Someone’s been tampering with their fences?” Mike frowns. “Andy said they filed a report yesterday. It had all the pictures you collected, and the staples.”
“Oh, right. Yes.” I steady my breathing as I relay all that I know about the case.
“Any suspects in mind?”
“There’s a ranch hand who was recently let go. I’ll head over with Andy this afternoon and see what we can shake out of him.”
Mike’s eyebrows pop but he doesn’t comment. I know what he’s thinking—detachment commanders don’t question people over misdemeanors.
But I didn’t call Mike in to discuss the Landrys’ fence. “I want tails on Hank and Axel Murphy. As much as we can spare. I think they had something to do with Holly Monroe’s disappearance.”
“Yeah, okay.” He scratches at his jaw. “Both of them?”
“Yeah. If Axel’s guilty, Hank will know. Plus, I’m concerned about trouble he’s trying to stir up.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“The kind that impacts our community,” I answer vaguely. The way he tried antagonizing Logan at the Bale House, and then again outside of the gas station, it won’t be the last time. I’m terrified he’ll say something—about me, or Isla, or another member of Logan’s family—that Logan will not be able to walk away from. “And any parole violations we can catch him on, let’s catch him. Getting him off the street would be ideal. Let’s make sure we give them both enough room to hang the noose around their own necks.”
“How long you want this to go on for?”
“Until they’re where they belong.” Behind bars. “Hank’s bound to fuck up sooner or later.”
Mike hesitates.
“What is it?” Of my three platoon sergeants, Mike and I have always been the most open and frank with each other.
“Just … you’re always talking about not having enough staff or budget to cover.”
“Because we don’t.”
“So then, is this the right move?”
“Holly’s still missing. She went missing from a place where they were, and they’re all lying about what they saw. We know she was going to meet a guy there, and she was friendly enough with Axel to have gotten a ride from him more than once. And then there’s that hockey game. What was Axel doing there, watching teenage girls play?” Looking for his next victim?
“His story about the dead battery checked out, didn’t it?” He looks at his hands. “Is this about Holly, or is it about whatever’s going on between Hank and Logan Landry?”
“It’s about protecting our community,” I say, too crisply. I know Mike is just doing his job, but he doesn’t know the whole picture. He doesn’t see how dangerous the Murphys can be, how they can destroy a family. “The day Terry and I went to talk to Hank about Holly, he brought up Isla. By name, Mike. I think he was trying to make a point.” Or put fear in me. Either way, it worked. “If Hank Murphy was throwing around Ashley’s name, what would you do?”
Mike’s jaw clenches and then he nods. “We’re on him. On both of them.”
I step out of the way as the paramedics wheel the gurney past, the snowy ground creating some resistance. “Is she going to be okay?”
“Should be.” Russell watches with me as they load the seventeen-year-old girl into the ambulance. “Staff were fast on calling 911 and Matt gave her CPR until these guys arrived.”
A group of girls huddle together against the cold, their cheeks tearstained as they witness their friend vanish behind the heavy doors. Above them, a new security camera with a protective cage around it captures the scene.
I shake my head. “I swear, if Isla had a severe nut allergy, I’d duct tape the damn Epi-Pen to her phone so she couldn’t forget it.” I was leaving the station when I heard the call come over the radio and my heart stopped. I raced here.
“Just glad it all worked out. The last thing this place needs is two dead girls.”
I open my mouth to correct him—Holly’s not “dead” yet—but decide on, “Have a good holiday” instead, before easing into the Bale House.
The interior is decorated with simple rustic adornment for Christmas—green boughs and crimson bows. It works well with the country theme, but it can’t mask the feeling that hangs in the air. It’s been here since the night Holly vanished.
Matt sees me and sinks against the counter. His hands are shaking. “I swear to God, Emery, I’m taking everything peanut off the menu. The kitchen staff is tossing whatever we have in the back after we close.”
“Sounds like you’ve had a day already and it’s barely started.” I scan the tables in the Bale House. It’s a little after four p.m., and it’s already busy, but that’s not surprising given it’s the Friday of the last weekend before Christmas and everyone’s squeezing in holiday cheer with friends and coworkers. “Did the girl mention her allergy to her server?”