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)
“Fair enough.” Terry sets the page down. “How are things around here?”
“Quiet.” I knock on my wooden desk.
“Your daughter?”
“She’s hanging in there. Exams went okay.” Far from her best marks. “She has a crush on our neighbor’s nephew who she met over the Christmas break. He’s from Calgary. They talk a lot. It’s cute.”
“And he’s a four-hour plane ride away. Best kind of forced abstinence.”
I cringe as I admit, “Not gonna lie, it’s a plus.”
We share a laugh that dies just as quickly.
“She’s having more good days than not, though, so that’s progress.”
“That’s how these things go, right? Tragedy strikes, and you don’t know how you can possibly move on, but you do. Slowly, but you do, because you have to.”
“Don’t I know it.” I could be a textbook example. Except moving on doesn’t seem like the right term. That makes it sound like you’re the same person you were, but you’re not. You’re forever changed, reshaped in the only way that allows you to carry the grief forward with you.
I know I was never the same after that night.
And it hurts to know I’ve lost a version of Isla.
Terry settles in his chair. “And my favorite family? What have the Murphys been up to?”
“Let’s see … Shane’s getting six months for stealing those TVs. He’ll be out in two. I heard Charlie got caught up with a big bust in Sudbury, so we’ll see how that goes for him. As far as Axel and Hank are concerned, my people are keeping an eye on them. They haven’t given us anything yet, but they will.” They have to.
Terry’s lips purse. “I had this case about five years ago. A twenty-five-year-old woman went missing and left a bloody crime scene behind. We were convinced her boyfriend did it. Everything pointed to him. History of abuse, anger issues, all that. Everything but actual evidence. I tailed him, and then I had a surveillance team follow him around, waiting for him to make a mistake. But we couldn’t catch him.” He shakes his head. “That case still haunts me.”
“I can imagine.” Just like I foresee Holly’s case haunting me in five years, especially if we don’t figure this out.
“You really think the Murphys had something to do with it?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.” All I know is Logan didn’t. “Either way, Hank needs to be off the streets. He has sins to pay for, and it’s only a matter of time before he ruins people’s lives.” Just like his brother did.
Terry hesitates. “So, look, I thought I’d mention this. Sometimes I hear things I don’t wanna hear. I don’t ask to hear it, but somehow this shit always lands in my lap—”
“Spit it out.”
“Brad Whitley’s trying to whip up trouble for you.”
“Oh. Yeah, that’s old news.” My chuckle is bitter. “That started in the fall. He’s been quiet lately, though.” So quiet that I started to think I might finally get a reprieve from him.
“Yeah, guys like him don’t let up.”
“What’s he doing now?”
“Well, Freeman pulled Schmidt and me into his office and grilled us about Holly’s case, and he was keen on getting more info about Logan Landry’s alibi for that night.”
I school my expression, even as my stomach clenches. “And what’d you tell him?”
Terry shrugs. “Exactly what’s in my report, and that I really don’t think Landry had anything to do with it.”
I’m careful not to show my relief. “Brad’s convinced Logan went after Holly and that I’m protecting him.” Dillon basically alluded to that before Christmas.
“That’s idiotic.” He hesitates. “Freeman also said there’s been speculation that you and Logan Landry are in a romantic relationship and asked if we’d seen or suspected anything to validate his claim.”
As quickly as I found a moment of relief, tension seeps back into my body. “And?”
His eyes are level on me when he says, “I told him I didn’t see anything to suggest that, no.”
But what about what you suspect?
Terry doesn’t say, and I don’t dare ask.
“Freeman’s angling to find a way to get rid of me. He’s been doing it since he was promoted,” I say instead.
“Yeah, I’m definitely getting that vibe. Anyway, just a heads-up.” He eases out of his seat with a leisurely stretch, as if he didn’t just deliver ominous news.
“Thanks, Terry.”
“No problem.” He winks. “And think how much you hated me at the start.”
I smirk. “Was I that obvious?”
“Nah.” He knocks on my desk. “Have fun finding your thieves.” With his signature lazy salute, he departs.
I study the scatter of pages in front of me with determination.
I’m pretty sure I already have.
“Good game!”
Isla smiles at the parent offering the compliment as we walk out of Cold River’s arena. “Did you see how Courtney kept going offside? Three times in a row!”
“I guess it wasn’t her night. You guys still won.” With a lucky bounce-in goal, mind you.