As he approached Lauren’s house, Roan was making her way toward him.
“I found the area in the woods where the deer was decapitated about a half mile off Old Lotty Road. Wondered if it was the same animal Veronica Archer alleges to have hit,” she said, shrugging. “There were at least two different sets of footprints near the carcass, but the imprints are too eroded by this morning’s early rain to do anything with. The deer’s blood can be tracked from the carcass to the house.”
“No muddy footprints inside from what I saw,” he recalled.
“None. And the alarm was down. Someone had too much skill and determination to consider this a prank.”
“Dust for prints just in case and have Derry check with the alarm folks about getting the footage in and around the house up until the time the system went down. And have him find out how it went down.”
He looked back to his place.
“Good thing she wasn’t here last night, who knows how things would’ve turned out if she was,” Roan said.
“We’d probably have another death on our hands. And it likely wouldn’t have been hers.”
“Sheriff Stillwater?” Audrey’s voice sounded over the radio.
“Yeah Audrey.”
“We got a call from Steve Landry. He called to file a missing person’s report, says Bailey Joe Williams hasn’t been seen in days. He also says he hasn’t seen or heard a peep out of Dottie. He suspects foul play; his words not mine.”
Landry was a retired postman who had to be close to seventy years old. Over three years ago he’d designated himself the neighborhood watch person, which would’ve been fine if the man didn’t consume true crime docudramas all hours of the day and night. Now he saw most normal actions as nefarious. Which exacerbated the feud between him, Bailey Joe, and the Mong family.
“Roan and Derry are tied up over here, so I’ll go and check in with Landry on my way to the office.”
“Thanks Sheriff, I’ll let him know.”
“We’re all being spread real thin around here, League,” Roan said.
She was right. It was like that the day Lauren showed up, which began a chain reaction of events they didn’t have the capacity to manage without strain.
“Sonny should be here by tomorrow night,” Santiago stated. “I’ll make sure Audrey has all his paperwork prepped. He’ll go through a brief orientation and begin a ride along that same day. I just hope this turns out to be the help you hope it will be.”
“It’s the help that is needed; more importantly it’s the help thatheneeds. I’ll follow up on a few more things here then meet you at Bailey Joe’s. Hopefully it’s just another volley in their eternal feud.”
“Hopefully,” Santiago said, turning to walk back to his cruiser.
“Hey, before you leave, that deer head was likely placed there between midnight and four in the morning. I know Lauren left your aunt’s when you picked her up after your shift was over, but her bed hasn’t been slept in. Do you have any idea where she may have been between midnight and the time she discovered the head this morning? I could follow up with her, but I know you want her to recover from what went on here.”
He looked at the woman from the medical examiner’s office, and one of two men here from animal control. They both looked in his direction, moving a little slower, waiting on his response.
He narrowed his gaze at Roan. He knew that information was going to be part of the investigation but wanted to protect his sanity from the shitstorm that information could cause him.
“She never went home after I picked her up. She stayed the night at my place.”
Roan grinned, walking backward toward Lauren’s house. “You know I had to ask, we need hard facts when investigating a case. Now,” she said louder, she was definitely speaking loud enough for the people inside the house to hear. “Can you confirm she was in your house all night or was she in one of the guest rooms, maybe in the living room on the couch? If she wasn’t with you, there’s a chance she left at some point and?—”
“She was with me all night, in my bed, sleeping—emphasis on sleeping—beside me.” He refused to project the words louder than what was necessary for her to hear.
“Well, I’m glad you both finally got your happy ending. The way you two have been at each other’s throats, I’d say it was pretty inevitable.”
“You’re taking too much pleasure in this line of questioning Roan, but don’t worry, I’ll wait for my moment.”
He walked away without saying another word.
“Oh come on League!”Nowshe sounded concerned. Panicked even. “When are you gonna learn to take a joke!”
Never, he thought with grim satisfaction.
