“I’m surprised he came here,” I said. “I’ve been told Logan had a closer relationship with Willow Robinson. I wonder why he wouldn’t try and talk to her.”
Or maybe he had.
“Have you met Willow’s father?” Talia asked. “He’s always been super nice to me, but with others, he seems like the type of guy who would take a person out just because they looked at him the wrong way.”
It was a fair assessment.
“What else did Vaughn say when he was here?” I asked.
“He didn’t believe me, about Talia not knowing anything about where Logan was at,” Gabriel said. “He accused me of lying. Said I was covering for my kid.”
“Did he threaten you?” I asked.
“No,” Gabriel said. “But he raised his voice, and there was something off about him. He’s never acted that way toward me before.”
“Maybe he was feeling a lot of pressure.”
“Over what?”
“For starters, his son is missing,” I said. “When the police first questioned him about it, he wasn’t as truthful as he should have been.”
It was a polite way of saying—he lied.
Talia looked at me. “Do you think Vaughn could have done something to Audrey?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Does he know Logan is communicating with the police?”
“He knows his son is safe.”
Once the words left my mouth, I realized I’d spat them out too fast.
And they’d caught Talia’s attention.
“It was you,” she said. “You talked to Vaughn and told him Logan was safe, didn’t you?”
She may have thought Audrey was the curious one, but Talia was a little sleuth in the making herself.
“I talked to him, yes,” I said.
Gabriel leaned forward. “Was that wise?”
“When I spoke to him, I had no idea he’d come here, trying to find information about his son,” I said. “Now that I do, it doesn’t change anything.”
“Why wouldn’t it?”
“If Vaughn has nothing to hide, his mind is now at ease, and he won’t come here again, looking for Logan. If he does have something to hide, Logan working with the police adds pressure on Vaughn.”
Talia swallowed. “And if he’s dangerous?”
“Then I expect he’s about to make a big mistake,” I said.
Gabriel studied me for a long moment. “You’re certain Logan is protected.”
“I am.”
“It doesn’t feel right, not being able to trust the people I’ve always trusted in this town,” Talia said. “I feel like I’m judging everyone, whether they’re innocent or not.”
