“How did Earl...”
He looked back at the other man, who was eyeing Lassiter like he wanted to shoot him with the taser again.“Did you call the cops?”
“Course I did.They should be here any time.And that last five seconds was for Willow.”
He might have smiled if the situation wasn’t so serious.“Rafe should have been here by now.”Where the hell was he?
FIFTY-TWO
R
afe gave the okay to Darlene and steeled himself for his final appointment of the day.He’d been slammed all day, frantically playing catch up and was now even further behind for his efforts.
His phone buzzed on his desk, but there was no time to check it as a middle-aged blond woman came through the door, her set expression warning him what he was in for.
“Mrs.Edgerton, I’m Sheriff Torres.Please sit down.”
She stepped inside without a word, a strong cloud of sweet perfume filling his office as she perched on the edge of one of the chairs in front of his desk.
Steely blue eyes bored into his.“You’ve been avoiding me, Sheriff.”
“I promise you, I have not.My first day was?—”
“I’m well aware of when your first day was, and I’ve come all the way from Idaho for this meeting because I wanted to talk to you face to face.”She leaned back in her chair, the harsh fluorescent lighting overhead showing every line on her face and bringing out the gray roots along the edges of the part in her hair.
This woman had not had an easy life, even before her son had gone missing.
“What I want to know is whether you’ve started looking into my son’s case yet.”
“Not yet, no.”
Her jaw tightened, anger making her eyes seem even colder.“How about I summarize it for you then?”
“By all means.”
“I’m told that you were friends with the man my son killed.”
