Detective Coleman turned his attention to me. “As I said on the phone, the fingerprints came back with a match for Elsie Nelson. Other than her relationship with your daughter, can you think of any reason she would target your house?”
I shook my head. “No. I have no idea why she broke into our house.”
“Um, what do you mean by her relationship with me?” Ariel asked. “We weren’t friends.”
Detective Coleman straightened in his seat. “Oh? So, you two didn’t get along?”
“We didn’t even know each other until we were assigned as partners for a school project. We exchanged phone numbers, and she came over a few times to work on it. That was the extent of our relationship. I thought it was weird that she messaged me and asked me to pick her up from a party, but my mom taught me about the dangers of driving under the influence, so I thought I should go get her,” Ariel explained. “I told this to the other officers.”
“You did,” Chuck confirmed. “I read the reports myself. Everything you just said was in there.”
“Did you and Elsie always work on your project here?” Detective Coleman asked.
“No, one time we went to the library.”
Chuck loudly cleared his throat.
Detective Coleman nodded and wrote something inside the file folder he was holding. “Well, I think that’s all I need. Thank you for your time.”
“Head back to the station and wait for me at my office,” Chuck said. “I’ll be a few minutes behind you.”
“Sure thing, boss,” Detective Coleman said as Ink opened the door for him.
Once he was out the door, Sheriff Turner exhaled heavily. “I’d like to apologize for Detective Coleman’s behavior. When I get back to my office, I’m removing him from this case and anything else connected to Elsie Nelson, as well as implementing other disciplinary actions I can’t discuss. Regardless, if you see Detective Coleman in your neighborhood or if you have any problems with him, please call me,” he said and handed me his business card. “I don’t take kindly to members of my team harassing and bullying innocent civilians. That goes for you, too,” he said to Ariel and handed her his card. “My personal cell phone number is on the back. I know you younger ones like to text, so you can do that instead of calling if that’s what you prefer.”
“Thank you,” Ariel said. “Is someone still going to look for Elsie?”
“Yes. We have several people actively working on her case, but Detective Coleman won’t be one of them anymore. He’ll be replaced with another detective, so she’ll still have the same amount of people trying to find her.”
“I didn’t know her well, but I hope she’s okay.”
“Me, too, sweetheart. Based on the things she took from your house, I’m thinking she’s scared and hiding somewhere. Maybe camping in a wooded area. Since we have a lot of places like that around here, it might take us a while to find her, but we’ll do everything we can to bring her home.”
“Thank you,” Ariel said.
“My pleasure. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a naughty detective to scold.”
Ariel giggled, and the sheriff smiled.
“Thank you,” I said. “I appreciate your help.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. Then he turned to Ink and lowered his voice. “I appreciate you letting me know Coleman was being a dick. I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks, Chuck,” Ink said and shook his hand.
I waited until the sheriff was gone to give Ink a pointed look. He shrugged. “Told you he wouldn’t be a problem for you and Ariel anymore.”
“Right, but you didn’t tell me his boss was going to show up here because you told on him.”
“I can’t give away all the surprises. Where’s the fun in that?”
“Wait,” Ariel said. “You set that up?”
Ink shrugged. “Not exactly. The Blackwings have a good relationship with the sheriff. I just mentioned that your mom had some concerns since a new detective was working on your case and insisted on speaking with you and your mom in person. He took it from there.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I feel a little better about potentially pissing off the detective now that I know his boss is aware of the situation.”
“You didn’t piss him off,” Ink said. “If anyone did, it was me, and I don’t give a fuck if he’s pissed at me.”
