Ingram.
The quarry.
Chasing leads I can’t stitch together.
I roll my neck. Desk duty in Echo Valley isn’t the low-stress situation I thought I signed up for. I know I brought it on myself, and I shouldn’t be surprised because I often bite off more than I can chew, but still, I have to admit to myself, the temperature is rising.
I place my hand on the bump that is now nearly bursting through my issued uniform. This can’t be good for the baby. Last night, after the impound and junkyard, I couldn’t sleep.
I have my twenty-week scan coming. Soon, the baby will be kicking for real, not just bubbles. We could find out the gender.
These are the things that should be front and center forme right now. Anton and I haven’t even discussed what we’ll do if the pregnancy is high-risk. The scan is upon us. We have so much to talk about, and we’re both obsessed with this case.
I shut down my computer, stack my reports, and try not to dwell on when my mother and grandmother will arrive and meet Anton for the first time.
Just as I push my chair in, I get a call.
Rio.
That’s weird. I didn’t think we were beyond the text stage with each other.
“Hey,” I answer. “Surprised to see your name light up.”
“Sorry we aren’t chatting under better circumstances, but I thought I’d call before emailing you some details. I’m sending through a name, some dates, and details about another case.”
I pull my chair out and sit back down slowly. “Another case?”
“When you decided to keep Zoe’s case open…” He pauses. “I’ve been going back and forth on whether this is relevant, or whether it’s just old history trying to attach itself to something new.”
My eyebrows furrow.
“Ten years ago, there was another fatality at the quarry. Single vehicle. Woman in her twenties. Car went over the edge.”
I lean back in my chair, absorbing that. I can’t jump to conclusions. Accidents happen. “That’s…awful.”
His voice is low. “It was ruled reckless driving. No foul play. Case closed.”
“So why are you telling me about it now?”
The pause is loaded.
“Because Ingram was the closing officer on that case, too.”
The air around me goes still. I flick my gaze to Ingram and just as quickly, stand from my chair and walk toward an empty office to keep this conversation more private.
Rio continues. “Two cases, same location, same officer, a decade apart. That can mean nothing. Most of the time, it does.”
“But sometimes it doesn’t.”
“Exactly.”
The similarities aren’t enough to establish a pattern, but with me already questioning Ingram’s integrity, I wonder if he was sloppy then, too. And what is Rio wondering?
“So why tell me now?” I ask.
“When you decided to keep Zoe’s case open…” He exhales, and I’m not used to hearing hesitation from Rio. “It could be nothing, Freya. Or it could be old history trying to attach itself to something new.”
Old history? His history? Or the history of law enforcement in Echo Valley? I don’t ask because I have a good gauge on Rio, and I know he won’t tell me.
