He pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped the screen, the glow lighting his face as he watched Sherry’s taillights fadedown the road. He kept his attention on her until she reached the turn at the end, and then he glanced at Laney.
“You trust her?” he wanted to know.
Laney frowned. “Why do you ask?”
He hesitated, his thumb still hovering over the phone. “Her story feels… rehearsed. I’m wondering if her visit was a warning or a distraction.” His eyes stayed on hers. “Could she have had a grudge or a hidden reason to want David dead?”
The question hit like a small, cold drop of water down her spine. She searched his face, weighing the possibility, but her gut twisted in protest.
“I’m not sure,” she said after a moment. “But I trust your instincts.” She rubbed her palms against her jeans, uneasy. “I’ll admit I might have a blind spot when it comes to Sherry. She was completely devoted to David. He always said she was a stellar cop.”
Harlan didn’t look convinced, and that unsettled her even more. Yes, she was going to trust Harlan’s instincts. He wasn’t exactly objective since David had been his best friend, but Laney knew there was no way she could see anything related to the investigation with clear eyes.
Once Sherry’s taillights vanished beyond the bend and the night swallowed up the sound of her engine, Harlan moved away from the door, and they started making their way back upstairs.
They were in the hall outside her office when Laney’s phone buzzed. She checked the screen and saw a message from Sheriff Barnes that she immediately showed to Harlan.
Billy will be coming in for questioning at nine in the morning.
She typed back a quickThanks. We’ll be therebefore slipping the phone into her pocket.
“Are there any notes about Sherry in David’s file?” Harlan asked.
“Yes,” Laney said, and almost instantly, something from one of those notes tugged at her memory. She opened her mouth to tell him, but the creak of a nearby door cut her off.
Carol peeked out from her bedroom, the worry still etched in the lines around her eyes. “Is it okay for us to come out?” she asked.
“Yes,” Laney said.
Carol stepped into the hall, and Evie darted past her. Her daughter was wearing pink pajamas patterned with moons and stars, and she launched herself at Laney with all the energy of a child who had not been part of the tense conversation just minutes before. Then Evie turned to Harlan, and she grinned wide.
Evie latched onto Harlan’s arm as if she had been waiting all day for this moment. “Come on, Uncle Harley, I have to show you my camping room,” she said, tugging him toward the stairs. Her little voice bounced with excitement. “There’s a tent and everything. Grandma even let me bring her flashlight.”
They all followed Evie, but Carol leaned in and whispered, “The room next to hers and the one across from it are both made up if you two want to stay upstairs,” she whispered.
“I’m sleeping in Evie’s room,” Laney said without hesitation.
“I will as well,” Harlan insisted as they reached the top of the stairs. “I’ve got a go-bag and sleeping bag in my truck. Laney can take the bed.”
Evie heard that because spun around, her eyes wide. “Both of you? In my tent room?”
“Both of us,” Laney confirmed with a smile.
That sent Evie bouncing off to her room, already talking about how there would be cookies for breakfast and stories before bed.
Laney kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “Go ahead and get in your tent,” she murmured to Evie. “We’ll be there soon.”
“I’ll stay with her until then,” Carol said, and then added in a whisper, “Take your time. I know you’re investigating what happened.”
Laney thanked her and walked beside Harlan toward her office, her mind already shifting back to the thought that had been nagging her since he asked about Sherry earlier.
“There is something in the files,” she admitted. “It was in the little notebook David always carried when he was on the job.”
She went to the box on her desk and dug through the folders until she found it. The leather cover was worn smooth from use, the edges soft from years in his pocket. She opened it, flipping to a page marked with a bright yellow sticky tab.
The paper inside was otherwise blank, except for two words written in David’s hand.
Sherry. Payment?
