The longer Sheriff Nick Turner stared at the structure, the more confident he became that it actually leaned slightly to the left. Maybe it wasn’t as sturdy as he thought it was, and he made a mental note to mention it to Reed Langley. While Nick wasn’t a fan of Whistlerun’s police chief, Langley did tend to go out of his way to lend a hand to the locals.
Nick had gotten into quite a few arguments about how to deal with the residents. Langley treated them like family, brushing their dirt under their welcome mats.
Everyone in Cane County knew what went on inside Gleason’s barn. Langley maintained the polite fiction of ignorance, but it was only a matter of time before someone ended up hurt. Or worse, dead due to one of the teenagers driving under the influence.
Edgar's moonshine was practically a local institution, and Langley believed that cracking down on it would only turn the entire community against law enforcement.
Similar to how most of them had turned against one of their own—Hadley Dawkins.
In Nick’s opinion, she’d done the right thing. She’d testified against a killer. It didn’t matter that the guilty party happened to be a relative.
Nick leaned against the trunk of his patrol vehicle, the metal still warm despite the afternoon's cooling temperatures. Even after three years as sheriff, he still couldn't shake the feeling that his former colleagues at the State Police saw him as little more than a glorified security guard for Cane County's backroads.
The crunch of tires on gravel pulled his attention to the long driveway. A Chevy Equinox slowly approached, leaving a small path of dust in its wake. The SUV came to a stop behind his patrol car, the engine idling for several moments before shutting off. Through the windshield, he could just make out the brunette woman sitting motionless behind the wheel as she studied him.
She took her time unfastening her seatbelt before discreetly reaching into the console for something. He crossed his arms, guessing that she was going to keep him waiting for a few minutes. He was right, but he soon realized that it wasn’t intentional. She had tossed something into her mouth, and the way her jaw was moving indicated it was some type of food.
Maybe she was diabetic.
Hadley finally stepped out of her vehicle. She shut the door and then approached with measured steps. He didn’t know itwas possible for a woman to have such angular features appear so soft. Her lips weren’t thin or thick, but just right for her face. And the small scar through her right eyebrow somehow drew one’s attention to the color of her green eyes.
Nick had not been expecting someone so beautiful.
“You must be Sheriff Turner,” Hadley said cautiously, scanning his face with an intensity that made him feel like he was being cataloged. “I take it I don’t need to introduce myself.”
Nick didn’t respond to her obvious interest in how he’d known of her location. He straightened to shake her hand, not surprised to find her grip both firm and professional.
“I was hoping you’d stop by the station and make a proper introduction.” Nick was usually more reserved, and he almost always thought long and hard before he spoke. He chalked up the biting reply to his irritation regarding her presence in the first place. “I’m not going to sugarcoat my opinion, Detective Dawkins. I think your involvement with this case is a conflict of interest. Not only were you born and raised in Whistlerun, you have history with?—”
“I know my history, Sheriff Turner.” Hadley didn’t pull any punches, and a part of Nick respected the quid pro quo banter. She had taken a half-step back to establish her space, leaving him to once again lean back against the trunk of his cruiser. “And you won’t get an argument from me. I believe my involvement is a conflict of interest, too. But you and I both know my presence here has nothing to do with solving this case and everything to do with the optics. I saw the headline in the local paper, and the mayor is already spinning my past as proof that I won’t leave a stone unturned. Truthfully, I’m surprised you’re here and not at the festival grounds giving a press conference yourself. After all, Mayor Caldwell certainly made his opinion known about the collaboration between the police chief and the sheriff’s office.”
“How is Langley handling the bad press?”
“Giving his own press conference in about twenty minutes,” Hadley replied with a grin. She reached up and readjusted her hair clip. “After attending Emanuel Telfort’s funeral, of course. With that said, Reed doesn’t mind my involvement. I do have a question since you’re here, though.”
Hadley began to walk toward the house, reluctantly leaving him no choice but to follow.She was about to be disappointed.
“Gleason isn’t here.”
“I know,” Hadley said as she kept a steady pace. “Back to my question. Do you still believe Martin Cox abducted Missy Claymont?"
The directness of her inquiry caught him momentarily off guard. He respected her preferred direct approach.
“Don't you find it odd that most of these abductions over the years happened on or near Cox's property?”
“A question with a question,” Hadley muttered in disgust as she stepped over a thick root from the old oak positioned between the barn and the house. “I got the warning the first time around, Sheriff. Yes, my brother is in prison for abducting and murdering Emily Esten. I was there, so there’s no need to point it out again.”
“I wasn’t?—”
“You were, and that’s okay. If I were in your boots, I’d do the same.” Hadley shot him a sideways glance. “Fine. I’ll go first. I think the treeline and vegetation positioned between the Cox property and the county land provides our abductor with opportunity. No more, no less. And that's precisely why I collected Sarah Cox's journals this morning. They span several decades, and there’s a good chance they contain observations about unusual occurrences on their property.”
“Sarah kept journals?” Nick buried his frustration. “Cox never mentioned them to either me or my deputies. And as far as I know, Langley didn’t know about the journals, either.”
“Reed still doesn’t, because I haven’t had a chance to talk with him today.”
“Why isn’t Langley here with you now?” Nick asked as Hadley finally came to a stop in front of the barn doors. She studied the lock before stepping to her right, causing him to shift so that she didn’t run into him. “And I’m not talking about giving a press conference, either. I figured he would have been glued to your side.”
“You and Reed conducted your investigation, and now I’m conducting mine.”
