“Hey. It’s Monty.”
“Hi.” Huck placed the bottle on his thigh. “You okay?”
Monty sighed. “Not really. You’re gonna want to get on the Internet and watch the newest podcast fromThe Killing Hour. It’s streaming now and the transcript will be in print in the morning. I’ll talk to you then.” He clicked off.
Huck scrolled through and brought up the website, where there was a new video featuring Rachel. He clicked on it, his gut already churning.
“We end this segment ofThe Killing Hourwith an update on the Witch Creek murder case. It appears that Dr. Christine Franklin has been found dead in the middle of a meadow with red flowers all around her, just like the other victims. What makes this murder different is that, apparently, Dr. Franklin was in FBI custody at the time of her kidnapping.”
Ah, shit. Huck dropped his feet to the floor. He’d returned her call earlier but hadn’t given her any information when she hadn’t given him any. Apparently they were now done using each other for facts.
Rachel’s eyes glittered. “In addition, there seems to be coordination again between FBI Special Agent in Charge Laurel Snow and Washington Fish and Wildlife Captain Huck Rivers, just like in the Snowblood murder cases. Is it just me, or is there something going on here? I know I’m an opinion host, but I try to get my facts straight for you all. If there’s something untoward going on, could that be why poor Dr. Franklin was taken right from under the FBI’s noses?”
Huck’s head reeled. Why in the world would she even say such a thing? Were ratings that important to her?
Rachel sighed and her face moved into sympathetic lines. “Now, I have to be fully transparent here. I was once engaged to Captain Rivers. We broke up after a particularly difficult case that involved a young boy. I won’t go into more detail than that.”
Right. She wanted people to dig up the old footage for her. Huck wanted to break something; instead, he set his beer bottle on the table now vacated by his feet.
She sighed. “Captain Rivers went through a difficult time that included counseling for serious PTSD, and then he moved to the middle of nowhere to protect people from bears. But I can tell you that he’s the best. When I spoke with him earlier today, he was unusually tight-lipped about the FBI involvement in this case. In fact, he sounded downright angry.”
She held a hand to her chest. “To be honest, I think Captain Rivers is brilliant and can outsmart any criminal, so I’m glad he’s out there defending us like this. But considering how well I know him, and how upset he seems to be about this case and FBI Agent Snow’s behavior regarding this brutal killer, I have to ask. What in the world is the FBI doing, and how many more women need to be brutally murdered?”
The segment ended.
Huck held still for a moment, concentrating on his breathing. This was the last thing Laurel needed right now with Walter in surgery and Christine Franklin’s body being autopsied tonight. The woman was feeling guilty enough, and she’d be pissed at him.
His phone rang and he knew who it was before he lifted the device to his ear. “That was a bullshit report,” he snapped.
Rachel sighed. “I’m trying to get a new show off the ground, Huck. There was not one thing I said that wasn’t true.” She was quiet for a couple of moments. “But I’ll tell you what. Let me interview you about the Witch Creek Killer, and you can say anything you want about the FBI and Agent Snow. You can defend her and them to your heart’s content. Just come on my show.”
“No comment.” He wasn’t going to give her an inch. He knew better.
“Fine. I’ll get my news elsewhere.” Her voice lost the cajoling tone. “I can’t believe you’re dating an FBI agent with the emotional range of a potato. I’ve looked back at the few interviews she gave after the last case—she can’t possibly interest you.”
He wasn’t going there, either. “No comment.”
“Whatever. Seriously. She’s boring and fake. So much for your liking authenticity in women. There is no way that hair is real. That color doesn’t exist,” Rachel snapped.
Huck let his chuckle flow through the line. That segment of hers had probably ended any chance he and Laurel had for a romance, if either one of them had wanted one. One night together hadn’t done anything but make the situation more confusing. But now Rachel had possibly made it more difficult for him to catch a murderer who bludgeoned women to death.
He cleared his throat. “Don’t call me again, Rachel. Stop using me and our unfortunate relationship for your show, because you look like an ass who was dropped by a man, and you don’t want that, do you?” Yeah, he knew her as well as she did him. Thank goodness he’d gotten out in time. “We’re done, and I have no comment on this or any other case.” He let silence hang between them for the last time. “And not for nothin’, but the hair color is both unique and genuine. There is nothing unauthentic about Laurel Snow.”
He ended the call and threw the phone across the room.
Chapter Twenty-Four
After midnight, Laurel was shivering violently from both cold and fury as she tried to keep her vehicle on the road after leaving the hospital. She’d shoved her coat in the back seat and the SUV wasn’t warm yet. Her phone rang and she pressed the button. “Snow.”
“Hi. It’s Kate. I couldn’t sleep and wanted to check on Walter.” Kate had stayed at the hospital until almost ten and then had gone home to check on the girls. Walter had still been in his second surgery of the day, and Laurel had insisted Kate get some rest.
Laurel slowed down at the sight of deer eating at the side of the road. They had a tendency to jump in front of headlights. “Walter is out of surgery and is in the ICU right now. I spoke with his surgeon after the surgery. Apparently, Walter suffered a heart attack and flatlined, but they brought him back.” Her throat clogged and she cleared it. “It was a rough go, but the doctor is optimistic.” Even her bones felt tired, which was impossible. Only her anger was keeping her alert.
Kate sighed, her voice weary. “Well, I guess that’s something. I very rarely miss my jackass of an ex, but nights like this, I wish I wasn’t alone. You know what I mean?”
“Sure.” Not really. Laurel had never been in a relationship where she leaned on a man. Not in a way to make herself vulnerable. She just didn’t know how. Sure, she’d dated, and she had gotten serious with her mouth-breathing ex-boyfriend, but even with Lucas, she hadn’t completely trusted. “I doubt my relationships with men are productive.” Huck was a case in point.
Kate chuckled. “If you’re looking for productive with relationships, then probably not. It’s just nice to lean on somebody sometimes.”
