“What did you see?” Rachel asked quickly.
Tears fell from Haylee’s eyes, and she wiped her nose on her sleeve. “I was there. I was out at the church. I saw her drive by. I did.”
“What are you talking about?” Laurel asked, forgetting the camera for a moment. She’d deal with that later.
Haylee shook her head wildly. “Your hair is impossible to miss, that red. I saw you.”
The cold started to seep through Laurel’s clothing to her skin. “Haylee, why don’t you come inside for an interview?”
“No,” the girl yelled. “Don’t you see? She’ll just kill me, too.”
This was becoming tedious.
Rachel stepped closer to Haylee as if trying to protect the woman, a small smile playing on her lips. “Now, Ms. Johnson, take a deep breath. We need to be careful about slander here. Without going into supposition, tell me what you saw and what you’re talking about.”
Haylee blinked. “Supposition?”
“Guessing,” Rachel said instantly. “Without guessing.”
“Oh, okay.” Haylee’s brow smoothed out. “Early Thursday morning of last week, I couldn’t sleep. I’ve been just driving around the mountains and town trying to find Jason. He was an avid camper, and so I hoped that I would come upon one of his campsites.”
“Go on,” Rachel said encouragingly.
Haylee looked at Laurel and then sidled closer to the reporter. “I drove outside the city over by the church. Jason and I used to go there once in a while, and I feel a sense of comfort there. I saw Agent Snow drive by. It was the day Mrs. Bearing’s body was found. It was still dark out.”
Rachel looked at Laurel and then back at Haylee. “Are you positive?”
“I know her hair. I mean, look at her. It’s red.”
“It’s not red,” Laurel retorted. “My hair color is brown with an undertone of red.”
“It’s red,” Haylee and Rachel said in unison.
Laurel looked at the cameraman. She probably should excuse herself from this situation, but she wanted more information. “You’re saying you were close by when the second victim was left by the river near the church?”
Haylee faltered. “I didn’t see the victim. I just saw you drive by and turn down the church driveway.”
“What was I driving, allegedly?” Laurel asked.
Haylee swallowed. “A truck.”
“What kind of truck?” Rachel asked.
Haylee shook her head. “It was an old battered one, like half the farmers around here own. People borrow them all the time, right?”
Rachel kept her face in noncommittal lines, but her eyes glowed. “Yes, that’s true. Anybody can get a truck, and I believe Agent Snow’s family owns a farm.”
Haylee shrugged. “I don’t know anything about that. All I know is I saw her driving down the church road when it was still dark, before the mayor’s dead wife was found.”
Rachel cocked her head. “Didn’t Mrs. Bearing get into an altercation with Captain Huck Rivers a day or two before she died?”
“I have no comment on that,” Laurel said.
Rachel stepped closer. “Aren’t you and Captain Huck Rivers in a relationship? You wouldn’t just go kill somebody who smacked him, would you, Laurel?”
“Of course not,” Laurel said. “I would be very careful what you say right now, Ms. Raprenzi.”
“Don’t let her threaten you,” Haylee whispered sadly. “She and her crazy sister probably kill people all the time. You know Abigail Caine experimented on Jason? He never, ever would’ve even thought of killing anybody if she hadn’t messed with his head.”
