“This is about my father. This is about what he did,” Olivia said tightly. “You want to know if the apple fell far from the tree.”
Chief Walcott leaned in, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “Well, did it?”
“You’ve got some nerve.” Olivia’s eyes flashed in fury. “You can go to hell.”
“Is that what you told Adam Miller?” he goaded, his voice low enough that no one else could hear.
“You don’t even know if that puddle of fingernails and goo is Adam,” she replied coldly.
“I’m fairly confident the autopsy will confirm his identity.”
“Let’s just say you’re right and that is Adam.” She glared. “You and I both saw his remains. There is no way a human being could’ve caused that level of damage. You’re looking at an animal attack and you know it.”
She could tell even as the words left her mouth that he didn’t believe an animal was responsible any more than she did.
“Well, we’ll just see about that, won’t we?” His threatening tone set all of Olivia’s warning bells ringing.
“If that’s all, Chief.” Olivia stepped back, her voice cool and detached. “I’m going home, it’s been a long night, and I need a shower.”
She turned and stalked away, getting no more than a few steps away before his cold, disdainful voice stopped her.
“Unfortunately, that’s not all, Miss West,” he answered with just a hint of smugness. “We’ll need your clothes.”
She stared at him for a moment. “Are you fucking kidding me?” she replied flatly.
“I suggest you watch your mouth, Miss West.” His gaze flickered back to the white tent. “Animal attack or not, it’s still a crime scene until I say otherwise, and as you yourself pointed out, one you fell into. Therefore, you could have evidence transfer to your clothes.”
“Fine,” she hissed. “I’ll bag them up and give them to Jake.”
“Deputy Gilbert is being assigned elsewhere this morning.” He beckoned another deputy forward.
A tall, slim, fair-haired woman stepped up, and Olivia found herself blinking in surprise. The deputy looked like a Valkyrie. She stood nearly as tall as the Chief, with long white-blonde hair wound tightly at the nape of her neck. Her pale skin was flawless, her blue eyes so pale, they looked like arctic ice. It was strange, Olivia thought, there was something familiar about the deputy, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
“This is Deputy Helga Hanson,” Walcott said. “She’ll accompany you back to the house and bag your clothes for evidence.”
“Fine,” Olivia gritted between clenched teeth. Turning sharply, she stomped toward her house.
“Olivia!” Louisa called as she hurried to catch up with her. “That looked a little intense. What did he want?”
“What do you think?” Olivia muttered angrily. “To accuse me of murdering Adam.”
“He said that?” Louisa’s eyes widened in shock.
“More or less. He made it pretty damn obvious he thinks I’m a suspect.”
“But it’s probably an animal attack.”
Olivia glanced over her shoulder at Deputy Hanson following along close behind her and then lowered her voice. “You and I both know that no animal could’ve done that.”
“I’m so sorry about this.” Louisa sighed as they walked side by side.
“It’s not your fault.” Olivia blew out a long breath. “I guess I expected the staring and the gossip when I came back. I was even prepared for it. What I wasn’t prepared for was being accused of murder. I’m not my father.”
Louisa grabbed Olivia’s hand, forcing her to stop and face her. “I know that you’re not,” she told her firmly. “And so does Jake. Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out.”
“I hope so.” Olivia sighed.
“I know so.” Louisa gave Olivia’s hand a little tug of solidarity. “Look, I’m sorry I can’t stick around, but I need a couple of hours’ sleep before my next shift.”
