“Aurelia. Khalil,” the sheriff greets tersely. He’s made no secret that he’s unhappy with us after we betrayed his trust. Still, he hasn’t arrested us even though his sense of duty is probably telling him that he should. “I was just about to head your way.”
I glance at Aurelia who’s nibbling her lips at an alarming rate. “Is something wrong?”
“We need to talk. Meet me at the station in ten minutes.” The sheriff walks off without another word.
“Any clue what that’s about?”
Aurelia has her look of pure bewilderment perfected. “How would I know?”
“Right. Come on.”
Once I’m sure the mattress won’t fall off, Aurelia and I hop in the truck and ride back to Main Street where the station house is. When we walk in, one of the deputies immediately shows us to the empty sheriff’s office and tells us to have a seat.
The sheriff walks in a couple minutes later carrying a file that he throws onto his cluttered desk and a steaming cup of coffee that he hands to Aurelia, who smiles gratefully.
I don’t miss the slight, but the man overestimates how much I give a damn. “All right, Sheriff. What’s this about?”
“I think the four of you should know that Aurelia’s uncle paid me a visit.”
“My uncle was here?” Aurelia’s question comes out in a terrified squeak. “In Hearth?”
“Yes.”
“When?” I demand.
The sheriff exhales a harsh breath, and I know I won’t like the answer. “A few days ago.”
“And you’re just telling us now?”
“I didn’t have to tell you at all. You’ve already lied to me once. I haven’t forgotten that.”
“Okay. Let’s focus on the actual problem at hand here,” Aurelia says before I can tell the sheriff to kiss my ass. “What did my uncle want?”
“What do you think? He wanted to know what happened to the men he hired. You forget. They disappeared undermyjurisdiction and care, which makes me responsible unless I hand in a culprit, which would be you four.”
“What did you tell him?”
“Nothing. It’s an open investigation. He did, however, seem more than a little curious about you three.”
“Such as?”
“Who you are, where you came from, your involvement in the search.”
“That’s not public record.”
“No, it’s not,” the sheriff agrees grimly.
Marston George has been doing his research and digging deep, no doubt using Aurelia’s checkbook to get the information.
“So where is he now? I assume he’s left town.”
“You assume wrong. He’s at the ranch.” The sheriff shifts his gaze to Aurelia, who’s become pensive again. “Your ranch if I’m not mistaken.”
The one Aurelia never made it to.
It’s not far from Hearth. The house is big and comfortable and probably comes with all the amenities and luxuries our cabin doesn’t have, with a nice clear view of the mountains as a backdrop. She probably would have loved it there.
The idea of her uncle using it after what he did—and still plans to do—fills me with the urgent need to ride over therealone and burn the house down with him inside. The sound of his screams would no doubt rock me to sleep every night like a sweet lullaby while I held his niece safely in my arms, knowing she’ll never have cause to fear him ever again.
