“Mrs. Toles? I’ll take you next.”
“Can my husband stay with me?” Sue asked, reaching for his hand.
“That’s not how we usually do it.”
“I understand, but . . .”
Edi checked her watch and shook her head, the hair that had slipped out of her bun at the nape of her neck brushing her cheeks. “Might as well.” She glanced toward the main road before muttering. “What’s taking everyone so long?”
Instead of getting into the SUV like she and Edi had, the three of them went to the front of the vehicle and spoke in low voices.
Brooke went to her car and sat in the front seat, leaving the front door open and her feet on the ground. She half expected Tyler to follow her, but he stayed near Robert and Sue’s car. While she knew that was for the best, she was oddly disappointed.
“Don’t go looking for trouble,” she said softly. “Just let him be.”
It was a good fifteen minutes before Edi finished with Robert and Sue. No one from the county or anyone else official had shown up.
Finally, it was Tyler’s turn. Brooke watched as he walked over to Edi’s vehicle, his movements controlled and careful. Like he was bracing himself.
As with the others, they stood near the front. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she could see their body language. Edi’s posture was professional, but there was something else there. Concern, maybe. Or suspicion. Tyler kept his arms crossed and his responses brief, based on how little his lips moved.
“Looks like they’ve got history,” Sue said quietly, appearing beside Brooke.
“Yeah. I noticed.”
“They must know each other. Tyler doesn’t really talk about personal stuff. Keeps things pretty close to the vest.”
“That’s his right.” Even as Brooke said it, she felt the doubt creeping in. Everyone had a right to privacy. But privacy and secrets weren’t always the same thing.
“Absolutely,” Sue agreed. “Just seems like maybe whatever history he has with the deputy is complicated.”
Complicated. That was one word for it.
Tyler and Edi finished their conversation. He walked back toward the group, his expression didn’t reveal anything. But when he looked toward Brooke, she saw something there. Interest, maybe.
She also saw the guardedness. The walls. The things he wasn’t saying.
She looked away first.
Edi gathered them near the vehicles. “When the rest of the team arrives, we’ll make sure we secure the scene. That’ll take a few hours to coordinate. You’re all free to go, but I’ll need you to stay available. We might have follow-up questions.”
“Of course,” Robert said. “Whatever you need.”
“And, Brooke?” Edi’s expression was kind. “You might want to talk to someone. About what you saw. The county has resources for that kind of thing.”
“I’m okay.”
“You say that now, but finding something like this can mess with you in ways you don’t expect. Just keep it in mind. That goes for the rest of you too.”
Brooke nodded, though she had no intention of calling some county counselor. She was dealing with the Bearwater trauma on her own. She’d deal with this, too, and maybe someday soon she’d start sleeping properly again and stop second guessing everything in her life.
They started to disperse toward their vehicles. Tyler moved toward Brooke, and for a moment, she thought hewas going to say something. Ask for her number, maybe, or suggest they meet up later to decompress. She was forming a reply in her mind—a denial, of course—ready to deliver it without hesitation.
Instead, he stopped a few feet away, hands in his pockets.
“You going to be okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. I will be.”
