“Please, Phil. What can you tell me?”
“That was a rough time.” Phil’s voice had gone somber. “Tyler was a good guy. Still is. I never believed he had anything to do with it.”
“Really?”
“Brooke, I knew Tyler. We were friends all through school. Even later, when he was married, I went to his place a few times. He worked at the gypsum factory back then, but always had a love for cars. I worked with him on a couple of his project cars. He used to buy old cars cheap and fix them up to turn a profit. It helped pay the bills so his wife could stay home with their baby. That man loved his family more than anything.” Phil had been adamant. “No way he set that fire. It had to be an accident, just like they said.”
“But people suspected him.”
“Some people suspect everyone. Doesn’t make them right.” Her brother had paused. “Why the sudden interest?”
Brooke had deflected, saying she’d just been curious about old news. Phil hadn’t pushed, though she suspected he didn’t believe her.
He wasn’t going to be happy when he found out about yesterday. And no doubt the news would get out, even if it hadn’t already. It was impossible to keep a secret in Basin County.
As far as Tyler was concerned, she trusted her brother’s instincts. Phil could be too blunt sometimes, saying things that made people uncomfortable, but his read on people was usually accurate. If he said Tyler was innocent, that carried weight.
But so did her own experience with Kelsey.
Brooke finished loading the dishwasher, added soap, and hit start, her movements automatic while her mind continued turning.
She thought about calling her dad, too, but decided not to. She couldn’t quite explain why, but she wanted to keep yesterday private. Not secret exactly, just not discussed. Not analyzed and dissected and turned into family conversation over dinner.
Her dad would understand. They were very much alike. Both needed time to sort things out before talking about them. Her mom, though, had been different. Like Phil, she sometimes spoke before giving herself time to process. Phil definitely got his bluntness from her.
Their mom had died three years earlier. She went to bed one night and never woke up. Her dad and Phil had both been out of town at a convention. Brooke had found her when she stopped by to pick her up for church. Finding her mother like that had nearly broken her.
Even then, she’d needed several minutes to pull herself together before she started making the phone calls. That was just how she was built.
Keep quiet. Process. Then talk. The trouble was the talking didn’t simply stop. Her mind would go into overdrive, and she would end up replaying things over and over to the point of obsession. She was trying hard to tamp down that tendency now, and failing miserably.
Gina had found out about the body in the woods. It wasn’t surprising. She worked at the hospital, was a volunteer with Basin County Search and Rescue, and seemed to hear everything eventually. She’d called the night before while Brooke was once again searching for information about Tyler, this time on her laptop.
“Are you okay? I heard about what happened.”
“Is it all over the town?”
“All over? Not yet. The news of a body being found is out, but not who found it. I only know because I ran into Edi Reeves. She knows we’re friends.”
“I’m fine,” Brooke had assured her. “Shaken up, but fine.”
“I’m at work right now, but I can come by later if you need to talk.”
“Really, I’m okay. Just trying to stay busy.”
They’d talked for a few more minutes before Gina had to go handle something at the hospital. Not fifteen minutes later, the doorbell had chimed, and her cousin Nick was there.
He looked worried, his usual smile replaced by concern. “Gina called me. Said you found a body?”
“News travels fast.” It made sense that Gina called Nick. They’d been dating since Bearwater. Something good hadcome out of that nightmare after all. Both had been burned before, so they were taking things slowly.
“Gina worries.” Nick had settled onto one of the stools at the breakfast bar. “You want to talk about it?” Brooke had given him the abbreviated version. Nick had been staying with her until a few weeks ago, when he finally found his own place, a studio apartment over someone’s garage. It was small, but it was his, and Brooke was happy for him, even if she missed having him around.
“You’re sure you’re okay?” Nick had asked when she finished her story.
“I will be. It’s just a lot to process.”
“Yeah, I bet.” He’d studied her face. “Is there something else? You seem more rattled than just finding a body would explain.”
