Jerry sat inthe chair next to the detective’s desk, staring at the heap of files littering it. He hated being there; he and the badges had never had a good relationship. He glanced at the clock on the wall, steam starting to come off him when he realized how long he’d been waiting for the fucking badge. Sick of wasting his time, he rose from the chair and ambled toward the door.
“Hey, Mr. Kenyon, wait up.” Jerry turned around and saw the pudgy detective hurry up to him. “Sorry I’m late. We had an emergency. Come on back. I have some questions I need to ask you, and I want to give you an update on your family’s murder.”
Jerry scowled and followed the detective back to where he’d been sitting for at least twenty minutes. He stretched out his legs, his hands resting on his thighs.
“I don’t know if you remember my name, but I’m Detective Knop.” The man extended his hand, then took it back when Jerry stared at him impassively, his hands still on his thighs. “Want one?” he offered, opening the top of a donut box.
“What do you wanna ask me?” Jerry said.
Brushing the crumbs off his desk, Knop pulled out a file from under a stack of other cases and opened it. Rummaging through it, he took out several pieces of paper. “We got some information on the boyfriend your sister had been seeing right before her murder.”
“What’s the fucker’s name?”
The detective leaned back in his chair. “We don’t know his name yet, but we got something of a description. Maybe you can let me know if you ever saw him hanging around the trailer park.”
“Maybe. Ask the questions. I gotta go somewhere soon.” Jerry was still pissed that Knop made him wait around. The only reason he was there was to find out what the badges knew so he could track the motherfucker down and make him suffer for what he did to Wanda and Kelsey.
“It seems like your sister took up with a guy about two weeks before she was murdered. The neighbors saw his car parked in front of your mother’s trailer practically every night since they started dating. You see a bronze Buick Lacrosse parked around the place in the last two weeks before your mom and sister died?”
Jerry shook his head. “What’s the year?”
“From the pictures we showed the neighbors, I’d say it was a 2006 or 2007. The neighbors said it was a dark maroon, and the guy would blast loud music whenever he came by to pick your sister up. He also flashed around a lot of money. He’d have a wallet he’d take out as if he were counting his bills for something, then he’d knock on their door.”
“Never saw the car. What does he look like?”
“A lot of the neighbors didn’t get a good look at his face—he usually wore a hat pulled down low. They said he had black hair and always wore thick gold-framed sunglasses, even at night.”
A sudden coldness hit Jerry and he jerked his head back. In that moment, he knew the murders were meant as a message from the fucking asshole in the purple Corvette who’d stalked Kylie in Crested Peak. The madman was basically telling Jerry to leave Kylie alone, and he’d punished him for not listening by killing Wanda and Kelsey.
“You know someone fitting that description?” the detective asked.
Jerry shook his head, his shock turning into white-hot rage.
“You sure? You looked like something clicked for you just now.”
“Don’t know anyone like that. Any leads on who he is and if he’s still in Pinewood Springs?”The fucker is in Pinewood, and Kylie’s in danger. I gotta let Banger know.
“We’re still investigating.”
Anxious to get to the clubhouse, he leapt to his feet. “Let me know if you find anything out. I gotta go.” Not wanting to raise the badges’ suspicions, Jerry sauntered at a leisurely pace out of the police station, swung his leg over his Harley, and took off in search of Banger.
***
Kylie turned upthe hard rock station louder as she swung onto Miller Street, her body buzzing from excitement. She’d been working for the past few days in the office for the non-profit job she’d wanted and was anxious to go to the wildlife rescue and work with the animals. A desk job hadn’t been her idea of a good time. She thought she’d be stuck filing for eight hours until the woman, Mrs. Morris, told her the previous day that Kylie would start training at the reserve. Mrs. Morris said she’d be working with the director, Mr. Austin, four other assistants, and a veterinarian. Kylie could hardly contain herself, she was so elated.
Checking her GPS, she veered off Miller Street and picked up Highway 32. She was definitely riding high on the thrill of her new job and her adorable Jerry. Each time she thought about him, her lips would tingle and shivers skated across her skin. He was so awesome, and he loved her. He’d even said he’d deal with her dad, but Kylie had told him to lay low for a while. She knew her dad better than anyone, and Jerry riding in on his chrome steed to proclaim his love for her wouldn’t sit well at all with Banger.
As she drove, she noticed steam coming out of the front of her hood. Kylie glanced at the temperature gauge. It was approaching the red mark.Shit! What the hell is going on?
She pulled off to a side road and killed the engine. Popping open the hood, a cloud of steam billowed out, and when she looked on the ground she saw the lemon-lime color of coolant puddling under her car. The last thing she needed was car trouble on her way to work. What kind of an impression was she going to make on the director?
She scanned the area looking for Johnnie, the newest guy her dad had assigned to follow her, but he was nowhere to be seen. Did she lose him? Her dad would be super pissed when he found out the prospect couldn’t tail an almost twenty-year-old girl. Taking out her phone, she began to call her dad then remembered he was in church, so she called her employer.
“Pinewood Springs Wildlife Rescue,” Mrs. Morris answered.
“Hi. This is Kylie, and I have an overheated car. I’m stuck off Highway 32. I’m going to try and find someone who can give me a ride, but I wanted to let you know I’ll be a little late for work.”
“Are you in a safe place?”
