"If you knowingly interfere with another division's investigation..."Meg sighed."Some of the people who already want rid of you would use it."
Selena stared out through the Sheriff's department window.
"You really think my career could go down the tube, don't you?"
"No."
The answer came quickly.
"Not if you're clever, Selena.And patient."
Selena smiled faintly.
"So what now?"
"I'll keep pushing from this end.Hopefully, I'll have permission for you soon."
"I'll wait."
"Good."
"Thanks, Meg."
"Stay patient."
"I'll do my best."
The line went dead.
Selena lowered the phone and looked again at the name she'd just written.
Walton Morimer.
For the moment, it was a door she wasn't allowed to open.But someone behind it almost certainly knew more than they were saying.She would have to pursue other leads for now.
Her gaze moved to the evidence board.A picture near the board’s edge caught her attention.
Ray Parkinson.
Printed from a county record, the photo showed a man in his fifties with close-cut gray hair, a salesman’s smile, and eyes that did not join in.Connor had already spoken with him once.Warren’s former partner.Public argument.Unresolved business.
One dead man had pointed them to Ray.
Another had pointed them to Carl Higgins.
Maybe both threads were separate.Maybe Harlan County was simply full of men with money trouble and grudges sharpened by pride.Or maybe the killer understood something about these disputes and had started using local anger as cover.
Arnold cleared his throat.“What next for you then?”
Selena took Ray’s photograph from the board, studied it for another second, then pinned it back in place.
“I think I’ll pay him a visit.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Carl Higgins had built his house where Harlan County thinned into horse pasture, private lanes, and money that preferred not to be seen from the road.
Connor slowed the cruiser at the foot of a long stone wall and looked through the windshield at the security gate ahead.The metal bars were black, polished, and high enough to keep out more than salesmen.A camera watched from a brick post.Beyond the gate, the drive climbed between trimmed hedges toward a house that sprawled across the rise like it had been added to every time Carl won another deal.
