Chapter Seventeen
“We’re going to need to break into the sheriff’s office.”
If he had thought he felt helpless when he was just supposed to keep out of the way of the investigation, it was nothing compared to how he felt knowing someone was out there actively trying to frame him.
That was where they’d started in their research: Who held some sort of grudge against Tanner?
Ended up that was a pretty long list when they’d included everyone he’d arrested or stopped from completing some sort of nefarious plan.
“Break into the sheriff’s office?” he asked. “Adding to the list of crimes I’m wanted for doesn’t seem like the best of plans,” he responded, walking over and rubbing her shoulders. She leaned her head back against his stomach. “Is it some sort of information you can’t get to electronically?”
“Evidently, Sheriff Duggan has pretty important info that she’s not entering into her normal computer system. Is that strange?”
He nodded. “She’s got a separate computer in her office, without any sort of internet connection to it at all. She calls it her diary.”
Bree’s eyes narrowed, but she obviously had respect for Sheriff Duggan’s tactics. “Smart.”
“Definitely. Not to mention she knows what you’re capable of. She knows that any information stored in a computer connected to the internet can be accessed by you if you put your mind to it.”
Bree reached back and grabbed his waist with her hands, tilting her head back so she was looking at him, upside down. “I only found out about it because she mentioned it in an e-memo to her assistant. Do you think Sheriff Duggan thinks you’re guilty now?”
“I hope not. But me not being there to explain myself is certainly not helping.”
He knew word had gotten around Risk Peak that there was a warrant out for his arrest. He couldn’t even think too much about how that made the people who knew him feel. They trusted him to uphold the law. To now be on the opposite side of the law was almost unfathomable.
“I should turn myself in. I might have to sit in a cell for a couple of weeks, but we’ll get this cleared up.”
Bree stood and turned so she was facing him, climbing up onto the chair on her knees. “I support you. I really do. But let’s see what’s in the sheriff’s office. If it’s nothing important then, heck, you’ll already be in the building, and you can turn yourself in then if you want.”
Bree was still working the Carrico angle—had been all day—but she hadn’t come up with anything to tie him to this third victim. He and Duquette had never served any prison time together or seemed to have any ties any other way. Bree hadn’t found any email sent by Carrico concerning Duquette.
She’d spent more time looking at the first two emails concerning Newkirk and Anders, convinced something wasn’t right, frustrated when she couldn’t figure out what it was.
She pulled back to return to her computer, but he grasped her hips and kept her in place in front of him. “Okay, we go to the sheriff’s office and see if there’s anything that throws major light on the case. In for a penny, in for a pound, right?”
As far as Bree had told him from the “watchful eye” she was keeping on the sheriff’s office in Risk Peak, they believed that he was making the most of his administrative leave and had gone on that romantic getaway. For once, small-town rumor was working in his favor.
But if they figured out that wasn’t the case, it would become a manhunt. So figuring out what the sheriff was keeping on her private computer was probably a good idea, even if the thought of it was distasteful.
An hour later they were going through a basement side door into the Grand County Sheriff’s Department office. It should’ve had a fire alarm on it, but Tanner knew some of the guys had disconnected it because it provided an easy way in and out for a smoke break.
He grimaced as the door made a loud creak as they opened it. If they got caught, it wasn’t technically illegal to be using that door, but it sure as hell was going to raise a lot of questions.
Fortunately, there wasn’t anything happening in these administrative offices in the back of the building at this time of night. There was more life on the south side of the building—a holding cell and the night officers’ offices. But they shouldn’t need to go there for any reason.
He kept a hand at Bree’s back as he led her down the darkened hall toward Sheriff Duggan’s office. She had her laptop gripped tightly in her arms. She hadn’t offered a reason why she’d brought it, and he hadn’t asked.
Sheriff Duggan’s office door wasn’t locked, which only made him feel marginally better about opening it and ushering Bree inside.
At least so far he hadn’t actually had to break in.
But he was committed now. If there was fallout, he’d have to deal with it.
He wasn’t going to second-guess himself any more.
Bree immediately moved over to a laptop sitting at the corner of Duggan’s desk. “This is it.”
“Work as fast as you can.”
Bree was pretty damn fast.
She had the sheriff’s computer opened and had hacked her way past the password in under two minutes. “Got it.”
He whistled through his teeth. “You’re scary fast there, freckles. Passwords don’t seem to give you any trouble.”
She smiled. “Passwords are nothing more than a security blanket for the general public. They definitely don’t keep any true hackers from getting what they want.”
He shook his head. “Promise me you’ll always stay on my side of the law.”
Of course, which side was his right at this moment? Tanner didn’t examine that too closely.
“Okay, Sheriff Duggan,” Bree whispered to the computer. “Tell dear diary what’s on your mind.”
A few minutes later, Bree reached a hand out toward him without looking back at him. “Oh my gosh, come look at this.”
“Is it bad?”
She shook her head. “No, it’s definitely not bad. She’s kept a record of dozens of phone calls, messages and meetings she’s had today. All about you.”
“What?” He rushed to her side.
She showed him what she was talking about on the screen.
Sure enough, at least a dozen people, from Risk Peak and other parts of Grand County, had contacted the sheriff basically as character witnesses on his behalf.
Obviously some of them didn’t have all their facts straight—gossip was fast in a town Risk Peak’s size, but rarely accurate—but they’d all rushed to his defense when they’d heard about the arrest warrant.
“She’s keeping a very meticulous list of everyone defending you,” Bree said. “Some of these are pretty impressive character witnesses.”
He was honored and more than ever wanted to clear this up so he could get back to serving the town he loved so much.
Bree started clicking away on the computer again. “Okay, let’s see what else is going on inside the sheriff’s mind. Because as touching as that is, it’s not going to help clear your name.”
Tanner resumed his lookout through the cracked door as Bree went back to work. It didn’t take long for her to find the other info.
“There you are,” she whispered. “The sheriff doesn’t want to say it publicly, but she has some concerns about someone in the office. She discovered someone else who was a connection between all three victims.”
“Who?”
“Hang on.” She clicked a few keys, then paused. “Dr. Craig Michalski.”
Shock ricocheted through his body. “What?”
“He was the official county psychiatrist for both Newkirk and Anders. Was even asked to come in for a second opinion for Anders for the parole board. That was one of the reasons Anders was released—because Michalski suggested it.”
Tanner rubbed his eyes. He had known Michalski had visited Carrico, although still didn’t know why. The fact that he’d been the psychiatrist assigned to Newkirk and Anders wasn’t really surprising. Dr. Michalski was part of a lot of cases. “Okay. Keep going.”
“Says here that the sheriff approved the doc’s request to talk to Duquette about eleven months ago while Duquette was in prison.” She looked up from the computer and met his eyes. “Because Michalski was trying to understand more about you.”
Tanner scrubbed a hand over his face. A year ago he’d hit a particular rough spot with his PTSD. He’d been angry, for sure, frustrated at his inability to just move past everything. Had been frustrated at the lack of noticeable progress in his therapy.
“Dr. Michalski and I haven’t always seen eye to eye. But I’m going to be the first one to argue that just because you happen to know three people doesn’t mean you killed them.”
She nodded. “Granted. But Sheriff Duggan has some concerns. She’s afraid Dr. Michalski has some sort of personal problem with you. She also says he’s been acting erratically over the past three months. Enough for her to have real uneasiness.”
“Damn it,” he muttered.
“That’s basically all that’s on this computer.
” She closed it. “Tanner, I know you don’t want to jump to conclusions, but Michalski would’ve known how to taint a crime scene with your DNA.
He told the sheriff and Ryan Fletcher that he thought you were actively capable of committing murder.
What if he has some sort of vendetta against you or something? ”
Had that been true and Tanner had just missed it? There was definitely no love lost between him and Dr. Michalski, but would the man murder people in order to frame Tanner?
A light flipping on in the far hallway caught his attention.
“We’ve got to go, now,” he said, holding out his hand for Bree.
She closed the computers, and when he heard footsteps in the direction they needed to go, he rushed her out the door and down the opposite direction they’d come in. It would force them to circle back, but at least they’d be able to do that undetected.
Tanner picked up speed and rounded the corner, Bree’s hand in his.
And ran straight into Dr. Michalski.
“What the hell?” Tanner let go of Bree, placing himself between her and the doctor. “What are you doing here, Michalski?”
This was one of the most isolated sections of the building. There wasn’t much reason for Dr. Michalski to be down here at all, and especially not in the middle of the night.
The doctor shifted back and forth, more agitated than Tanner had ever seen him.
“What am I doing here? What are you doing here, Tanner? Do you know there’s a warrant out for your arrest?”
Tanner grabbed the man by his shirt and pressed him up against the wall. “Actually, yes, I do know that. And part of the reason for said warrant is because of your statement to the sheriff that you thought I was capable of murdering those guys.”
“I did nothing more than offer my honest opinion of whether you had the mental and emotional capacity for the act. Whether you want to admit it or not, you are capable of it.”
Tanner didn’t disagree, but that wasn’t the point. He didn’t let go of the other man’s shirt.
“But in the context of when and why it was being asked, you just threw me under the bus, Doc. Knowing there was a connection between me and all three victims and how it would look.”
Michalski shifted nervously again. His eyes darted all over the place before finally settling back on Tanner. “I was just offering my professional opinion. Valuable information.”
“Really? Then why didn’t you offer other valuable information, too? Like the fact that you had contact with all three victims.”
The doctor cleared his throat. “My job brought me in contact with all three of them.”
“So did mine.” Tanner had to force himself to keep his voice down. “I didn’t do this. I didn’t kill those men, as much as circumstantial evidence and your opinion of my psyche might suggest otherwise.”
“If you’re not guilty, just turn yourself in. All this will get sorted out.”
“Speaking of guilt.” Bree peeked out from around Tanner before he could stop her. “Why are you here at three o’clock in the morning?”
“Especially in this part of the building?” Tanner added. “There’s no reason for you to be back here at all if you’re not up to something.”
The other man’s eyes bolted around nervously again. “No offense, but I’m not the one who has a warrant out for my arrest. I don’t have to give a reason for being here.”
Tanner was about to argue the point none too gently with the doctor when a ping came from Bree’s laptop behind him. A second later she grabbed his arm.
“Whitaker just logged in to a computer on site. We need to go.”
What the hell was Whitaker doing here at three o’clock in the morning? He didn’t work night shifts, either.
“Tanner,” Michalski said, his voice returning to the soothing tone he was more familiar with. “Just turn yourself in right now. There’s been a ton of people who’ve come in or called to speak up on your behalf. If you didn’t do this, trust your colleagues to find the real killer.”
“Yeah, Doc? Well, you’re a colleague and you certainly didn’t speak up on my behalf. So I think it might be to my benefit to prove my own innocence.”
Tanner dragged the older man down the hallway and threw him into a closet, bolting the door from the outside. Michalski would be able to get someone’s attention tomorrow when the administrative offices filled up.
He looked over at Bree. “You okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but let’s get out of here. The turning-yourself-in plan doesn’t seem like such a good one anymore.”
A door clicked open at the other end of the hallway. Tanner grabbed Bree’s hand, and they ran in the opposite direction, barely making it around the corner without being seen.
Tanner didn’t slow down. If Michalski made enough noise, whoever was around would undoubtedly hear him. And if it was Whitaker—although why would Whitaker have a reason to be in that part of the office at that time of night, either?—the chase might be starting immediately.
They needed to get out of the building right now. But the only way to do that was going back the way they’d come.
“We’re trapped, aren’t we?” she whispered.
He let out a low curse. “Whoever that is, it won’t take them long to get to the closet I stuffed Michalski in.”
She nodded and dropped to the floor, opening her computer and resting it on her crossed legs. Within just a few seconds, an alarm was going off at the front of the building.
“What is that?” he asked her.
She shrugged, getting up. “I triggered a window alarm near the northeast side corner of the building. It won’t buy us much time—”
He pulled her in for a quick, hard kiss. “But it will be enough.”
They were getting out of here and figuring out exactly what the hell was going on.