Chapter Six #3
She’d heard all the issues that appeared to be affecting the country as a whole, but nothing as far as a hot spot in Guntersville or anything like that. Not since she was in junior high school anyway. Then again, maybe the bad guys had just gotten better at evading the law and hiding their work.
“The subject of human trafficking has come up,” she agreed, “but no specific or big problems here to my knowledge.” She planted her elbows on the table and set her chin in her hands. “I might not be the best person to ask. Mostly when I’m watching news it’s about the weather.”
“A lot of people don’t like to watch the news,” he said, letting her off the hook.
“But I think it’s worth a close look because Briana and Martin’s disappearance would make number eight in sixteen years—nine if you count Francesca—that fit a specific criteria.
Nashville isn’t that far from here and she fits the profile.
The fact that all the cases fall into the same MO is relevant to me.
In a big way. The trouble is that the feedback from my agency’s contact in the Bureau is that local law enforcement doesn’t treat it like a big deal.
In two instances it wasn’t even reported to them. ”
Charly’s heart started to beat a little faster. “By Bureau I assume you mean the FBI.”
“I do. Apparently, Sheriff Malone isn’t always a team player when it comes to what he refers to as outside interference.”
Not surprised, Charly shook her head. “I can see that. My father had trouble with him when he was sheriff and Tully was a deputy.”
“Malone took over after your father’s death.”
Charly nodded. “He was interim sheriff until an election, and he’s held the position since.”
“He must be popular with the voters,” Billie suggested.
“To some degree, yes. But honestly, no one capable of beating him ever runs.” Charly wasn’t sure why that was the case so she opted not to give her opinion.
“He and your father didn’t get along?”
She gave a dry half laugh. “My father said he was a hothead who wasn’t as thorough as he should be. But then my father was persnickety.”
“Your parents’ murders were never solved.”
“They were not.” A knot formed instantly in her gut at the subject.
Talking about her parents’ deaths always did that.
“When the insurance money came, Jen and I hired a private investigator, but he had no better luck than the sheriff’s department or the Alabama Bureau of Investigations.
They were driving home and for whatever reason stopped on the road and were shot where they sat in the family car. ”
Dread settled heavily on her chest. It was the same every time she allowed those memories to slip in. She had been visiting Jen but could imagine the details as vividly as if she had been in the car with them. Had she not been away, she probably would have been.
“No one your father had put away had sufficient motive to go to such an extreme for revenge?”
His gaze was doing that probing thing again as if he were trying to see right through her. To analyze what she was thinking.
“There were plenty who had motive but they were all either in jail or had moved away or I guess had an alibi.” Really, those days were a bit of a blur. To lose both parents in one fell swoop was hard to muddle through at such a young age.
“You were visiting your sister,” he said. “I think I read something about that in one of the articles I found.”
“Yes. At Sanford in Birmingham. I was supposed to go there in the fall that year but…after what happened, someone had to stay here and take care of things.”
She remembered the argument with her sister.
She hadn’t wanted Charly to stay. It certainly hadn’t been about the money that the sale of this place would have brought at the time.
It was about fear that something would happen to her, too.
But Charly had been determined to see her parents’ dream through to fruition.
“Have you hired anyone else to look into the case?” he asked. “Over the years, I mean.”
“I did once about seven years ago.” She shook her head. “But he hit a wall, too. Alex helped me decide to let it go after that. It drove me crazy for a long time that their killer is still out there—if he’s not dead by now or in prison for some other crime. But I learned to live with it.”
“If you wouldn’t mind,” he said, his voice gentle, his gaze comforting, “I can look into the case. See if we can find something the others missed.”
A long-dead hope stirred. “That would be great.” Wow. The idea that the Colby Agency would look into the case startled her. They might actually find the truth. Except…it had been a really long time. Sixteen years. “Do you think it’s possible to find the truth after so long?”
A smile slid across his lips. “The truth has always been there and always will be. It’s just a matter of turning over the right rock to find where it has been hiding.”
Anticipation seared through her. She tamped it back. “But first,” she said, to steady her runaway hopes, “you have to find your sister and her husband.”
His smile faded. “I will find them. I won’t stop until I do.”