Chapter 13 #2
Brooke shook her head but stayed quiet. What made Adam so sure Tyler was guilty? Did he know more than he was saying? Of course, he probably did. He certainly wouldn’t tell her about all the evidence he had in an active investigation.
They drove to the small diner on the edge of town and slid into a booth in the back. They ordered sodas and a couple of appetizers to share.
“Talk to us,” Gina said once they were alone. “What are you thinking?”
Brooke traced patterns in the condensation on her water glass. “Adam’s a good guy, right? A good deputy?”
“Seems like it,” Nick said carefully.
“He truly believes Tyler’s guilty. He’s not lying to me or trying to manipulate me. He really thinks he’s protecting me from a dangerous man.”
“But?” Gina prompted.
“But that comment to Joe bothered me. ‘Once I’ve nailed him.’ Like it’s already decided. Like the investigation is just a formality.”
“He’s confident,” Joe said. “Law enforcement types often are.”
“Or he’s more interested in being right than finding the truth,” Brooke countered.
“That’s a serious accusation,” Nick pointed out.
“I know.” Brooke took a sip of her water. “And maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Adam is exactly what he seems—a good cop trying to protect the community. But something about tonight felt off.”
“What are you going to do?” Gina asked quietly.
Brooke’s thoughts drifted to her brother. Phil had always been blunt, sometimes to the point of rudeness, honest even when it hurt, and utterly incapable of lying convincingly.
Phil wouldn’t defend someone without reason.
He’d known Tyler. There had to be a reason he’d been so certain of his innocence.
After Tyler’s arrest earlier today, Phil had texted her several times and even left a voicemail.
In each one of them, he’d basically said the same thing: They’ve got the wrong guy.
“I’m going to talk to Phil,” Brooke said. “I want to know why he was sure Tyler was innocent back then and what he thinks now.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Gina’s concern was evident. “Getting involved in this?”
“I’m already involved. I found the body. Adam arrested Tyler in my coffee shop. The whole town is talking about me and speculating about my connection to all this, even calling my coffee shop murder central. I can’t ignore that.”
“That doesn’t mean you have to investigate,” Gina argued.
Nick cleared his throat. “Actually, maybe she does.”
Gina turned to him, surprised. “You think she should get involved?”
“I think she needs answers. And I think waiting for the sheriff’s department to find the truth might not be the best plan, especially if Adam’s already decided Tyler’s guilty.” Nick looked at Brooke. “I get it, wanting to know for yourself instead of taking someone else’s word.”
“Even if it’s risky?” Gina pressed.
“If she’s careful,” Nick said. “And if she’s not doing it alone.”
Joe had been quiet, but now he leaned forward. “Look, I’ll be honest. The journalist in me is fascinated by this story. But the friend part of me is worried about you, Brooke. You’ve been through a lot lately.”
“I know what you’re going to say— ”
“Do you?” Joe interrupted gently. “Because I remember earlier this year how you were when you were training for the Moose Range Run 100. You were a nervous wreck. Your judgment was off. You made poor decisions.”
“Like not turning around when the storm started,” Gina added quietly. “That hike outside Bearwater. You insisted we keep going when we should’ve turned back.”
Brooke flinched. The memory of that day, of Kelsey and the hired killer and how close they’d all come to dying, was still sharp.
Maybe if she hadn’t been so stubborn and turned around when the weather first started, they would’ve been able to get off the mountain before the road flooded, trapping them there in a storm.
Trapping them with a killer. “I know. I screwed up.”
“But after everything that happened, you seemed better,” Nick said. “You switched to the shorter distance and finished strong. You’ve been taking it easy, being more careful.”
“Until Sunday,” Gina said. “When you went hiking alone in the mountains. That was poor judgment, Brooke. You know better.”
“I do,” Brooke admitted. “Going alone was stupid. I should’ve made a few more calls and found someone to go with me, or just skipped it. But that doesn’t mean meeting Tyler was a bad thing. And it doesn’t mean he’s guilty.”
“Are you sure about that?” Joe asked.
“No,” Brooke said honestly. “I’m not sure about anything. But I don’t think he killed Sheila. And I don’t think he killed his family. And what’s that whole story Adam had about looking for unsolved murders and disappearances where Tyler lived? That seems odd, like he’s grasping at straws.”
“It’s a reasonable thing to check.” Joe shrugged. “I’d do it, too, if I were investigating the case.”
“Bottom line is, I need to know if I’m right or if I’m making another mistake in judgment.”
The table went quiet as the waitress brought their sodas. “Food’ll be right out,” she said before leaving them alone.
They all took a moment to drink and think.
Finally, Gina spoke, “If you’re sure about this—really sure—I’ll support you.
But you have to be careful. No going off alone.
No taking unnecessary risks. And if at any point you think Tyler might actually be dangerous, you walk away.
You tell Adam or Edi or someone everything you know about Tyler. Deal?”
“Deal,” Brooke agreed.
“I can help,” Joe offered. “Research, background checks, that kind of thing. I know how to dig into records without raising red flags.”
“And I can ask around,” Nick added. “Construction sites are gossip central. If there’s talk about Tyler or Sheila or anything related, I’ll hear it.”
Brooke felt something ease inside her. These were her people. Her tribe. The ones who’d been with her through the worst day of her life and were still standing by her now.
“Thank you,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.
“Just be careful,” Gina repeated. “Adam’s not wrong about one thing—if Tyler is guilty, he’s dangerous. And even if he’s not, the real killer is still out there.”
The food arrived, and they purposely shifted to a new subject before wrapping things up.
Nick gave everyone a ride back to their vehicles. When they reached the parking lot, Gina turned to Brooke. “Remember, be smart.”
“I will,” she promised.
“I’m going to do some checking around,” Joe said. “I’ll call you if I find anything substantial. I think I’ll go to the arraignment too. You planning to be there?”
“I hadn’t thought about it,” Brooke admitted. She shook her head. “No, I won’t be there.”
She knew that was the right decision, though part of her felt like she should go, to show her support for Tyler if nothing else.
But the idea of seeing him there bothered her.
She assumed he’d be in jail clothes. What did they even wear at the Basin County Detention Center?
Orange jumpsuits with some kind of slide sandal?
She didn’t know, but that’s the kind of outfit they wore on television, and she didn’t want to see Tyler dressed like that.
As Brooke climbed into her SUV, she thought about Adam’s certainty, his determination to “nail” Tyler. About her brother’s conviction that Tyler was innocent. About Tyler’s eyes when they’d led him away in handcuffs.
Someone was wrong. Either Adam, who genuinely believed he was protecting her. Or her brother, who’d never been wrong about people before, to her knowledge. Or Brooke herself, whose judgment had failed her catastrophically in the recent past.
She needed to find out which. She needed to understand the truth, whatever it was.
Even if that truth turned out to be something she didn’t want to face.
Tomorrow, she’d talk to Phil and find out what he knew, try to understand why he’d believed in Tyler all those years ago.
And then she’d decide for herself whether Tyler was a man wrongly accused or a killer who’d fooled them all.
But tonight, driving home through the quiet streets of Irma, Brooke couldn’t shake the feeling that Adam’s interest in her was about more than just protection. And that his determination to convict Tyler was personal in a way it shouldn’t have been.
That maybe the real danger wasn’t Tyler at all.
Maybe it was trusting the wrong person to keep her safe.