Chapter 32 #2
“He’s been stalking you,” Phil said. “Arrested you for Sheila’s murder.
Took you in for Monique’s murder. Insists that you and she used to date.
I’d put money on him being the one who made that up and spread it around town.
I wouldn’t even be surprised if somehow he’d made sure Sheila’s ex-husband—what’s his name? ”
“Rusty,” Tyler and Brooke replied in unison.
“Yeah. Him. Wouldn’t surprise me a bit if Adam is behind that incident too. Like he sicced him on you. Followed you two to Elkridge and then called Rusty and told him where you were.”
“That’s a stretch.” Brooke shook her head. “I mean, really. Why do that? Besides, if we are saying Tyler is being framed, then that means Adam is a killer. He doesn’t seem like a killer.”
The way she said it had Tyler looking at her. Does she know Adam better than he thought?
Brooke crinkled her forehead. “Would a game warden use words like that? Neutralized.”
Tyler nodded, while Joe said, “Maybe so.”
“Game warden?” Phil asked.
Joe briefed Phil on Henry. “So, we know Henry dated Sheila, but I haven’t found any direct connection between him and Monique other than the fact that the women were friends.
They didn’t date or double date or anything.
He could’ve killed both of them, but . .
. ” Joe shrugged. “I’m still looking into it. ”
“But it could be him, right?” Brooke asked. “The wording might fit?”
“Neutralized might be used when talking about wildlife,” Phil said.
Tyler leaned back in his seat as he turned over the words on the note—not only the words, but the fact it was left on his truck. His truck parked in front of Joe’s condo.
Is Adam following me again? That could make sense. The game warden, though, doesn’t make much sense. How would he know where to find me? I don’t even know him and have only spoken to him the one time at the shop.
He sat up in his chair. Robert knew he was coming over to Joe’s. After Joe left the shop, Robert asked how it’d gone. Tyler had told him they were going to figure out who was framing him and that they were meeting up after work.
A sick feeling came over Tyler.
“What’s wrong?” Brooke asked, touching his arm.
He shook his head. “What if it’s Robert?”
“Robert?” She crinkled her brow. “Your boss?”
He nodded.
“Dude?” Phil shook his head. “You can’t go accusing your boss of being a murderer and framing you for it. Not if you want to keep your job. Or have any job in Irma.”
Tyler raised his hands. “I know . . . it sounds crazy. But did I ever tell you why we were on the loop trail that day? Robert suggested that hike. We were going somewhere else, one of the peaks, but he said his back hurt and he wanted to take the loop since it’s mostly flat.”
He glanced at Brooke, who gave a nod and said, “It’s an easy one.”
“Right. And I didn’t think anything of it until yesterday, when I was remembering why we went there.”
Phil shook his head. “Seems a stretch to accuse your boss of murder because he had a backache and wanted to take an easier hike.”
Tyler shrugged. “It does, but— ”
“But what if he was seeing Sheila and killed her and was some kind of sicko who thought it’d be fun for his wife to find a body?” Phil made a face.
“She didn’t find the body,” Brooke said softly. “I did. But I wouldn’t have found it if I’d stayed on the trail. None of us would have.”
“I think it’s worth exploring,” Joe said, though his voice lacked conviction. He made a note on his paper. “So, we have Henry, Adam, and Robert.”
Phil laughed and shook his head. “I still can’t believe you’re accusing your boss.”
“I’m not accusing him,” Tyler said, though he knew that wasn’t exactly true. “I’m just saying, someone killed them and is framing me. Robert knew I was coming here tonight. He makes more sense than the game warden. Unless he’d been following me around like Adam does.”
“But Adam stopped following you,” Brooke said. “You haven’t seen him lately, right?”
“True.” Tyler nodded. “I haven’t seen him.”
“Doesn’t mean he hasn’t been around,” Phil said. “My money is on him. He’s had it in for you all these years.”
Joe turned to Tyler. “Tell me again about the first note. What exactly did it say?”
“I’ll do one better,” Tyler said, pulling out his phone. “I took a picture of it before Edi arrived. She has the original.”
It took him a couple of minutes to find the picture, his mind more on the way Brooke had been sure Adam couldn’t be a killer than on finding the photo. Stop it, Tyler, he told himself. She loves you. She told you she loves you. Don’t go borrowing trouble.
“Here it is.” He handed his phone to Joe.
Brooke leaned toward it. “I didn’t know you photographed it. You never showed me.”
“Didn’t seem right to show you,” he admitted. “But I wanted a record. Just in case.”
She smiled at him and reached out to take his hand. “Smart.”
Joe read it out loud. “‘You should’ve stayed away. You have blood on your hands. Who’s next?
’ The words are different, but the paper looks pretty much the same.
It’s a printout. Typed in what looks like Arial font, printed, then cut to size with scissors.
Odd, but that’s what was done with both of them. ”
“The other one seems more normal, though, don’t you think?” Brooke asked. “I mean the wording.”
Phil scoffed. “Nothing normal about either note.”
Joe nodded. “Both are odd. The wording is a little strange in both of them. Seems to me they were written by the same person. Too many similarities not to be. Or . . . ” Joe paused as he looked to Tyler. “Who all knew about the first note?”
“Sue and Robert, before we called in Edi. She bagged it and took it with her.”
“Not Adam?”
“No. Adam . . . no. I called Edi. She came, said it was probably a prank but took my complaint. Chances are good, though, she showed it to him. Boverman and the rest of the sheriff’s department. You heard about the note, right?”
“Not until Gina told me about it, and that was after Brooke was attacked— ” Joe glanced at the timeline he’d written out “ —two weeks later.”
Brooke she gave a shudder and closed her eyes. She’d recovered from the physical wounds, but Tyler knew she was still scared to go running where someone could hide.
She opened her eyes and found him watching her. She gave him a faint smile.
“We should probably call Edi about this note too,” Brooke said.
“Should we?” Joe asked, leaning forward. “What if it’s not Adam leaving the notes? What if it’s Edi?”