Chapter 8 #2
After seeing him dissect that police file after only having it for a few hours, she’d been impressed with his skill and insight. It made her wonder, not for the first time, more about his father and the cases Ben might have been exposed to.
But…what sort of case could there be in the tiny town of Harper, Montana? He’d told her the population of Harper, and it was even smaller than Bergen, for heaven’s sake, and they’d only had one murder here in over sixty years.
Note to self. Look up crime in Harper, Montana.
"Anything else interesting going on?" Kelly asked.
"Oh! You'll never guess who's running for mayor.
Ethan Walters. Can you believe it? Student body president to actual mayor.
Though honestly, who's surprised?" Hannah said with an eyeroll.
“He always liked to be in charge. Even back in high school, he loved to try to tell me what to do. You know how that went.”
Not well. Hannah and Ethan were known for having lots of lovers’ quarrels and then making up right after by making out passionately on the bleachers.
Ethan had always been ambitious, always had his eye on the next rung of the ladder. And he'd always been near the periphery of their friend group because of his on-and-off relationship with Hannah.
Ben listened patiently, his expression inscrutable. For the moment, anyway.
He’d thoughtfully allowed Kelly to catch up with Hannah without interruption. She couldn’t think of any other man who would have done that. In her experience, men didn’t like it when they weren’t getting attention.
"What about Lori's parents? How have they been dealing with the town's... selective memory?” he asked. “I don’t think I’d be too keen on my child being erased from history.
The question was perfectly framed. He wasn’t too blunt and not too leading.
Hannah's normally bubbly demeanor dimmed slightly, her voice dropping to barely above a whisper.
"Lori’s father passed away six months ago. Heart attack is what the doctors say, but he was never the same after Lori died." She twisted a cocktail napkin between her fingers. "Mrs. Powell moved to Arizona about four months ago. Her sister lives there."
"Did you see her before she left?" Kelly asked, remembering the elegant, poised woman who'd always had a warm smile for her daughter's friends.
"She aged overnight after losing Lori’s dad.” She gestured vaguely with her hands, her eyes bright with tears. "It was like watching someone wither in real time. After he died, she just couldn't stay here anymore. Everyone's hoping the move helps her."
Kelly thought about Elizabeth Powell. She’d adored Lori’s mom and had spent a great deal of time at their home. She'd always baked cookies when all the girls came over, and she'd offered to help with Kelly's college applications.
Hell, Kelly's own mother had been dismissive of her goals and hadn’t wanted to help. The image of that vibrant woman withering under the weight of her grief made Kelly's chest ache.
"Did she ever say anything to you? About the case?" Ben asked, his tone gentle.
“No. Never,” Hannah said with a shake of her head. “But I haven’t forgotten Lori. That's why I keep those photos, even if some of them are just in my office drawer. I won’t forget."
Kelly blinked rapidly, fighting back tears. She couldn’t forget either, not even if she wanted to. She’d made a promise to Lori all those years ago. It was the driving force behind her podcast, behind this entire trip.
She’d bring justice to Lori no matter what it took.
"The house is still there," Hannah added. "Empty now. Nobody's bought it, though I hear it's going up for auction soon. People say it's because of the housing market, but..."
Nobody wanted to live in a house whose owners had been marked by tragedy.
"Hannah!" A loud voice called from the bar, still heard above the din. "Phone call! It's the beer distributor about tomorrow's delivery."
Hannah sighed, glancing apologetically at Kelly and Ben.
"Duty calls. But listen, I'm glad you're looking into this again." She reached out to squeeze Kelly's hand. "Nobody deserves to be erased like they're doing to Lori. And nobody deserves to go without justice."
She stood, straightening her apron. "I'll send Jake over with refills, on the house. And Kelly? It's really good to see you. Don't be a stranger, okay?"
“I won’t,” Kelly promised. “Maybe you could come visit me in the city?”
“I’d love that,” Hannah replied with a wide smile. “And that’s a promise. Let’s not let so much time go by without seeing each other.”
As Hannah walked away, Kelly felt a strange mix of gratitude and determination. In a town trying to forget, Hannah was one of the few people willing to remember. It wasn't much, but in Bergen, it was something close to courage.
"She seems sincere," Ben murmured once Hannah was out of earshot.
"She is," Kelly replied. “But I’m less sure about others.”
In a town full of secrets, how could she be absolutely certain of anyone's sincerity? She could only follow her gut instincts and hope she wasn’t making a huge mistake.
Kelly watched her friend weave through the crowded bar, her practiced smile back in place as she greeted the customers by name. Once Hannah was safely out of earshot, Kelly leaned across the table toward Ben, her voice dropping to barely above a whisper despite the protection of the noisy room.
“Ethan might be on the suspect list.”
“Why?”
“Not for any specific reason except that I haven’t been able to rule him out,” Kelly explained.
“He was part of our friend group. I’ve kept him on the list because I don’t know enough about what he was doing the day Lori disappeared.
And of course, Callum is on the list. I can’t rule him out either. Not yet.”
“Both of them?”
"Sadly, yes. They both had the opportunity, although technically, all of our friends did. We were constantly in and out of each other's lives, houses, and cars. Access wasn't an issue."
"What about motive?"
“Ethan? None. Cal? Well, he was a jealous boyfriend. He always worried that she was with other guys.”
“Was she?”
“No, but that didn’t stop him worrying about it.”
"We can't rule out Hannah either," he said, his voice neutral but firm.
"Hannah? She's been so helpful. I don’t think she’s a suspect. Not really. She's the only one who seems to want to remember Lori."
"Is she glad? Or is she trying to be a part of it?" Ben's question wasn't accusatory, but analytical. "Sometimes killers try to become part of an investigation. They get a thrill out of it."
“No,” Kelly replied firmly. “Just no on Hannah. Besides, I can't see Hannah physically overpowering someone. Lori was taller and athletic. I've always assumed the killer was a man."
"You make a fair point," Ben replied pragmatically. "But right now, no one is off the list.”
Kelly stared into her beer, watching the bubbles rise to the surface and burst. She'd spent years working on cold cases, telling her podcast listeners to consider every possibility, to set aside personal feelings in pursuit of truth.
How many times had she said that the most painful revelations often came from the closest connections to the victim?
"I know it's hard to consider people you've known your whole life," Ben said, his voice softening. "But we have to look at everyone who had motive, means, and opportunity."
"I know," Kelly sighed. "It's just so damn different when it's your hometown, your friends." She looked up at him. "You can be the detached one of the two of us."
“I can do that,” he agreed. “I don’t have the emotional entanglements here that you do. I know that can’t be easy for you, Kelly. I hope my being here can help.”
Kelly studied him across the table, really looking at him for perhaps the first time since they'd arrived in Bergen. He spoke about investigative techniques with such confidence, analyzing motives and behaviors as if he’d done it professionally.
Yet he'd said he was in business development and complex data analytics, not law enforcement.
"You know a lot about this stuff," she observed. "Criminal psychology, investigation methods. I know you said your dad was a sheriff, but you sound like you've done this before."
Something flickered across Ben's face. It was so lightning quick she couldn’t identify it, and once again her curiosity about this man was piqued.
”It's a long story. I'll tell you sometime," he said, effectively closing the subject. "For now, I think we should eat, then pick up those groceries, before heading back to the condo and organizing what we've learned. Make a plan for tomorrow."
Kelly wanted to press further, curious about the depths he seemed determined to keep hidden, but she recognized his deflection for what it was.
He had a boundary she wasn't yet invited to cross. She couldn’t blame him, of course.
They didn’t know one another well, but by the end of this trip, she had a feeling they would.
If she wanted him to respect her privacy and her emotional reactions to being back in Bergen, then she needed to extend the same courtesy.
"You're right," she agreed as Jake brought out their food, placing the plates on the table. Her stomach growled in anticipation, but she didn’t continue talking until he was out of earshot again.
“We should make a list of people to talk to tomorrow.
Callum and Emily might be worth visiting, and I'd like to drive to the site where her body was found. We need to try to puzzle together her last twenty-four hours of life. No one has done that yet.”
After finishing their dinner, they exited the restaurant, giving Hannah a wave as they did. Kelly could feel a pit of guilt in her stomach for even entertaining the thought for a moment that Hannah could be involved.
There was simply no way. Hannah adored Lori. She’d never seen the two of them have even a teenage eye roll fight. They’d been good, close friends.
“Are you okay? You’re very quiet?” Ben asked as they walked to the car.
“I am,” she assured him. “Just getting ready for what we have to do tomorrow.”
The evening was still chilly this time of year, and Kelly wrapped her sweater around her against the cool night air. There was a crescent moon in the sky playing peek-a-boo with the gray clouds that had rolled in earlier in the day.
The streets of Bergen seemed darker than she remembered, the shadows deeper, the spaces between streetlights wider. Or perhaps it was her adult perception that had changed. Someone in this little town had gotten away with murder for more than a decade.
Were they laughing at everyone, smug in the knowledge that they would never be caught? Did they know she was back to find them?
She wouldn’t stop until Lori could rest in peace.