Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Claire
I was fuming. Other than his brief appearance the day we’d gotten the official ID, Agent Weston had stayed away from the office, making it abundantly clear to everyone there that I wasn’t his “partner” at all.
Trey was loving it.
Meanwhile, I was miserable. Bored out of my ever-loving mind. Sheriff McGrath wasn’t assigning me any normal duties because he wanted me to be “available” for Agent Weston. I’d been stuck twiddling my thumbs for two days straight, on top of having to endure Trey’s taunts about the whole thing.
And now, Agent Weston was back, strolling past my pasture like he didn’t have a care in the world. No apology, no update on the case. Nothing.
I couldn’t believe I’d ever thought he was nice.
Rhett rode his horse over toward me, a lazy smirk on his face.
“Should I ask why you’re shooting daggers out of your eyes?” he drawled, leaning forward in his saddle. “And should I warn poor Agent Weston that he’s officially on your bad side?”
I clenched my fists. “That. Man.” The words came out with a venom I rarely used.
Rhett grinned. “Uh oh. Haven’t seen you this fired up in ages. What did he do?”
“I’m supposed to be his partner,” I complained. “But he’s kept me completely out of the loop.”
“I thought you hated working with him.” Rhett shot me a puzzled look. “Chey said you called him an arrogant prick. Shouldn’t you be relieved he’s letting you off the hook?”
I huffed, trying to figure out how to explain it. “Look, I would have been fine if Sheriff McGrath had partnered him with Trey. That’s what I expected. But he didn’t. He gave the case to me. And now it matters, you know?”
“Yeah.” Rhett plucked a piece of straw out of his horse’s mane and stuck it into his mouth, chewing the end of it. “I get that. It’s like if someone went missing near the county line and they called the other SAR team in, we’d feel fine about it. But if they call us, we’re going to see it through.”
“Exactly. I’m the one who found her.” I swallowed hard, my mind flashing back to images from that night. It was terrible to think that she had been strangled, dumped, and left out there to be eaten by predators. Whoever had killed her had a cold, cruel heart.
I shook myself, shutting the images out of my head, and took a deep breath. Rhett was watching me closely.
“You okay?” His tone was mild, but worry sparked in his eyes.
“I’m fine.” I had to be.
He sat patiently, giving me a look that said he was there if I wanted to talk. But he didn’t push.
I squared my shoulders and brought the conversation back to the problem at hand. “Like I was saying, I found her, and I was assigned to the case. But he’s not letting me do anything.” The frustration roared back, taking over the sadness.
Rhett’s posture relaxed. He was used to seeing me pissed off. Could handle that. It was the sadness that bothered him because he couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
“I’ve never known you to wait for permission,” he said, winking.
It caught me off guard. I laughed, the tightness in my chest easing. “You’re right,” I admitted. “That’s not my style, is it? Easier to ask forgiveness instead.”
My brother understood. He got me. He didn’t think I was being stupid or that I should be grateful for an easy gig—words Trey had thrown at me yesterday, insinuating that I wouldn’t have been able to handle it if Agent Weston had actually wanted me to contribute.
I never should have let those words eat at me. I could handle anything that was thrown my way, no matter what anyone else thought.
“Maybe you should solve this case without him.” Rhett smirked, egging me on. “Show him how we do it here in Wildwood.”
I grinned. “Maybe I will.”
After all, I was Claire Hawkins. I didn’t sit on the sidelines.
And I didn’t wait for permission.
I said goodbye to my beautiful horse, Shadow, stealing a few extra kisses from her for courage. Then I headed into the house and put on my uniform.
I was going to work, whether Agent Weston liked it or not.
He’d never given me his contact information, so I slipped into the office Mom and Beth used to manage the guest bookings and logged onto the computer. It only took a second to find his cell phone number in their records.
Before I could change my mind, I sent him a quick text.
Hi, this is Deputy Hawkins. I won’t be at the office this morning after all. I’m following up on some possible leads.
He texted back almost immediately, but I stuffed my phone into my pocket, choosing not to read it. If I hadn’t seen an order to stand down, then I couldn’t get in trouble for failing to do so.
Plausible deniability. My big brothers had taught me that one as soon as I’d been old enough to start getting into trouble.
Next, I tracked down my baby brother, Jonathan.
“Hey, you,” I called as I caught him loading up in one of the farm trucks.
He leaned his head out the window. “What’s up?”
I opened the door to the passenger’s seat and climbed in. “I need some info.”
He eyed me suspiciously. “What kind of info?”
“Names. Anyone Tony Evans was close to here who might still be in touch with him.”
His eyes narrowed. “Is this about that girl who got killed?”
“You know I can’t tell you anything about that. And you can’t tell anyone I asked you this, got it?” I said it as a precaution, knowing that it wasn’t necessary. Jonathan was a vault. He wouldn’t tell anyone we’d talked. It was the sibling code.
He ran his hands through his hair, thinking. “Most of the people Tony ran around with have left, either for jobs or college. But there’s a couple of people you could try. Rob Dacus for one.”
“Rob?” My eyebrows shot up. Rob wasn’t exactly who I’d pictured the mayor’s son hanging out with. Tony had a dark side—I knew that. But it was the kind that stayed mostly hidden under nice clothes and a winning smile. The kind whose behaviors were often excused because of who his parents were.
Rob was the opposite. He was harmless from my perspective. A gentle soul who’d made some bad choices that didn’t hurt anyone but himself. But he was poor and he looked rough. Because of it, he got more trouble than he deserved.
Jonathan shrugged. “They liked to get high together. If Tony wanted a smoke, that’s where he went for it. I figure he still does when he’s back in town for breaks.”
“Got it. Anyone else?”
Jonathan moved his head back and forth like he was weighing it. “It’s probably a dead end, but you could try talking to Elsa Jones. They dated senior year. I know they hooked up a couple of times that first year when he came back, but I think it fizzled out after that.”
“Rob Dacus and Elsa Jones. Got it.”
He hesitated. “Go easy on Elsa when you talk to her, okay? Even though she dated Tony… She’s nice. And she’s had a rough few years.”
The look in his eyes surprised me. There was a tenderness I’d never seen in my baby brother.
“I will,” I promised. “I won’t even let her know I’m questioning her. I’ll just stop by and make conversation, see what I can find out.”
He nodded, relieved.
“Thanks, bro. I’ll see you later.” I snuck a quick kiss on his cheek before he could push me away.
He rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide his grin.
It was good to see. Sometimes I worried about him. He’d been so quiet lately, always walking around like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
Seeing him smile made some of the weight ease off of mine.
Elsa Jones worked at our post office, making it easy to talk to her without it looking suspicious. I went there first, ignoring the phone vibrating in my pocket as I walked inside.
Elsa was alone at the front, restocking the prepaid shipping boxes. “Hi, Deputy Hawkins,” she said, smiling at me as she stuck the last of her boxes into a slot and wiped her hands. “What can I do for you today?”
I returned her smile. She was a sweet girl with long brown hair, rosy cheeks, and a shy smile. She was always friendly and kind, patient with customers.
I’d never known what she had seen in Tony Evans.
“I need a book of stamps,” I said. “Jonathan still hasn’t sent out thank-you cards for his graduation presents and Mom’s about to have a fit. Thought I’d help him out by marking one thing off the list.”
“That’s nice of you.” She smoothed back the hair that had fallen loose from her ponytail as she walked behind the counter and took her place at the register. “Just one book? He had quite the fan club at graduation.”
“I guess you better make it two, just in case. You know, it’s still crazy to me that you’ve all grown up already. He graduated this year, you graduated last year…” I shook my head and mimicked the expression all the older people in my life used to make about me.
“It’s pretty crazy,” she agreed, laughing softly as she rang me up. “I don’t exactly feel like an adult yet.”
“Me either.” I fished my debit card out of my wallet and swiped it. “And I know Jonathan doesn’t.”
“I figured he’d be at college this fall,” she commented. She kept her eyes trained on the register, but her cheeks turned just a bit more pink.
“He hasn’t really decided what he’s doing next,” I said, trying to figure out a natural segue into the questions I really cared about.
“Does that mean he might be staying at the ranch, making a career of it?” she asked, passing me my stamps and my receipt.
I shrugged. “Maybe. He hasn’t really said. Not to me anyway. You know Jonathan—he’s quiet.”
“Yes, he is.” She smiled with the same tenderness he’d had when he told me to be careful with her.
Interesting.
“What about you? You think you’ll stick around?”
Her smile faded. “Probably. I wanted to go to college. Even had a scholarship. But Dad’s not doing so great and I didn’t feel like I could leave. Maybe someday.”
My heart squeezed for the girl. Elsa’s dad had developed severe early-onset dementia while she was in high school.
It had been a huge shock for all of them.
He’d only been fifty and had quickly gone from being their sole breadwinner to needing full-time care.
I’d always had a feeling that’s why Elsa had stayed, but this was the first time she’d voiced it.
“I’m sorry,” I said. I was—both for what she was going through and for the fact that I was bringing it up for my own purposes.
She smiled again, even though her eyes looked moist. “I’m glad I can help. Glad Mom doesn’t have to do it on her own. There will be time for college later.”
I understood that—the mix of emotions. Torn between duty and desire.
“I bet it was hard though, giving that up.” I bit my lip, forcing down the guilt about plying her for information. “Were you planning on going to UW with Tony? You guys dated senior year, right?”
Her face turned sheepish. “Yeah. But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. My staying here gave me a way to end things with him.” Her voice had completely changed, the sadness replaced by disgust.
“Oh.” I didn’t have to fake my surprise. “I didn’t realize you’d wanted to. I thought you guys still got together when he came back on breaks.”
She looked embarrassed. “He used to call me when he came back to town—that first semester anyway. Thanksgiving break was the last time. I was relieved when it stopped.”
“Why?” I cocked my head.
“Tony’s … intense. When he first asked me out, I said yes. Mostly because…” She hesitated, averting her eyes. “Well. For stupid reasons. I never meant for it to get serious. Never thought he’d want it to, honestly.”
“But he did?”
She nodded. “I knew pretty quickly that he wasn’t ‘the one.’ Know what I mean?”
I chuckled. “Yeah. I know what you mean.”
“But he didn’t see it that way.” She rolled her eyes. “Tony was obsessive. By our third date, he was trying to plan our entire future together without ever asking me if I even wanted one.”
“Really?” I tried to line that up with what I knew about Tony.
On one hand, I could see it. He had an ego and he’d never been the type to take no for an answer.
But I’d always assumed he was the kind of guy to hop from girl to girl.
Never thought he’d be one to want to settle down and make a commitment right after high school.
“Yeah. So even though I wanted to go to college, I was glad to have an excuse to not go with him.” Her cheeks were bright red now.
“Why didn’t you just break up with him?”
She sighed, averting her eyes again. “Tony’s not easy to break up with.”
“What do you mean?” My brows knit together in concern. “Did he hurt you?”
“No.” She shook her head quickly—too quickly. “Not exactly. I mean, not on purpose. And just once. I shouldn’t be telling you this.” She tried to laugh and blow it off. “You came in for stamps and I’m talking your ear off. I know you have more important things to do, Deputy Hawkins.”
I touched her hand gently. “Elsa, please tell me. What happened?”
I wanted to know. And not just for Katelyn’s sake—for Elsa’s, too.
If Tony had hurt Elsa, I’d find a way to make him pay.
But she shook her head hard, embarrassed.
“It wasn’t on purpose,” she repeated. “He’s just intense.
And I’m glad it’s over. That’s all. He found someone else, and she can have him.
He brought her home on Christmas break to meet his family and everything.
Sent me a text message beforehand telling me things were over between us, that he’d found the woman he was going to marry.
And when that day comes, I’ll happily dance at their wedding. ”
She smiled again, lighter this time. Relieved.
I could tell she didn’t know.
The woman he’d found was Katelyn Brown—and Katelyn had ended up dead.