Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Vance
Claire and I chatted the whole drive back to Wildwood. I was still surprised by how much I’d opened up to her. How I’d told her things I’d never told anyone else.
Not that I had many friends these days. Since moving to Wyoming two years ago, I’d been entirely focused on work. I’d pushed myself, working around the clock to earn the experience my father said I needed. It had paid off in more ways than one.
But I hadn’t realized how empty my life felt until now.
Working cases gave me a sense of purpose.
I’d gone into the field trying to find some connection with my father—and probably to piss off my mother—but I’d fallen in love with the job.
I was good at it. I enjoyed pushing myself, both mentally and physically.
And there was something deeply satisfying about bringing someone to justice or closure to a family.
I’d followed in my father’s footsteps and discovered that I shared his personality. That I could make work my entire identity and find fulfillment in it.
I’d never stopped to question whether or not that's what I actually wanted.
Not that it mattered. It wasn’t like anything else was available to me at this point.
I’d already made my decisions. Two years of giving everything I had to the Wyoming DCI had opened doors for me.
Everything I’d done, everything I’d sacrificed had led to this: two offers on the table, either job waiting for me as soon as I wrapped up this case.
For me, the only decision left was which one I was going to take.
Option number one was that I could go work for my father, having finally earned enough experience that he’d offered me a position—at the bottom of his company.
Option number two was that I could keep following in his footsteps and take the job I’d been offered at the FBI.
Keep fighting for a relationship with him, or walk away and prove I’d been as good as him all along.
I think I had my answer. The conversation with Claire had sealed the deal.
Right before we hit the Wildwood city limits, Claire told me to take a left.
“Why?” I asked as I turned onto a desolate, narrow road.
“I have another lead. Someone I want to talk to about Tony. But…” She hesitated.
“What is it?”
“Turn right,” she said, pointing to another road. “I think I should talk to him by myself.” There was uncertainty on her face.
I frowned. “Why?”
“He doesn’t like cops.”
“You’re a cop,” I pointed out.
“I’m not like most cops. He trusts me, but…I should talk to him alone.”
“What are you not telling me?”
“I don’t want to get him into trouble.”
I pulled the SUV over so I could turn and look at her. “Partners have to be honest, remember?” Then I softened, seeing the worry on her face. “You can trust me, Claire.”
She studied my face. Whatever she saw there seemed to ease her mind. “His name is Rob. He’s not a bad guy. Wouldn’t hurt a soul. But at his place, you may see … evidence … that could get him into trouble.”
I smirked. “Let me guess. Weed?”
She nodded, still worried.
“I don’t give a shit,” I said, shrugging.
“Really?” She looked shocked.
I shot her a look. “I’m a homicide detective. I don’t care what people do to relax if they aren’t hurting anyone—and I’m sure as hell not going to waste time doing paperwork to write someone up for smoking a joint.”
She threw her head back and laughed.
There was that Mozart concerto again, playing in my head against the soundtrack that was Claire Hawkins.
It was a sound I could get addicted to.
“I guess I underestimated you, too.” She smiled at me, the worry all gone.
“Apparently so.” I returned her smile. “But you’re probably right. He might be spooked by me. I’ll stay in the car. “
“Thanks. For trusting me.”
I could see that it surprised her. But what she didn’t realize was that I trusted her more than she could even know. I wouldn’t have opened up to her if I didn’t.
I winked. “Right back at you.”
I pulled back onto the road and followed her directions to a rural area with small, rundown houses spaced an acre or two apart. Half a mile down the narrow street, Claire told me to pull over. As I did, a makeshift pack of mutts crossed the road ahead of us, then watched us from the ditch.
“Is that his place?” I asked, gesturing to the blue house on our right.
“No. I’ll walk from here so he doesn’t see your vehicle.”
“You sure?” I glanced in the rearview mirror at the pack of dogs. They were all honed in on us, their bodies tense and ready to spring.
“Of course,” she said, giving me a puzzled look. “It’s not far.”
I put my hand on her forearm. “Be careful.”
She looked down at it, then lifted those green eyes to meet mine. Laughter sparkled in them. “What, are you worried about me?”
“A little,” I admitted. “Those dogs don’t look friendly.”
“I’ll be fine,” she said, clearly amused. She squeezed my hand and hopped out, tucking her hands into her pockets as she walked away.
The pack of dogs ran into the road and took off toward her.
I threw my door open and put my hand on my pistol.
But before I could draw it, Claire squatted, cooing to the dogs.
They slowed down and approached her with their tails wagging.
She said hi to all of them like she knew them, scratching them behind their ears.
The biggest, scariest one of all—an intact male Rottweiler with a spiked collar around his neck—actually licked her face, then threw himself onto the ground and rolled onto his back so she could rub his belly.
She gave the dogs all the attention they wanted. Then she stood and threw me a sassy wink before sauntering down the road.
Forty-five minutes ticked by before I saw Claire emerge from a house down the street and begin walking toward me. I started the engine and drove to meet her.
“Any luck?” I asked as she climbed in.
She shook her head. “Maybe. My brother told me that Tony and Rob used to hang out together when Tony wanted to get high, so I thought I’d talk to him, find out if he’s seen Tony lately. He has, but I’m not sure how helpful any of it is.”
“Fill me in anyway,” I said, turning the SUV around so we could head back toward town.
“He and Tony hung out a few times over the summer. He said when Tony got high the first time, he started talking about Katelyn. But it sounds like Tony was feeling bitter at that point. Was angry that she’d left him for someone else after everything he’d done for her. Called her a few choice words.”
“Interesting,” I mused. “He sure didn’t talk like that when I spoke to him.”
Claire shrugged. “Could be different attitudes for different people. Or that the weed lowered his inhibitions.”
“What else did Rob say?”
“Not much—about that, anyway.” She laughed. “Rob loves to talk, but he has a hard time staying on track. Likes to rabbit-trail a lot. I let him because he doesn’t have many people to talk to.”
“That’s smart. You never know what kind of information you’ll get that way. Plus, you build rapport with someone who could be a helpful informant.”
“Not everything’s about law enforcement. There’s something to be said for just being a good neighbor.” It was a gentle reproach. One that reminded me of how different our upbringings had been.
I gave her a smile. “Point taken.”
“But he did say Tony wasn’t as interested in hanging out as he used to be.
Rob got the impression that Tony’s parents were watching him more closely than they had before.
Tony complained that, even though he was an adult in college, they were being more strict with him than they had been in high school.
Wanted to know where he was going, kept trying to force him to have conversations with them.
Tony got sick of it and went back to Laramie early. ”
“Now that is very interesting,” I said, grinning. “A change in behavior, especially in that direction, means they were concerned. I want to know why.”
“Sounds like they’re who we need to talk to next,” Claire commented.
But I glanced at the time and decided that talking to the mayor and his wife would need to wait until Monday. It was already after five, making it too likely that they would both be home.
Better to talk to them alone, when they couldn’t influence each other’s answers.
“Later,” I said. “We’ll talk to them separately. Where does his mom work?”
Claire snorted. “She doesn’t, unless you count the ‘committees’ she serves on.”
“Perfect. We’ll pay her a visit Monday morning, then swing by the mayor’s office.”
“We can go tomorrow, if you want,” Claire offered. “Mayor Evans hosts a men’s breakfast every Saturday morning. Leslie will be home alone.”
“We can try it,” I said, pleased that there would be an opportunity sooner. “We’ll just have to hope she doesn’t have plans tomorrow morning.”
Claire laughed. “That woman never has plans before ten. She’ll be there. But we should wait until nine. She won’t answer the door if she doesn’t have her makeup on yet.”
I grinned. “Alright, nine it is.”
We settled into a comfortable silence as we drove back to where Claire was parked so she could drive her truck home. When she got out, she paused before closing the door, then turned and faced me.
“Do you want to come to the house for dinner?” She fidgeted, rubbing her ear.
“Well… That depends,” I said slowly.
“On what?”
“On whether you’re inviting me because your mom told you to or because you actually want me there.” I felt a strange anxiety as I waited for her to tell me which it was, hoping that this time it was the latter.
Her lips twisted. “Which answer would make you actually show up? I need to know if you would be coming to torture me or because you want to.”
“I’d like to come. But only if that’s what you want. I don’t want to cause any more tension for you.”
Her cheeks turned pink. “Then… I’d like for you to come, too.”
“Then… It’s a date.” Words I shouldn’t have said and couldn’t take back.
Not that I really wanted to.
She blushed, then gave me a quick nod and jumped out, heading to her truck.
I watched her, wondering how someone I’d just met could make me feel so relaxed and nervous at the same time.