Chapter 45
Sheriff’s Department – Interview Wing
They used the medical interview room—Dr. Calder’s temporary setup inside the sheriff’s department.
Sara sat at the metal table, back straight, hands locked together. Scout stood behind the glass with Burke, Tucker, Denton, and McHan.
Calder set her recorder down. “Same boundaries. If we hit something too hard, we stop. You tell me.”
Sara nodded. “I’m ready.”
“Start with the room,” Calder said. “Anything you missed. Air system. Access points. Mechanical sounds. Anything.”
Sara closed her eyes. “The air felt processed. Clean. Like it was filtered.”
Burke wrote: vent system/filtered air.
“Smells?”
“Cedar,” Sara said. “Soft. Old. And something like linen or lavender. Not strong. Just there.”
Burke underlined cedar twice.
“Sounds besides the clock and fridge?”
Sara hesitated. “Twice, I heard a scrape. Low. Like wood sliding.”
“Where?” Calder asked.
“Lower,” Sara said. “Not the desk. Like something opening beneath the floor. Or inside a wall.”
Burke’s pen stopped.
Calder watched Sara’s breathing shift. “Okay. That’s enough on that.”
Sara swallowed once.
“Journals,” Calder said. “How were they stored?”
“They weren’t dusty,” Sara said. “Even the old ones. Someone handled them. A lot.”
Calder nodded. “That fits.”
Burke looked up. “Fits what?”
“Someone who can’t leave a story alone,” Calder said.
She flipped a page in her notes. “Lauren. When you read her journals—how did she describe the men around her?”
“Keller lied. Told her he was separated. Slept with her anyway.”
“Raines?” Calder asked.
“He flirted when no one was around,” Sara said. “Made her skin crawl.”
“Sinclair?”
“Thoughtful,” Sara said. “Funny—but something always made her feel ill at ease.”
“And what about Benton?”
Sara’s voice dropped. “She thought he was the one. Then she walked in on him with a student. He acted like she was the problem. It wrecked her.”
Calder didn’t hesitate. “Benton doesn’t have the patience for what was done to you.”
Tucker’s voice came through the intercom. “Go deeper on Raines.”
Calder didn’t turn. “Sara—did Lauren describe fear around him?”
Sara shook her head. “Not fear. But she said he remembered everything. Held grudges. Watched people like he was waiting for them to slip.”
Calder closed her folder. “That’s enough for today.”
Sara’s hands loosened as the nurse stepped in and guided her out.
Observation Room — Moments Later
The door shut.
Tucker folded his arms. “Raines keeps rising to the top.”
McHan opened his notebook. “Curated house. Impeccable memory. Holds grudges.”
Denton added, “No spouse. No visible social life outside campus.”
Scout didn’t speak.
Burke looked at him. “What’re you thinking, Wilson?”
Scout answered without looking up. “It’s not enough.”
Denton lifted a brow. “You want a confession?”
“I want the fracture. The first loss of control. That’s what matters.”
Tucker turned to the analysts. “What else?”
A younger analyst slid a folder forward. “Denied tenure. Publication issues. A complaint for ‘professional overreach.’”
Denton nodded once. It lined up with Calder’s profile.
The analyst continued. “Purchase history shows multiple orders from a small specialty supplier out of Boone. Cedar sachets. Dried lavender blends. Not bulk grocery store stuff.”
He flipped another page.
“Three separate orders,” the analyst said. “Lavender sachets. Calming oils. Escalating quantities. Paid with his personal card.”
The room went still.
Calder met Tucker’s gaze. “That’s pattern.”
Tucker snapped his notebook shut.
“Bring him in.”