Chapter 5
Reed Langley
Reed observed Hadley disappear into the house, her words about the Threshing Man hanging in the air between them. The conviction in her voice that someone had used Whistlerun as his own personal shopping ground stirred something uncomfortable inside of him.
He wasn’t a man who acted impulsively.
He also wouldn’t allow his ego to get the best of him.
If she believed there was a pattern, there was a pattern.
She had always been methodical, persistent.
..and cold. He was certain it was her way of putting barriers between herself and others.
Regardless, such a demeanor made her good at her job.
The locals weren’t the only ones who had followed her career in law enforcement.
Reed took his time collecting the mug she’d left behind on the side table. He rose from their rocking chair before carrying both inside to find that she had come to a complete stop in the middle of what used to be the living room.
While Reed placed the mugs on his desk, which he had positioned directly in front of the window that overlooked Main Street, he took the time to study her. It amazed him that twelve years had changed so much, yet still so little.
Sunlight streamed through the window, enhancing the natural copper tones in her hair. She wore her wavy locks gathered and contained in a brown clip, but he gauged that they remained the same shoulder length as they had been in high school.
She had applied minimal makeup, enough to try to conceal the dark circles under her eyes, yet he still noticed the slight blemishes. He understood that coming back home was challenging for her, and there was absolutely nothing he could do to ease her discomfort.
“You've made some changes,” Hadley observed, running her fingertips along the edge of the visitor's desk he'd cleared for her use. She slipped the strap of her backpack off her shoulder and set it in the middle of the hard surface. “Who is your deputy?”
“No one,” Reed replied as he leaned against his desk. “The mayor cut our funding right when I was tapped for the position. He decided it was a waste of taxpayer money. I think he would have eliminated mine if the town council hadn’t put up such a fight.”
“Does the council also think that you should work twenty-four-seven?” Hadley finally faced him, the faint lines on her forehead showing her disapproval. “Exhaustion and firearms don’t mix well together. Not to mention the strain such a schedule would put on your personal life.”
“You’ll be relieved to know that I do get some sleep now and then,” Reed replied as he crossed his arms. She had turned away, as if searching for something in particular. “Sheriff Turner handles anything that comes up after hours. Let’s just say that we've got an...arrangement.”
His words brought her up short. She stopped just shy of what used to be the dining room before peering over her shoulder.
“You don't sound particularly happy about said arrangement.”
“Sheriff Turner and I have different approaches to law enforcement,” Reed replied diplomatically.
While he didn’t particularly care for Turner, Reed wouldn’t talk out of turn.
Besides, Hadley would no doubt meet the man and come to her own conclusions.
“Turner’s methods involve following the law down to the letter. No inch given.”
“Was this tension between the two of you a problem during the Missy Claymont investigation?”
“I'll plead the fifth on that one, but know that we didn’t allow our personal opinions of each other to influence the case.” Reed wanted to get back to something she had brought up outside.
“Hadley, I know that you don’t believe in any of the urban legends that have been passed down through the generations, but please don’t make light of them. ”
“You don’t believe in the Threshing Man any more than I do, Reed.”
“Just because you can’t measure something, doesn’t mean it isn’t real.
” Reed waved his hand to encompass the room.
“Have you ever set your keys down on your desk, only to find them somewhere else? Have something fall to the floor for no apparent reason? You might be able to rationalize those things away, but others might say there is meaning behind them. In case you forgot where you were raised, let me remind you that we’re in the Ozarks. ”
Hadley had given him her full attention.
She had even leaned a shoulder against the doorframe as she took her time to analyze his expression.
As if satisfied with what she found, she straightened and then strolled over to the bulletin board where community notices hung alongside a couple of wanted posters.
The mug shots were for some local county bail runners who would turn up eventually.
Hadley’s hand drifted to her sternum, pressing against it in that familiar gesture he remembered all too well. She used to do the same thing before exams, during arguments with her mother, or just whenever general anxiety threatened to overwhelm her.
“You mentioned you read over Missy’s file, but I still made copies of everything I have on file,” Reed said, gesturing to the lone stack of papers on her desk. “Witness statements, search patterns, crime scene photos of where we found the napkin and phone.”
Hadley made her way back around the room until she was standing behind his desk. He straightened and turned to find that she was staring at a framed photograph on his desk.
“You look happy, Reed.”
“I am.” Reed had wondered if Hadley would bring Nora into the conversation.
He’d met her a couple of years ago, and she was the first woman he’d connected with on a deeper level since Hadley had left town.
Given that he had been eighteen years old, that alone told of her influence over his life.
“Very happy. Nora is an incredible woman.”
“When is the wedding?”
There was no resentment or regret in Hadley’s tone. As a matter of fact, Reed detected a subtle sense of relief woven into her words. It was as if she had finally given herself permission to relax in his presence, and the atmosphere shifted into a newfound ease.
“Next summer,” Reed replied as he observed her continue her path into a full circle that brought her back to the entryway of the small kitchen. “Nora is a nurse practitioner, so getting time off this year was tight. Hadley, I have to ask…what is it that you’re looking for?”
“A whiteboard. Two, if you have them.” Before he could give her a response, she pointed her thumb toward the upper cabinets. “Was there an explosion of grey paint?”
“Some renovation funds became available this past Spring. I’m slowly choosing my projects to carry me through the winter.
First, as I’m sure you noticed, is to replace a few of the boards on the wraparound porch.
The last thing I need is for Earl Redding to sue the township if he trips while I’m escorting him inside to sleep off one of his stupors. ”
“So the jail cell downstairs is still usable?”
“That jail cell will be here for generations from now,” Reed replied with a short laugh.
He then regarded her a little more closely.
“Listen, I’m asking you to tread carefully.
I get the impression that you think Martin Cox might be involved in Missy’s abduction, but he’s lived here his entire life.
He was married to Sarah for…hell, I don’t even know.
Making accusations without evidence will only—”
“Reed?”
He broke off the rest of his lecture when he realized that he’d jumped to conclusions.
It was difficult for him to have someone else come in and actively search out mistakes he may or may not have made in a case so personal.
Amelia Claymont brought him an apple pie every Christmas, just as she baked him chocolate cupcakes on his birthday.
He had done everything humanly possible to search for Amelia’s granddaughter, but there had simply been no leads. None, and he wouldn’t force the narrative just to ease his own conscious.
“I might not have wanted this assignment. As I’ve already stressed to you, I certainly don’t believe my presence will be greeted with open arms.” Hadley removed her blazer as she closed the distance to her desk.
“But I will work this case the way I see fit. I also don’t plan to get in the way of your job.
You have an entire town to look after, which means I’ll ask you for help only when needed. ”
Reed didn’t like the prospect of her going off alone, interviewing the locals without him by her side. It was a recipe for disaster, but she hadn’t waited around for his reaction. He trailed behind her into the dining room, a space that had long since been transformed into a cluttered storage area.
The once elegant room was now filled with an assortment of items, like metal filing cabinets, gun safes, and office supplies. The sheer variety of objects crowded the room, but he soon recognized what she’d been after.
“I’ll get it,” Reed offered as he stepped past her. “As you can see, anything you need should be in here. While I’ve used software for my reports, I still keep a paper trail.”
“What about the older files? The ones dating back a few decades?”
“Downstairs.”
“This place is…” Hadley let her voice trail off.
“A work in progress,” Reed finished for her.
He had finally managed to get the first of two whiteboards out from behind a few storage containers.
He rolled it toward her while concentrating on the second one.
“Like I said, I’m doing the renovations myself to save the town some money.
The upstairs apartment is completely finished, and now I’m working on the main level. ”
Hadley steered the first whiteboard, testing its wheels first, out of the dining room. Reed followed suit to find that she had already moved her desk toward the entrance of the kitchen. It didn’t block the doorway, but he would have to be mindful when turning that corner.
“I’ll be right back.”