Although apparently it was a little late for that.
She nodded. “I thought so. If I remember, not all the bodies have been recovered, isn’t that correct? Like, weren’t there some women who were assumed to be victims but their bodies were never recovered?” Her mind was spinning. This might be a way to help Levi out, regain some of her dignity, help families get closure in another way.
“Also correct, yes.” Levi stood. “Okay, so I’ll get back in touch with you about a statement for today, but I think for now—”
“I want to help you.” Adriana blurted the words as they both stood, facing him straight on. “I want to help you find the bodies of those missing women in case it helps you solve the case.”
Levi blinked. “I can’t... The department isn’t doing well financially and I can’t afford to hire a consultant. I appreciate the thought, but—”
“I don’t need to be paid. I’ll work around my search-and-rescue schedule. I want to do this, Officer Wicks.”
Come to think of it, she’d never called him Levi. He thought of her by her first name because everyone called her that, but she called him by a title. It was a good reminder that any relationship they had was strictly professional, and any further thoughts of her berry-scented hair, shiny in the sunshine, were fully and completely inappropriate.
“It’s Levi,” he said, which made no sense when he considered all the thoughts he’d just had about keeping professional boundaries.
But she nodded, still looking up at him. How could someone have such big innocent eyes and be knowledgeable about the ways the world could break a heart all at once? Looking at her eyes was like looking at her heart. Levi didn’t want to look away. Didn’t know if he should keep looking.
He felt like he knew her better from five minutes of face-to-face conversation than he’d known Melissa in all the months they’d been married.
So strange.
But with Melissa, what went wrong there had been his fault. He needed to remember that and not rush into a similar situation.
“Okay,” Adriana said. “Levi. Please, let me help you.”
He considered her again, thought about his brother out there in the woods risking his life. Looked down at the dog that he knew would do anything to keep Adriana safe.
Then he nodded his head down, just slightly. “Okay, I’ll promise to think about it.”
Her eyes narrowed like she was ready for a fight.
He tried not to smile. “Thinking about it is the best I can do.”
That seemed to be enough. She nodded once. “Okay.”
Then she walked to the front of the truck, opened the door for her dog and climbed in. “I’ll be at my house when you’re ready to talk. It doesn’t matter how late—come by, okay?”
Levi nodded and then watched her drive away. When she was safely out of sight, he walked toward the other officers.
Could he do it, let her help him?
If he did, then he might be risking her safety, too.
But if he didn’t he was risking the lives of countless other people who might be the serial killer’s next targets.
Some days the weight of the job felt too heavy to carry. So for now, as he walked he worked on passing some of the weight back to Jesus, who’d promised to carry his burdens, and did his best to put Adriana Steele out of his mind.
Even while he wondered whether she’d somehow snuck past just his mind straight to his heart.
And whether or not she’d put herself in danger by doing so.
Copyright © 2020 by Sarah Varland
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ISBN-13: 9781488061288
Hidden Witness
Copyright © 2020 by Shirlee McCoy
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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Hidden Witness Page 20
