by Dani Pettrey
“How could I sleep knowing Reef’s in that cell?”
“You can’t do anything for him right now. Go home and sleep.”
She cocked her head and leaned into him, the scent of her honeysuckle shampoo tickling his nose.
“Why do you smell like”—she took a sniff and stiffened—“women’s perfume?”
Becky Malone. He grimaced. “Long story.”
“And . . .” She took another sniff, gazing up at him with quizzical eyes. “Smoke?”
Twenty minutes in Hawkings, even as far as possible from the smoking section, and the vapor of smoke still clung to his clothes. A reminder of where he’d been and how easily he’d fallen back into old patterns. “Really long story. You need some sleep. Let me get Jim to drive you home.”
“I have my Jeep.”
“I’d feel better if someone drove you.”
“I’m fine. I’ll just grab Reef’s belongings and be on my way.”
“You can’t, Piper. Everything needs to be catalogued.”
“Why? What do you think you’ll find?”
He opened his mouth.
“Never mind. Don’t answer that. I know you won’t find anything incriminating, because Reef didn’t do anything.”
“I hope that’s the case.”
“But you don’t think it is.” She took a step closer, and he yearned, physically ached, to pull her into his arms, but once again he stifled the urge.
“You really think he’s capable of murder,” she said.
It didn’t matter what he thought. All that mattered was the evidence. “If Reef’s innocent, the evidence will prove it.”
“You know,” she said, rising on her tiptoes to look him straight in the eye, “some of us don’t need evidence to trust the people we love.”
He swallowed, hard. He did. He’d discovered the painful truth that those closest to you had the power to deceive you the most.
After seeing Piper safely on her way, hopefully for what would be the last time that night, Landon sat down with Ashley Clark and Tug Williams in the seating area at the end of the hall, a mere thirty feet from the changing rooms where Karli died. He wanted them situated close to the crime scene, to keep what happened fresh in their minds without directly exposing them to the lingering gore.
“We already told the other cop everything we know,” Tug said, slumping down on the couch.
“And we appreciate it. I just need you to go back through it with me.”
“Fine.” Tug exhaled, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He wore sweats, a thermal Henley, and a pair of sheepskin slippers.
“Why don’t we start with you two telling me how you spent your evening?”
“The whole thing or just when everything happened?” Ashley asked. At least she seemed cooperative.
“Let’s start at the beginning.”
“Well, we finished our runs.”
Landon lifted a brow.
“Our practice runs,” Tug explained, irritation lacing his voice at having to go back through the information all over again.
“Every competitor is assigned practice times when they can use the runs,” Ashley explained. “Tug and I have from four to six.”
“And you practiced the whole two hours?”
“Yeah. The competition start isn’t far away.”
“Will they still hold it . . . considering . . . ?”
“Are you kidding?” Tug laughed. “Rick doesn’t stop for anything. There could be an avalanche and the event would still go on.”
“Rick Masterson?” Landon asked.
“Mmm-hmm.” Ashley nodded.
“What can you tell me about him?”
The elevator beeped, and Landon’s attention shifted as the doors slid open. Bev Miner, Andy’s wife and co-owner of the lodge, stepped off with a tray in hand.
“I thought you could use something warm to drink.” She set the tray on the table and lifted the ceramic kettle. “I’ve got tea or cocoa.”
“Bev, that’s kind of you,” Landon said, “but not necessary. The night’s almost gone. You should be in bed.”
“Sleep after a woman’s been murdered in my home? I’ll be lucky if I ever sleep again. Poor dear.” She shook her head, her bony fingers wrapped tight around the kettle handle.
He smiled, understanding her uneasiness. “A cup of tea would be great.” Coffee would have been better, but any amount of caffeine would help keep him alert through this all-nighter.
“None for me,” Tug said, waving Bev off.
“I’ll take some cocoa.” Ashley leaned forward with a smile.
Bev emptied the contents of the cocoa packet in a mug, filled it with steaming water, and gave it a stir before handing it to Ashley.
“Here you go. You poor dear, having to witness . . .” Bev shook her head. “All I can say is I’m glad he’s behind bars. Guess it shouldn’t have come as a shock. Reef McKenna has always chased trouble.”
Landon sighed. He feared that’s precisely what everyone else in town would think, and he hated the pain that gossip would cause Piper. Reef’s past troubles had been the actions of an angry and reckless youth—it wouldn’t take much for folks in town to believe his rash acts could lead to murder.
“Let me know if you folks need anything else,” Bev said, stifling a yawn.
Landon nodded and lifted his cup. “Will do.”
Anxious to get the interview back on track, he looked at his notes. He decided to hold off on the questions about Masterson and review some details about the timeline. “So, let’s get back to the night’s events. Can you think of anything that seemed out of the ordinary?”
They looked at each other, shook their heads, and Ashley answered, “Not really. . . . I just can’t believe Reef actually killed her.”
“What do you mean actually?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “It’s just that the two of them . . . They could really get into some heated arguments.”
“Over?”
“Anything. Karli was an opinionated girl. Quite honestly, I’m not surprised she finally ticked off one person too many.”
Landon shifted in his chair and studied Tug, considered his earlier flippant, offhanded remarks and his abrasive demeanor. “Did you have a prior relationship with Karli Davis?”
“Me?” Tug straightened, distancing himself from Ashley. “No.”
Ashley stared at Tug, her questioning gaze raking over him.
“Are you two involved?” Landon asked, realizing the nerve he’d hit.
Ashley’s lips pursed. “Tell him, Tug.”
Tug cleared his throat, straightening like a chastised child. “We’re involved.”
“It’ll be a year next month,” Ashley added proudly.
“Congratulations.” No wonder Tug was so uncomfortable being questioned about another woman. Landon would have to find a time to speak with Tug in private, but for now he just needed the facts pertinent to Karli’s murder. Unless Tug had spent one-on-one time with Karli immediately prior to her death, any past relationship or dalliance the two had shared could wait to be revealed at a more discreet time. “Look, I won’t keep you two much longer. I just need the facts about last night.”
Some of the apprehension faded from Tug’s face, but none of the irritation. “Whatever, let’s just get this over with.”
Landon was liking Tug less and less by the second. “Very well. We were at you two finishing up your practice runs.”
“Right,” Ashley said. “So we finished practice, put our equipment away, went up to our rooms to shower, and then headed out to grab some dinner.”
“Around what time would you say?”
“Sevenish.”
Tug pinched the bridge of his nose. “Seriously, it’s four in the morning. We train with our coach at seven. We need to get some sleep.”
“I understand, and I apologize for keeping you.”
“Then don’t.” Tug perched forward, preparing for flight.
“I understan
d my questions may seem tedious or appear unwarranted, but I need the whole picture. I’ll go as quickly as I can.”
“Whatever, dude.” Tug sank back.
Ashley quickly continued, knowing her gem of a boyfriend was losing patience. “We ate, then headed up to my room maybe an hour later and watched a movie on pay-per-view.”
“Let me guess,” Tug said, “you want to know what movie?”
“It’ll help confirm the timeline.”
“Invictus, with Matt Damon.”
“You watch the whole thing?”
“Yep.” Tug kicked his feet up on the coffee table.
“Then we went to the hot tub,” Ashley said, resting her hand on Tug’s knee.
“Was anyone else up there?”
“Nope. Just us until Reef and Karli showed.”
“When was that? How long do you think you’d been there before they showed?”
Ashley looked at Tug and shrugged. “Maybe a half hour.”
“I’d say that’s about right.”
“What kind of mood would you say Karli and Reef were in?”
Ashley’s brows pinched together.
“Happy, tense . . . ?”
“Happy. Karli was sparked.”
“Sparked?” That was a new one.
“Tipsy,” Ashley clarified.
“Was she drunk?”
“Don’t know that I’d go that far, but they brought alcohol with them, so I imagine that’s where she was headed.”
“Was it unusual for Karli to be drinking?”
Tug laughed, and then quickly attempted to cover it with a cough at Ashley’s displeasure. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just Karli liked to drink.”
“Whenever she wasn’t racing,” Ashley said.
“Really?”
“Let’s just say, Karli liked to push the limits.”
“How else?”
“I don’t know . . .” Ashley hedged. “I mean she liked to party, moved around a lot, did her own thing.”
“She have many friends?”
Ashley looked at Tug, clearly uncomfortable. “She hung around a lot of different people.”
“But wasn’t close with any?”
“Depends on your definition of close.” Tug snorted.
Ashley rolled her eyes.
“You’re saying Karli slept around?”
“Oh yeah.”
Ashley swatted Tug—this time garnering a slight grunt of pain.
“What?” He rubbed his side with annoyance. “It’s the truth.”
“I know . . . It’s just . . .” Ashley bit her bottom lip. “She’s dead.”
“I understand you don’t want to speak ill of Karli considering the circumstances. But the kindest thing you can do for Karli is to tell it to me straight. Keeping secrets only slows the process. Trust me—in the end the truth always comes out.” Painful as it may be. “Best to just get it all out in the open from the start.”
Ashley sighed. “All right. Yes. Karli slept around.”
“I’m going to need names.” Landon pulled his notepad from his shirt pocket.
Tug chuckled. “You’re going to need a longer sheet of paper.”
Piper stilled in the silent entryway of her house. So much had happened in the past eight hours, it made her head spin. The joy and celebration of Cole and Bailey’s engagement party, the excitement of Reef’s surprise arrival, the tension between him and Cole when Cole realized Reef had come home for a competition and not for his family, being woken by Reef covered in blood, seeing her brother arrested . . . by Landon.
A wave of nausea rumbled over her, and she tossed her keys on the front table. That’s odd. She thought she’d remembered leaving the letter from Elma on the table beside the key bowl, but now it sat with the rest in the mail basket. Seemed like an odd time for Kayden to be cleaning up. Seemed odd for Kayden to be cleaning, period. For someone so health conscious, her sister was a borderline slob.
Even odder, Rori hadn’t come to greet her. It was late, but Rori always came.
Stretching the kinks from her neck, she moved toward the kitchen. Something in the living room caught her eye. She squinted and stepped forward. Rori was sacked out in front of the garland-draped hearth.
She bent down and patted her. Other than the snores raising Rori’s chest rhythmically, the husky didn’t stir. Bizarre. Then again, it was the middle of the night.
Getting to her feet, she left Rori deep in sleep and continued on toward the kitchen. She passed the laundry room, splotches of blood still marring the pearly white of the washer. Landon had confiscated Reef’s clothing and collected samples, but the stain of blood remained. The cupboard door was open overhead, and she wondered if Landon had forgotten to close it when he grabbed the Ziploc bag.
She moved into the kitchen, got a glass of water, and sank against the countertop, her eyes scanning the room. The back door was cracked open. Had Kayden really gone to bed without checking the door? Fear tickled her spine. Something isn’t right.
She went back into the living room, knelt once again by Rori, and tried harder to rouse the dog. Rori moaned but remained deep in slumber.
Piper climbed the stairs two at a time, flipped on the hall switch, and cracked Kayden’s bedroom door.
“What?” Kayden shielded her eyes with her hand against the bright hall light.
“Did you leave the back door unlocked?”
“What? No. I made sure it was locked before we headed to the station.”
“It’s unlocked now.”
“Okay.”
“So who unlocked it, and why is Rori so out of it?”
“What’s going on?”
“I’m trying to figure out why the back door’s unlocked and our dog’s knocked out.”
“What do you mean knocked out?”
“I mean Rori’s sacked out in the living room. She didn’t wake when I came home, didn’t even budge when I patted her.”
Kayden glanced at the clock. “Why are you just getting home? Where have you been?”
“That’s beside the point. What matters is I think someone’s been in our house.”
“If someone had been in our house, I highly doubt Rori would be sleeping so peacefully.”
“Unless they drugged her.”
Kayden sat up. “Why would someone drug our dog?”
“To be in our house without Rori tearing them apart.”
“Seriously, Piper, you’re upset. It’s late. You need some rest. We both do.” She lay back down.
“Kayden.” She flung the door open, switched on the ceiling light, and moved to sit at her sister’s side.
“Are you kidding me?” Kayden covered her face with the pillow.
“Aren’t you the least bit concerned that someone has been in our home?”
“I think you’re in overdrive. It’s understandable, but you’re overreacting.”
“Overreacting?”
“Is anything missing from the house?”
“Not that I can tell so far.”
“TV still there, the stereo?”
“Yes.” She’d seen both in the living room.
“In all the years we’ve lived here, in all the years our parents lived here, has our house been broken into once?”
“No, but I—”
“Need sleep. We both do. Morning is going to come before either of us is ready.”
The time in the house had been cut short. Par for the course tonight. Little had gone right from the beginning. The stubborn girl wouldn’t talk, and his time of prying it out of her had been interrupted by Reef McKenna. That interruption, however, would keep his involvement masked, so he couldn’t complain too much. No one would trace anything back to him or them—not after fortune had smiled upon him with a scapegoat. At the end of the tumble he’d landed on his feet—except for one thing. And if he didn’t find it, everything might come crashing down around them.
What had the stupid broad done with it? Just like her mother�
�taking information that didn’t belong to her. The kid should have learned when doing so got her mother killed. Did she really think she’d be any different?
He’d tossed her room again, tossed Reef’s room, and ended up here. When things quieted down, he’d walk away, just as he had at the lodge. The small-town sheriff had actually left the crime scene unmanned long enough for him to escape. For him to blend right back in with the crowd.
He shifted in the cramped quarters of the closet, waiting. Perhaps he should drug the inquisitive one too, shut her up for a bit. No. That would draw far too much attention. He’d just slip out and return in the light of day.
They’d be at the station in the morning, no doubt, and he could take all the time he needed, meticulously searching the house room by room, drawer by drawer. Meticulous was the only way to get things done. That and a lot of patience—his had slipped tonight. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.
6
Landon downed another cup of coffee at the station, knowing there was no time to rest. Not when so much was on the line. He needed to devote every minute until Reef’s arraignment looking for anything that might suggest they had the wrong man. After a day and a half of investigation, all he’d found were more reasons to lock Reef away.
“How’d it go?” Slidell asked from the doorway. “Got everything you need?”
Landon looked up from his paper work. “It’s a start.”
“It’s a start?” Slidell took the seat opposite Landon and tipped the metal-frame chair onto its back two pegs. “I spoke with the D.A., and he’s planning to bypass the grand jury. He’s on board with telling the judge there is overwhelming evidence for Reef to stand trial. You know what that means?”
Yeah—if Reef was innocent he’d just lost valuable time to prove it.
“It means no red tape,” Slidell said with a satisfied smile.
“And if he’s innocent?”
“Not this baloney again.” Slidell dropped the front legs of his chair to the floor with a clang. “He did it. The sooner you come to terms with the truth, the better.”
“Don’t you think that’s a bit premature?” Given the evidence thus far, it wasn’t. But they still needed the autopsy results, trace evidence, fingerprints off the murder weapon.
