Page 8 of In Her Path
Evelyn shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “What happened to him? Why is he—” Her voice broke. “His face. What happened to his face?”
Jenna watched as Delgado guided Evelyn to a chair at the far end of the room, turning her away from the body. The officer’s voice was barely audible, but her movements were confident—one hand on Evelyn’s shoulder, the other offering tissues from her pocket. This was Delgado’s strength, Jenna thought—the ability to be both professional and human when it mattered most.
After a few minutes, Evelyn’s sobs subsided to hiccupping breaths.
Jenna approached slowly, crouching beside Evelyn’s chair. “Mrs. Paige, I know this is a terrible time, but we need your help to find who did this.”
Evelyn dabbed at her eyes with a crumpled tissue. “Who would do such a thing? Curtis could be difficult, but this—” She gestured weakly toward her husband’s body.
“Had your husband been worried about anything recently?” Jake asked, standing a respectful distance away. “Any threats or concerns?”
Evelyn’s fingers twisted the tissue. “No more than usual.” Her voice steadied as she spoke, gaining strength. “He’s been jumpy for years, always checking the locks at night—the doors, the windows. Sometimes two or three times before bed.”
Jenna exchanged a glance with Jake. “Did he ever say why?”
“Well, whenever I said he was acting paranoid, he always said that even paranoids have real enemies,” Evelyn’s lips pressed into a thin line. “And I suppose he was right about that. Thirty years of politics makes a lot of enemies. Curtis knew that better than anyone.”
“Can you name anyone specific?” Jenna pressed. “Anyone who might have threatened him?”
Evelyn shook her head. “He never told me any details. Said it was better if I didn’t know.” A bitter laugh escaped her. “As if that would protect me.” Her voice cracked. “He wasn’t always easy to live with, but he didn’t deserve...” She trailed off, fresh tears welling.
“We’re going to find who did this, Mrs. Paige. I promise you that.”
Evelyn’s gaze met Jenna’s, a flash of desperate hope in her eyes. “You will?”
It was a question Jenna had heard too many times—from victims’ families, from witnesses, from the lost and the grieving.
“Yes,” she said, “we will.”
Jake stepped forward. “Mrs. Paige, Officer Delgado can take you home now. We’ll have a deputy stationed outside your house for the next few days.”
Evelyn’s eyes widened. “You think I’m in danger?”
“We don’t know,” Jenna said honestly. “But until we do, we’re not taking chances.”
As Delgado helped Evelyn to her feet, the older woman turned back. “Sheriff?”
“Yes?”
“Find them.” Her voice had hardened, grief crystallizing into something sharper. “Find who did this to my husband.”
Jenna watched as Delgado led Evelyn from the room. The door closed behind them with a soft click, leaving Jenna and Jake alone with Dr. Stark and the silent evidence of murder.
“Mayor Simmons is expecting us,” Jake said to Jenna.
Jenna followed Jake out of the chamber. It wasn’t a meeting she looked forward to.
The mayor’s office occupied the east corner of City Hall, its windows offering a panoramic view of Trentville’s modest skyline. Jenna rapped her knuckles against the doorframe—a courtesy knock, since Claire Simmons was clearly expecting them. The mayor sat behind her desk, her normally immaculate appearance disrupted by a stray lock of hair that had escaped its pins, holding a cup of coffee that trembled slightly.
“Sheriff,” Claire Simmons said, setting down her cup. “Deputy Hawkins.” She gestured to the chairs opposite her desk. “Please, sit.”
Jenna took a seat, Jake following suit. The mayor’s office was a study in careful image management—award plaques carefully arranged, family photos positioned to suggest warmth without revealing too much, a fresh bouquet of white lilies in a crystal vase.
“Are you certain it’s murder?” Claire said. “Not some—” She hesitated. “Not some kind of accident or—“
“No accident,” Jake confirmed. “Dr. Stark’s preliminary examination confirms homicide.”
“But how …?”
