Page 4 of Maverick Detective Dad
Not exactly a comforting thought that a murderer could use one of them to serve up a twisted form of justice.
Noah rounded the corner and immediately spotted Deputy Theo Sheldon who was taking a box of Kleenex from the supply closet. He wasn’t a blood relative, but Theo had lived on the Silver Creek Ranch since he’d been a kid. After both of Theo’s parents had been murdered, Grayson had brought him to the ranch to live with him and his family. So, in Noah’s mind, that made Theo family, too, and therefore he was another of those connections a killer might use.
Then again, a killer might not want to go after a cop head-on when there were much easier targets.
“Heard about the bloody boxes,” Theo greeted. He studied Noah’s face for a moment as if checking to see if he was okay. “I just had a short chat with Everly. She’s shaken up some.”
“Yeah, she is.” Noah nearly left it at that, but he knew that Everly and Theo were friends so he decided to start the digging. “Any chance her ex could be involved in something like this?”
Theo certainly didn’t jump to dismiss it. “I haven’t seen Philip since he left town, but I could ask around and see what he’s been up to.”
“Do that,” Noah said after giving it a few seconds of thought. “It could turn out to be nothing, but at the moment, nothing’s pretty much all I’ve got. I need to pull at any and all threads.”
“Will do.” Theo handed him the Kleenex. “I was getting these for Everly so why don’t you take them to her? She looks as if she might need them.”
Noah cursed. Everly definitely had a right to shed some tears, but he was hoping she could win that particular battle and stave them off. Seeing her cry would only add to the cuts they were both already feeling, and it wouldn’t help them focus. Right now, focusing was a necessity.
He took the box of tissues from Theo and started toward Grayson’s office again. A route he knew oh so well. This particular building had been constructed thirteen years ago, when Noah had been seventeen, and it’d replaced the old sheriff’s office. Silver Creek might be a small town, but the council had put a lot of money into the new facility, and the place still had that “shine” to it with its glossy gray tile floors and slick white desks.
Everly was exactly where he’d left her, in the leather chair next to Grayson’s empty desk. Empty because Grayson was with the courier in one of the interrogation rooms. That interview probably wouldn’t last much longer, but Grayson had said he’d be heading back to Everly’s afterward and that Noah was to use the office as long as needed.
“Thought you could use some water,” Noah said, setting one of the bottles next to her. He put the tissues on the desk as well but was still holding out hope that she wouldn’t have to use them.
“Thanks,” Everly muttered. She opened the water and drank deep. “Anything from the courier or the CSIs?” she asked.
Noah shook his head and sat at the small side desk where he’d already set up his laptop that one of the hands had brought to him. “It’s early still. We could have something soon.”
She made a small sound that made him think she was clinging to hope that it was true. “I called Sara at the day care again. I considered going and getting Ainsley, but it’s probably not a good idea for her to be here. Plus, she might be upset at having her routine interrupted.”
Noah figured she needed to spell all of that out to stop herself from going to the child. If Everly did press doing that, he’d need to talk her out of it. At least until he knew if it was safe for her to be out and about.
“Usually, I meet with clients at my office or in one of the interview rooms. This is my first time in here.” She took another long drink of water, and her gaze skirted around the room.
Small talk, maybe to try to rein in those tears that were indeed pooling in her eyes. Except it might be more than that. She had been in Grayson’s office in the old building.That night.They’d both been in Grayson’s office then. Not for a visit either but to give an official statement of what had happened.
The accident.
That’s how folks referred to it on the rare times it came up in conversation. Noah thought of it more of a fast trip to hell. One that would haunt him forever. He had no doubts, none, that it would do the same to Everly. So, it was possible that her being here was triggering some memories she’d rather not have sparked.
“I spent a lot of time here before I joined SAPD,” Noah admitted to get his mind off that trip to hell. “Here, at the old building where I worked part-time and in my dad’s office in San Antonio.” Where his dad, Lt. Nate Ryland, had been a cop. His dad was retired now, just as Grayson would soon be, and the next generation of Silver Creek lawmen would step up to the plate.
She nodded, blinked back the tears. “Why is this happening?”
Small talk was apparently over, and rather than try to soothe things that couldn’t be soothed, Noah rolled his chair closer to hers and met her eye to eye. “That’s what I intend to find out. Here’s what I know so far. There was no envelope in the box sent to me. Just the dress and the shoes, and the blood is still being processed to see if it’s Jill’s. Also, there was nothing inside the envelope left at your house. I got a text about that when I was in the breakroom.”
“No note,” Everly said under her breath. “Just the threat written on the outside.”
Yeah, just the threat.Everly, you’re next.For three little words, it had certainly packed a wallop. And it had also spurred a whole lot of questions.
Noah opened Jill’s case file on his laptop, pulled up the woman’s picture and turned the screen so that Everly could see it. “You didn’t recognize the name, but maybe you’ve seen her before?”
Setting her water aside, Everly moved closer. So close that Noah caught her scent. Not perfume. Soap, maybe, and beneath it was all Everly. A scent he had no trouble remembering even after all this time. Fourteen years. Because those memories were strong, he had no trouble remembering that she tasted as good as she looked. And he’d certainly done a lot of tasting back when they’d been together.
She’d changed, of course, from that sixteen-year-old girl who’d been his first lover.His first love, he mentally corrected. Because he had indeed been in love with her. Her dark blond hair now hit her shoulders instead of cascading down her back, and she’d added the right amount of curves to her body. The face was the same. Beautiful and the kind of face that got a lot of attention when she walked into a room.
The eyes though were her big change. No longer carefree. Those deep blue eyes showed the troubles and strains of being a single mom who had now been seemingly targeted by a killer.
“I don’t recognize her,” Everly finally said. “Why was she murdered?”
