Behind You by Rylie Dark

Author:Rylie Dark [Dark, Rylie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rylie Dark
Published: 2023-01-09T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Back to square one.

Hailey watched, dissatisfied and frustrated, as Brice Thompson was released, and Lance Carter was booked for assault of a federal agent. It was cold comfort that Carter would get a few years. He’d had it coming for a long time now, and so justice was finally being done, but they had far bigger fish to fry.

Alice had gone out to check on a couple of other possible leads, longshots that would probably yield no results, while Hailey and Graham stayed in the station and delved into the database of county criminals.

Of course, the killer could be from outside the county, but Hailey didn’t think so. He knew the terrain too intimately. Unless he was some avid outdoorsman from a neighboring county. Or someone posing as such in order to scout the area before striking.

There were so many variables, so many “what-ifs,” that they had no idea if they were on the right track or not.

Plus, the county was filled with men with a history of violence and drug abuse. Like so many other rural counties faced with an economic downturn and few job opportunities, local law enforcement had to deal with an uptick in fights, spousal abuse, and drug addiction. That had become especially bad after the one-two punch of the meth and opioid painkiller epidemics. That had left a wake of thefts, broken homes, and broken relationships.

So, finding a man with a history of violence and drug abuse was easy. Figuring out if he could be the killer was nearly impossible.

“All these suspects sound the same,” Graham complained from the computer next to her, giving voice to a feeling that had been growing within her for the past couple of hours.

“We need to find an outlier,” Hailey replied. “Someone different. Something that doesn’t quite fit.”

“I know, and I’m not finding it.”

“Neither am I,” Hailey admitted.

“I wish I knew this county like you do, it would help me look.”

I wish I knew this county like Alice, Hailey thought. Out loud she said, “How about you grab our stuff from the house and get us a motel?”

Graham looked at her. “Why?”

“What do you mean why?”

“Did she kick you out?”

“She tried to kick me out of the state.”

“But she didn’t kick you out of the house.”

“No,” Hailey admitted.

Hailey wanted to add how Mrs. Perfect would never do that because it would make her look bad but bit her tongue.

“Then we should stay,” Graham said.

“Do you feel comfortable there? Because I sure don’t.”

“How would your nieces feel if you left?”

Hailey slumped. Graham was coming at this from a different angle. While he and Jennifer traded the kids every other week, even on the weeks they didn’t have the kids, they’d spend time together for their sake. Graham had mentioned on several occasions how uncomfortable it was for the both of them, and yet, they still put a happy face on to reassure their two small children. It seemed like it was the only thing Graham and Jennifer could agree on these days.

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