Forest of Shadows : Addictive crime mystery with shocking twist by Kate Gable

Author:Kate Gable [Gable, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Byrd Books, LLC
Published: 2024-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

18

“What’s that? An apple for the teacher?”

All I can do is throw a glance Andy’s way as I walk through the station carrying a cardboard cup holder from Mitch’s shop. “Jealous?” I ask with a sweet smile. At least he seems like a decent sport about it, chuckling and shaking his head. The more time I spend here, the easier it is to understand him and to deal with him. I can’t take his heckling personally. It’s safer to think of him as a pesky older brother figure. We don’t have to be adversaries. And I know from experience he’s a decent cop—at least when he’s focused on work and not on making jokes.

I don’t have any need to kiss up to the captain, but he is the man I need to see first thing this morning, and he’s always tired. Besides, I was raised to believe it’s rude to show up somewhere with refreshments and not include some for others.

“You’re too thoughtful.” Captain Felch turns away from his computer screen when I set the carrier on his desk. It means pushing aside a handful of papers it’s been a while since he’s straightened up around here.

“I figured you could use something a little stronger and tastier than what comes out of that machine in the break room or the truck outside.”

“I’ve been spoiled by espresso,” he admits with a sheepish grin. “Still, you don’t need to spend the money.”

“Don’t worry about that. I got them for free.”

“I suppose I can accept, then.” He eyes me, appraising. “Exactly how did you manage that? Nothing illegal, I hope?”

“It’s nice to have friends in high places.”

“Well, thank you.” He pops the spout on the plastic lid and takes a deep inhale before sipping. “Oh, that is nice. Drip coffee has nothing on a nice cappuccino.”

“In case you’re ever curious, I now know more about coffee roasters than I ever thought possible. I’d be happy to educate you if you’re interested.”

“So you had an interesting trip to Bangor. What can you tell me about Julian Oates?”

“I can report he makes my skin crawl. But something tells me that’s not what you were asking.”

“Not precisely, but thank you for the insight.”

“He made a pretty penny, selling footage from those cameras. He installed them in several locations, not only Lake Morgan. There’s roughly a year’s worth of footage out there, circulating all over the dark web.”

“Horrible.”

I shudder at the thought of knowing there’s footage of me out there somewhere, knowing others have watched it. Having no idea how far the videos have spread. There’s no such thing as putting the toothpaste back in the tube. It would be impossible to scrub the footage from the internet at this point.

“The implications are nauseating.” The captain sips his coffee again and lets out a soft murmur of appreciation, but I’m sure it would make Mitch happy if he heard it.

“Sure. Kids, adults. Bedroom activities, showers. It’s the ultimate violation.”

“And I’m guessing your guy didn’t offer any remorse over what he’s done.

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