Grave Secret: An absolutely gripping mystery and suspense thriller (The Sidney Becker Mysteries Book 6) by Linda Berry

Author:Linda Berry [berry, linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-09T00:00:00+00:00

***

They’d been on the road for a couple of minutes, sitting in uncomfortable silence. Something was weighing heavily on Dillon’s mind. He was really wound up, his knee bobbing up and down, his hands twisting in his lap. Sidney didn’t want to have to squeeze it out of him, word for word—better to let him get his bearings and voluntarily confide in her. Another long minute went by. Nothing. He squirmed a little in his seat. Sidney was about to initiate the conversation, but he cleared his throat and blurted, “I have to tell you something, Sidney.”

“Sure. What’s up?”

He cleared his throat again. “I snuck out of the house last night and met Rafe after you and dad fell asleep.”

What?

He had a desperate look on his face that disturbed her even more than his words. There was another long pause as he searched for words. “We went to Jacko’s house out in the sticks and broke into his shed. He and his brother came running out of the house with flashlights.” He glanced at her, waiting for her reaction.

What the hell? Sidney took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Why did you break into his shed?”

“To rescue a dog. Last night wasn’t the first time. We’ve gone out three other times during the night and rescued dogs from owners who were abusing them.”

His confession alarmed her, but she wanted to keep him talking. She answered calmly. “Where are the dogs?”

“They were all injured. We gave the first three to a rescue in another town, so that the owners can’t find them.”

“And Jacko’s dog?”

“Rafe has him.”

“Does Jacko know you took his dog?”

“No. No one knows. We wore ski masks. But the thing is … it wasn’t his dog. He stole it. Jacko and his brother are involved with a dog fighting ring. The dog is in bad shape. There was another dog in the shed, too. It was dead. Lying in a pool of blood.” Dillon’s emotions were flitting back and forth between guilt, sadness, and anger. Then his words gushed out in a flood, as though a dam broke. “That’s not all, they shot at us last night. We were running for our lives. Joey was waiting in the truck. One of them lit up the cab with his flashlight as we were peeling out. He must have seen Joey. That’s why Jacko came to the ranch today. Somehow, he knew Joey volunteered here and he came looking for him.”

The words hit Sidney like a hammer. The crimes committed by Jacko and his brother went far beyond the assaults committed at the ranch today.

The tension in the car was taut. What Dillon and Rafe did was wrong on so many levels; ill-conceived and foolish and extremely dangerous. She was aware of her impulse to reprimand him, but she held her tongue. She was on the job, and Dillon needed to be treated in the same manner that she would treat anyone involved in criminal activity.

“I’m so sorry, Sidney,” Dillon said.

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