Hush, My Darling by Winter Austin

Author:Winter Austin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Thriller
ISBN: 9781956387780
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2022-01-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Lila ignored Tate’s glare and hurried after the sheriff down the department hallway. She caught Elizabeth’s arm halfway across the hall.

“Sheriff, what’s going on with the mayors?”

Elizabeth’s star-bearing shoulders drooped. She gripped Lila’s elbow and ushered her toward the restrooms. Bentley sat in place and watched them.

After glancing up and down the hall, Elizabeth leaned in closer. “For your ears only. During lunch today, Rafe and I learned that Bo Cullen got drunk last night and let it out what happened yesterday. Knowing the two men who questioned me on it, they spread it around before I heard about it. Now the mayors are going to play the concerned men ploy on me.” Her gaze hardened. “I’m going to make them eat it.”

Lila avoided her boss’s gaze, her brows furrowing. “About me pulling my service weapon? Or about the body?”

“Probably both, but I’m leaning more toward the weapon incident.”

She met Elizabeth’s steady eyes. “I have a right to defend myself to them. I’ll lay out the whole bloody details if that twists their balls.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “No. As much as I’d like to see you do that, let me handle this. Besides, Jason means well. I’m fairly certain he’s on your side, but he has to do the political thing.” The corner of her mouth kicked up. “And do I know how to do political.”

“You’re sure?”

Elizabeth gripped Lila’s shoulder and squeezed. “Most certainly. Now go do what you do best. I mean it. If Agent McCall pulls any more crap, you twist his balls.”

“With pleasure.” Lila headed back to the sheriff’s office. At the door, she turned and watched Elizabeth stride into the conference room across the hall.

“Gentlemen, where were we?”

Lila slipped into the office and pulled up short. Cecil and Tate were no longer alone. In the office was Kyle—Lundquist. She had to start calling him that again. Shaking from her mental lapse, Lila closed the door behind her.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“We have a big problem,” Lundquist said.

*

Lila followed Lundquist to his desk, Cecil and Tate right behind her. Laid out in a strategic manner—the deeply trained portion of him that screamed navy—were photos he’d taken as he worked through the evidence. Lundquist had a nifty room at the hospital to run tests and samples before passing the evidence he’d gathered along to DCI.

Lila picked up one photo of women’s clothing. “What’s the problem?”

“It’s not a problem per se, but this woman’s ID might be solved more quickly than our John Doe with the message,” he said.

Lila caught Cecil’s eye. Their prediction of the I-80 killer’s victims being IDed faster because of missed details might be played out right here and now. It would give them a chance to corner Tate on the other cases she and Cecil had yet to see.

“You felt this garnered a hysterical reaction?” Tate sniped.

“Where it could lead to a problem,” Lundquist interjected, “will be up to your determination when I tell you what I know.”

“What is it that you know?” Tate’s voice dripped of disdain.

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