The Fields by Erin Young

Author:Erin Young
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Flatiron Books

33

The smell of sulfur from spent fireworks lingered over the city for the next two days. The skies grew overcast and the temperature climbed. Townsfolk wilted in the sweltering spaces between air-conditioned homes, offices, and cars. Insects swarmed and farmers sent up crop dusters to spray their fields. Chemicals turned the air bitter.

Local news stations and papers replayed the stories of the murdered women, highlighting the fact that the sheriff’s office hadn’t caught anyone. With every story, fear grew. People talked in bars and barbershops, worrying if their town was safe. Sales were up at gun stores. The photograph of George Anderson remained on the front pages, while the pictures of Chloe and Nicole disappeared into the folds of the story, as if the women had played their roles and were no longer relevant to the drama. At some point, Riley knew they would simply be known as the victims.

At the office, she found herself the subject of gossip with her brother’s arrest; sidelong looks and conversations died when she entered a room. She avoided any further confrontation with Cole, addressing him emotionlessly, pushing her anger down inside.

Reed, furious after the arrests of Hoyt Garret and Ethan, had grilled her on the status of the case. She knew he needed her—that it would harm the investigation if she were taken off it now—but there was always her next performance review. Her only slight satisfaction was that Reed hadn’t been at all impressed by Cole’s actions: Max Olson, attorney-at-law, now breathing down his neck.

Reed had, however, suspended all surveillance of Hoyt Garret.

“For Christ’s sake, Fisher,” he’d said when Riley sought to defend her decision to watch Garret. “Boys can be creeps. Back before all this Me Too hullabaloo, I imagine half the men in this department behaved badly.”

God, if she had a dollar for every man who saw that movement as an attack on his liberty to be a douche bag.… “Garret wasn’t just a creep, sir. He choked a girl. Got off on it.”

“I’ll not see what little resources we have squandered chasing petty criminals and Peeping Toms. Not when we have a double murder on our patch.”

Riley had accepted his decision, but it hadn’t stopped her from asking Amy Fox to do some digging into Lizbeth Garret. It bugged her that Hoyt claimed his sister was out of town, but their mother had said she was at a hospital.

The hotline for information on the whereabouts of George Anderson continued to ring, but with less frequency, the few genuine tips pursued without success. Anderson seemed to have vanished from the world, only his tattered belongings sealed in evidence bags to show he’d ever been there at all.

Sarah Foster, too, was still missing. Schmidt had gone through the woman’s contacts—ex-boyfriends, family, and friends—leaving messages for the most part, many people away for the Fourth of July weekend. Riley had put out an APB, but they’d had no reports as yet. Gracie was in her thoughts more and more, the missing teen

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