They Return: Book 3 of the They Stay Series by Fraise Claire

Author:Fraise, Claire
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sabertooth Press
Published: 2023-01-31T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-FOUR

MILES

I take a sip of coffee. I really shouldn’t drink coffee at roll call. It makes me jittery. But I’m giving myself a pass because I don’t think I’ve ever been this tired in my entire life.

By the time Shiloh, Jonah, and I got back to the apartment last night, the sun was rising over the roofs of the neighbor’s house. I could only sleep for an hour before I had to get up and come here. Hopefully, this coffee will keep me standing straight. Or at least stop anyone from asking me questions about where I was all night.

Chief Schnebly doesn’t seem to notice how tired I am. Licking his thumb, he flips a piece of paper over his clipboard.

“I got a call from Columbus this morning,” he says. “A young man turned up at the emergency room at Riverside Methodist last night. Told police that he had been attacked by Shiloh Oleson and Jonah Weatherby.”

I spit my coffee back out in the cup. I mean, I had an idea this was coming. Richie wasn’t going to keep his mouth shut for long. I just didn’t expect him to go to the police so soon.

Neither Officer Crumpler nor Officer Owens says anything. I guess they’re as speechless as me, albeit for different reasons. There’s only the four of us crammed into Chief Schnebly’s tiny office. Officer Buzzcut had the graveyard shift last night and so he’s home now, sleeping.

“The detectives on the Oleson case are heading to Columbus as we speak,” Chief Schnebly says. “Be sure to keep an eye out for those kids. It’s more important than ever that we find out where they’re hiding.”

“It’s always the pretty ones,” Officer Crumpler says, “that end up being crazy.”

I glare at him. Maybe it’s the lack of sleep, or the news about Richie that’s digging Shiloh and Jonah into a deeper hole, but I kind of want to throw this lukewarm coffee in his face.

Chief Schnebly looks up at me. “I’m sorry for doubting you, Randy. You’ve been telling me about Jonah Weatherby for weeks, and if I’d listened to you, we may have been able to get him before he disappeared.”

“Uh, it’s no problem, sir.”

Chief Schnebly returns to the clipboard. “The kids had help from another man. White. Late twenties. Approximately six feet tall—and a patrol officer by all accounts.”

Oh my God, why was the Columbus police department so productive this morning?

I don’t know how it can get any worse, until it does.

“They sent over a sketch.” Chief Schnebly angles his monitor so we can all see.

I want to crawl into a hole and die. It’s a black and white drawing done in pen. It’s rudimentary, and it’s not a Rembrandt by any stretch of the imagination. The lack of proper shading makes Officer Zweering’s face look a lot wider than it is, which is a good thing. The top of his head is too flat to be a normal head shape, but the artist got the eyebrows down. I hope my eyebrows don’t look that overgrown in real life.

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