Dead Woman Crossing by J.R. Adler (books on motivation .txt) 📗

Sam nodded again as he put the last of the muffin in his mouth.

“I spoke with Margaret, the daycare teacher at Happy Trails. She provided me with Isobel’s file.” Kimberley pulled out her phone, bringing up the photo she had taken of the contact sheet. She zoomed into the phone number with the heavy ink spot and handed the phone over to Sam. “That number that’s on the contact form didn’t have a name or an address to go along with it. That same number is the unregistered one in Hannah’s phone, the one that she’s been talking to several times a week for at least a year.”

Kimberley closed up her notepad, sliding it back in her pocket.

“So, what you’re saying is whoever killed Hannah was sleeping with her and is most likely Isobel’s father?” Sam said.

“Yes, pending the paternity test.”

He scratched his chin. “And we have no idea who she could have been seeing?”

“None. No one could give me anything. Not her mom, not her co-workers, not the daycare, no one. This relationship was in secret, which leads me to believe the man is probably taken, married or at the very least in a serious relationship.”

Sam nodded. “Any other reason someone would keep a relationship with a single woman a secret?”

“Not that I can think of.” Kimberley leaned back in her chair, bringing her coffee to her lips and taking a drink.

“Sam. Chief Deputy King,” Deputy Bearfield called out as he rapped on the door frame with his knuckles twice. Kimberley turned to look at him.

“Bear,” Sam greeted.

“You know the guy you have me tailing, Henry Colton?”

Kimberley and Sam nodded.

“Well, I just got a phone call on our tip line. He dated Hannah Brown after high school.”

Sam leaned forward in his chair, showing interest.

“Apparently, their breakup was ugly, as was their relationship. Word is he cheated on her. There was a spat of domestic violence throughout the relationship too. Police were called once, but she chose not to press charges, so they were just separated for the night,” the deputy explained.

“Why didn’t we know this before?”

Kimberley turned back toward Sam. “Because we’ve been chasing down Kent’s ghost tour and Henry wasn’t all that forthcoming. Apparently, he’s dumb and guilty.”

Sam let out a deep breath.

Kimberley looked over her shoulder at Deputy Bearfield. “How long were they together, and when did they break up?”

“From what I gathered around two years. They broke up right before she started dating Tyler Louis.”

Kimberley nodded. “Who called this in?”

Bearfield shrugged his shoulders. “Not sure. They wouldn’t give their name. But it was a male voice.”

“Would she hide a relationship with Henry Colton?” Sam pondered.

“Maybe out of shame. She dated him before. He cheated on her, was abusive to her. And you saw him, he’s a drunk idiot—I’d lie about dating him too,” Kimberley said pointedly.

Bear chuckled.

“Do we have enough to bring him in for questioning?” Deputy Bearfield asked.

“He did have a past relationship with the victim, and he has a violent record.” Kimberley raised an eyebrow.

Sam took a sip of his coffee, considering for a moment. “I’ve got the press and the locals’ eyes on me, so I don’t want to just keep pulling in people without more to go on. Bear, tail him for the next twenty-four hours, make our police presence known. Let’s see if we can shake something loose. Regardless, we’ll pull him in for questioning tomorrow.”

Deputy Bearfield nodded and left the room.

“Why not pull him in now?” Kimberley cocked her head.

She didn’t understand this pussyfooting Sam partook in. Why was he being so careful? If it was up to Kimberley, Henry would be sitting in her interrogation room in about five minutes. She’d have him confessing everything he’s ever done, even something as miniscule as jaywalking.

“Like I said, we’ve got a lot of eyes on us. Murder might be typical in the city, but it’s not around here.”

“Your town is literally named after an unsolved murder.” Kimberley rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, and I don’t need another unsolved one.”

“If we keep tiptoeing around, that’s exactly what’s going to happen,” Kimberley challenged.

“People out there are scared, but they’re still talking because they have faith in us. If we start pulling in anyone and everyone for questioning, townsfolk will see us as the enemy. They’ll quit talking. We won’t be able to shake anyone loose,” he explained.

To Kimberley, it made zero sense. She didn’t need people to talk in order to catch the person responsible. She needed evidence, facts, not town gossip. She wondered if Sam had ulterior motives for not wanting to bring Henry in. She knew he had had the public information session yesterday. What happened there? What about the press? He was an elected official. Was reelection coming up? Was he putting politics before police work?

“Henry has a history with her, and he doesn’t have an alibi for the night of her murder, and he lied about how close they were,” Kimberley pressed.

“So, should we pull every guy she dated in for questioning? One-night stands? Prom dates?” Sam crumpled the brown bag into a ball and tossed it in the garbage.

“Maybe. All we know is Isobel might be the link between Hannah and her murderer.”

“We don’t even know that yet. Until the paternity test results are in, it’s just a hunch, and even then, we can’t be certain.”

Kimberley stood from her chair. “Alright then, I’ll be in my office twiddling my thumbs.”

“Just please be patient, Detective. We’ll get this guy. Trust me.”

Kimberley restrained herself from letting out a huff. Instead, she picked up her coffee and nodded. She left Sam’s office, looking out into the main area. Deputy Hill was at his desk mulling over paperwork. All the other desks were empty.

“Hill, whatcha working on?” she asked.

He turned back to look at her. “Traffic violations.” He held up a stack of paperwork.

She gave him a slight nod. With an open murder investigation, traffic violations should be the last thing anyone should be working