He stopped, and the Jeep jerked to a halt. Beau rested his forearms in the window opening of the passenger door. “Moreof a fight? How would you know what I did or didn’t do?”
Her eyes widened. “Um, I don’t of course. I just, I mean, you haven’t been gone all that long, and I thought you must have given up rather quickly.”
“You’re lying. You knew I didn’t fight at all. If this was anywhere else but Mystic Lake, I’d suspect one of my officers was spying for you. But I know my people. I’d trust them with my life. There’s only one other way I can think of that you got your information. You’ve somehow put a hidden camera inside the police station, haven’t you? Let me guess. There’s one at the mayor’s office too.”
Her lips compressed in a tight line.
Beau started laughing. “I knew it.”
She stared at him in surprise. “You’re not angry? You’re not going to threaten to arrest me?”
His smile faded. “I should be furious. But what would have been a huge deal to me an hour ago isn’t scoring very high on my give-a-care meter today. Plus, I no longer have the authority to arrest you.” He gave her a stern look. “You will have the cameras removed, though, right? Promise me or I’ll call someone whocanarrest you.”
“You’d believe me if I give you my word?”
“Hell no. But I owe you one for alerting me about the meeting. I’ll give you a chance to correct your mistake and remove the cameras before someone finds them. Then I’ll phone in an anonymous tip about someone potentially bugging the police station and mayor’s office, to make sure you followed through. How much time will you need before I send in that tip?”
She sighed. “A week? I still might glean more useful information from my cameras.”
“You’ve got twenty-four hours, not a minute more.”
“You and your deadlines. It’s annoying.”
“That needle on my don’t-care meter isn’t even budging.” He started walking again.
The Jeep quickly caught up and slowed beside him. “It’s a long walk home, Beau. If you’re not afraid of tarnishing your reputation by being seen with a Covington, I’m happy to give you a lift.”
He let out a deep breath and stopped. “I’m not particularly concerned with my reputation right now.” He rested his forearms in the window opening again. “What’s your end game? What exactly do you want from me? I’m no longer in a position of power to help you access police files about your brother’s case.”
“You could call me Sierra, for one.”
“And?”
“I still want to work with you on my brother’s case. You know more about it than anyone else, especially since you recently reopened it. And until we know who killed him—”
“If he was actually murdered.”
“If,” she agreed. “But if he was, the killer likely has you on his radar. All it took for me to find out that you were re-examining cold cases, including my brother’s, was to overhear conversations at nearby tables in a restaurant. If I heard it then others have too.”
“I can take care of myself,” he said. “No need to worry about me, although I appreciate the warning. As to your brother’s case, I can call one of the officers and ask them to work with you. That will give you access to information as well as the muscle of the police department helping you.”
She shook her head. “You still don’t get it, do you? Yes, if you were still the chief, it would be easier. But I don’t believe any of those other cops will dig into the case the way you will.”
He rolled his eyes. “Like I dug into it originally, classifying it as an accident?”
She shook her head again. “Anyone would have classified it as an accident. The only reason I doubt it is because of who the victim really was, a fact I don’t want to spread around. You know he was my brother. No one else does, not the police at least. I want to keep it that way so I can stay under the radar of whoever killed him, if he really was murdered.”
“Tanya Jericho’s parents wouldn’t agree with your faith in my investigative abilities.”
“Yes, well, grief has a way of blinding people sometimes. Which is yet another reason that I need you, someone who isn’t emotional about my brother. Someone who can be objective. And someone who is very good at their job. I’ve researched youextensively on the internet. You aren’t the kind of man to give up when you see a thread to pull. In Tanya Jericho’s case, there was absolutely no reason for you or anyone else to believe she was still alive. No threads. No clues to pursue. If there was, you’d have dug in your heels and gone to the ends of the earth for a resolution. The mayor and his lawyers are idiots not to realize that. Your track record of solved cases is more than enough proof.”
He frowned, not sure what to make of her little speech. “Thanks. I think.”
“No need to thank me. I’m not offering flattery or platitudes. Facts are facts. Whatyouneed to understand is that my brother wasn’t alone while here in Mystic Lake. He was with friends, people who knew his true identity. If one of them or someone with them killed Esteban, they knew they were murdering the son of Michael Covington. If my father finds out my brother was murdered, he’ll go on a scorched earth policy. No one will be safe from his wrath. There’s no way anyone would risk that kind of vengeance unless something big is worth killing for here in your town. I honestly have no idea what that could be. But if my fears are true, other people are in danger.”
“You really are worried about the safety of people you don’t know, aren’t you?”
She frowned. “Well of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”
