Chance was the one who laughed then. “Actually, you did. I know exactly who you’re talking about.”
As the guard opened the door and they exited, Hill shouted profanities, ending with a warning.
“Go ahead, tell him whatever you want…but all you’ll get is dead.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Corner Motel
Tupelo Pike
Scottsboro, 6:30 p.m.
Rory paced the floor of the small room. On the way back from the prison, she and Chance had discussed at length every horrible thing Rick Hill had told them. Particularly the last part when he’d inadvertently confessed to killing Pete.
What he’d said wouldn’t hold up in court, since it would be their word against his. But she knew. She had understood him perfectly.
Chance had started reviewing the case file as soon as they arrived back at the room. The conclusions he had thrown out to her were looking more and more on the money. This whole business about the other man—the one who assaulted her—being protected had to mean he was…maybe…probably a cop.
She stalled, turned to the desk where Chance sat with the file spread out in front of him. “You really think it could be Shane?” Now that she thought about it, he did have brown eyes. She exhaled a weary breath. But so did millions of other people. Brown was the most common eye color.
Putting aside what had been done to her…the idea she was mentally tossing around would mean that Shane knew who killed Pete! He had been there when it happened and done nothing. Told no one.
“It’s possible,” Chance agreed. “He would fit the profile as someone protected in Hill’s eyes since he’s a cop. He could be in a position to manipulate evidence. He would know how to clean up a crime scene…how to ensure he wasn’t caught.”
Rory considered what she knew about Shane. “His mother was Mr. Harris’s younger sister. I remember Pete mentioning that she didn’t do very well for herself. Married some drug dealer who ended up going to prison. She and Shane had a difficult time. I think Pete’s dad helped them out, but Eudora wasn’t happy about it. Mrs. Carter died, overdosed, and Shane ended up going into police work.”
“He was a traffic cop with the city,” Chance said. “The deputy position came along right around the same time Pete was murdered.”
The thought that he was the protected one—that he had hidden the identity of Pete’s killer—made her sick. Even worse, unless Shane confessed, there was nothing they could do to prove any of this. Rick Hill certainly wasn’t going to own a murder rap and risk being sentenced to the death penalty.
Rory turned to Chance. Defeat sucked the certainty out of her. “There’s nothing we can do.”
Chance looked down at the pages spread across the desk. “I say—” he looked to her then “—we have a go at Carter. See what he has to say for himself.”
Could she do that? Could she stand face-to-face with Shane and not lose it?
She had tried calling him twice since they left the prison. He hadn’t answered or called back. That left only one option. Find him and confront him. Yes, she could do it. She had to. It was imperative if she was ever going to find the truth. If he was innocent in all this…then he shouldn’t have a problem talking to them. For God’s sake, he was the one who told them about the Henagar case!
Deep breath.Guilt drove people to do strange things.
Part of her hoped he was innocent…she had never had any reason to dislike Shane. But if he was the one and, dear God, it sure seemed possible, she would see to it that he…what? She couldn’t force him to confess. She couldn’t produce evidence that did not exist.
“I’m ready,” she said to Chance.
She needed to remember that she was no longer in this alone. The Colby Agency would help her get to the truth. Look how far they had come already in just two days.
Carter Residence
Old Larkinsville Road
Scottsboro, 7:00 p.m.
Rory’s nerves startedto tangle when Chance pulled into Shane’s driveway. His truck was there. Surely that meant he was home.
She climbed out of the car, surveyed the area. It would be dark in another hour. The gloom was already setting in. On the drive over, she had kept trying to recall the moments when her attacker had been on top of her that night. But the drug had held her firmly in its grip. She knew he’d been strong and that he had brown eyes.
And that he seemed nervous. His body seemed to tremble or shiver.
