The picture is intimate.
A tense moment between two friends, both desperate for more, but neither brave enough to take that leap.
The shot was clearly taken through the back window. Which means this guy was standing right between my shop and hers. Watching us.
Disgust and rage surge through me, and I slam the folder shut. “Go nail this guy,” I tell Leopold. “Before I do.”
“Gladly.” He takes the folder and nods toward Jack.
“I’ll be there in a minute.”
Leopold offers a single nod, then heads into the room.
I prepare myself for the FBI agent’s anger at the photo taken just a day after he and Anastasia broke up. Instead, he takes a deep breath, his expression anything but anger.
“I feel like a fool for not seeing it before. But thank you for stepping back. Seeing what she means to you, I can’t imagine how hard that was.”
“Thanks. It was. And for what it’s worth, I didn’t want to steal her from you. I just wanted her happy.”
He nods. “She never looked at me the way she looks at you. I see that now.” He runs a hand through his hair and smiles awkwardly. “Well, let’s go see if we can get a confession so this can all be put behind us and I can go home with my tail between my legs.” With a laugh, he holds out his hand. “Thanks for coming back for me. I owe you one.”
“You owe me nothing. You’re welcome.” I shake his hand, then head into the viewing room while he steps into the interrogation room.
Weston is watching me, a perceptive expression on his face. But nothing he says will have me confessing what I saw in those images. Especially knowing he’ll likely see them from a distance in just a few minutes. But seeing from a distance and getting an up-close view of the horrific way his sister had been discarded like trash on the side of the road are two different things.
I’d known that Anastasia was the one who found her. She’d said as much. But knowing and seeing are two totally different things. That brokenness in her expression will haunt me until the day I die.
I wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her in to press a kiss on the top of her head.
The door opens, and Zane comes in, Garrison at his side. I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing I should have enough muscle backup to keep Weston in this room. Hopefully. Ryker might be our only option for diffusing him should this guy open his mouth and say anything about Weston’s sister. And unfortunately, he’s not here.
After offering Zane a nod, I shift my attention to the man in the room.
He looks like any other man you’d pass on the street. Jeans and a white T-shirt, his hair styled. Both brown eyes watch Leopold and Jack with cool detachment.
“I am Captain Leopold, and this is Agent Weathers with the FBI. Though I imagine you know exactly who he is.”
“Any particular reason I’m here, Captain Leopold?”
“Do you really need to ask?” Jack demands.
The man looks over at him. “Given I did, Agent Weathers, I would say yes.”
“How do you know Anastasia Knox?”
The man looks at Leopold. “Who? You’ll have to forgive me for not knowing the locals yet. I just got to town a few months ago.”
“But this isn’t the first time you’ve been to Stormwatch Landing, is it?” Jack questions. He’s pacing the room like an animal ready to attack. And who can blame the guy? There’s not a person in this room who doesn’t want to go through the glass and remove the threat.
Eliminate danger.
It’s what we were trained to do.
“Can’t say it is. But my last trip here wasn’t very memorable.”
Weston leans forward, resting both hands on the narrow table in front of him. Anastasia moves away from me and wraps both of her arms around his waist. I move in closer, ready to remove her from his path should he decide to do just what we all want to do.
“Funny you should say that. Because there’s not a person in this town who has forgotten the brutal murder of Violet Hayes. It was pretty memorable to us.”
