Straightening his spine like the soldier he was, Cam slid out from behind the wheel. He bent to open the back hatch for Bruno as Evie joined him. Together, they walked into the Grand Haven police station.
As before—was it really only a day and a half ago?—Cam caught the eye of the woman seated at the front desk. “We’re here to speak with Detective Rueger.”
She frowned, eyeing the dog. “I’m afraid dogs aren’t allowed.”
Her dismissive tone set his teeth on edge. “Trust me, Detective Rueger knows Bruno, and he won’t mind.”
“One moment please.” She reached for the phone. After a brief discussion, she replaced the receiver. “I’m sorry, Detective Rueger is in a meeting. He’ll be free in about an hour or so.”
An hour? Cam glanced at Evie who shrugged. “Maybe he’s meeting with the chief of police?”
If the two murders were the result of a serial killer, he’d anticipate the FBI would soon be involved. That thought buoyed his spirits. He had to believe federal agents would be interested in Dan Johnson’s arrest and Rick Thomas knowing both Skye and Jasmine.
He nodded at the woman behind the desk. “Please let Detective Rueger know that Cameron Walker and Evie Tobin were here and would like to talk to him when he’s free. It’s important,” he added when she didn’t seem impressed. “We’ve found key evidence on Skye Gray’s case.”
The woman frowned but reached for a pen and took the time to write down their names. “He’ll be in touch when he has time.”
“Thanks.” He turned to head back outside, holding the door for Evie. “It hadn’t occurred to me that he wouldn’t make time to see us.”
“We can go back to the rental property to wait for a bit.” She looked at her watch. “An hour isn’t that long.”
“No, sitting around doing nothing is a waste of time. I’d rather keep searching for evidence, even if that means finding another dead body.” He grimaced and added, “But a quick pit stop at the rental house is a good idea. I saw some bug spray in the bathroom closet that will come in handy. And we may want to make sure we have enough food and water for Bruno.”
She hesitated only for a second before nodding in agreement. “Okay.”
He opened the back hatch for Bruno, who looked at them strangely when Evie told him to get in. Cam slid in behind the wheel and started the car as Evie settled in beside him. Before he had a chance to shift into reverse or back out of the parking space, another car pulled in alongside them.
Curious, he glanced over to see who was pulling in. He was immediately struck by the ravaged expressions on the couple’s faces.
They had to be Jasmine’s parents. He grimaced, realizing Rueger wasn’t meeting with the chief of police but rather the couple who had just learned their daughter was dead. He thought it was unusual for the bereaved parents to come to the police station rather than Rueger going to their house to give the bad news, but maybe they’d already heard rumblings through the small-town grapevine.
Or the two parents may have been at work, and coming here made more sense.
The man who got out of the car looked to be in his mid to late forties. He put his arm around the woman’s shoulders as she swiped at the tears streaming down her eyes. Leaning heavily on each other, they slowly made their way inside. Through the glass door, Cam was glad to see the stern woman behind the desk had come out to meet with the couple.
“How awful for them,” Evie murmured.
He nodded slowly. “Yeah, but it’s probably better to know the truth about what happened rather than spending your whole life wondering if your kid ran away.” He glanced at her as he shifted into reverse. “Do you know what happened to Skye’s parents?”
“Yes. They died within two years of each other.” Evie glanced at him. “It’s not breaking hospital privacy laws to give you this information as privacy ends with death. Skye’s mother, Elaine, had emergency surgery for a brain aneurysm. She did okay initially but then suffered a cardiac arrest and died. When I was reviewing her chart, I noticed a notation about her ex-husband, Gerald Gray, having passed away a year earlier from a heart attack.”
He shook his head, feeling slightly sick to his stomach. “They both passed away without ever knowing what happened to their daughter.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I thought at the time. I guess you’re right that it’s better to know the truth than to be left hanging for years without answers.” He noticed Evie’s gaze tracked the couple as they disappeared inside the police station. Then she sighed and added, “That doesn’t make it any easier to accept your daughter is never coming home.”
“True. I can’t imagine anything worse than losing a child.” He hated to admit that once he was shipped off to Afghanistan, he hadn’t spent much time thinking about Skye. Part of that was because he needed to stay focused on the mission. Being distracted in enemy territory was a sure way to get himself or his fellow soldiers killed. But if he were being completely honest, he’d wanted to believe Skye had simply taken off to start over in a new city. That she was living her life on her own terms, without regrets.
Not that she’d been murdered and buried in the nature preserve.
“We need to figure out who did this.” Evie’s expression was solemn. “Skye’s parents are gone, but Jasmine’s family deserves answers.”
“Let’s get back to work then.” He put the car in reverse and finished backing out of the parking space. Soon, he turned right out of the police station and onto the highway that would take them back to the rental house in Duncan Woods. After reaching the city limits, the speed limit increased. They were about two miles outside of town when he noticed a large black pickup truck was coming up fast behind them. With a frown, he watched the truck via the rearview mirror as the gap between them narrowed at an alarming rate.
The driver wasn’t going swerve to go around them!
“What the—” He yanked the steering wheel to the right and tapped the brake, careening off the road and onto the rutted shoulder and beyond a split second before the truck would have struck their rear bumper.
“Cam! What’s happening?” Evie’s voice rose in fear.
