Page 259 of Taken Away

"What do you mean?"

Burke closed the Bible gently.

"Walter wasn't hiding what I thought he was."

Before Bennett could ask another question, Burke's cell phone vibrated in his pocket.

He glanced at the screen.

Sara Parker.

He answered.

"Sheriff, I found what you asked me to look into."

"You're going to want to hear this."

Burke's expression hardened.

"I'm on my way."

"Don't say anything yet."

Bennett nodded.

"I won't."

Burke picked up his hat and walked out, leaving Bennett alone in Harold's study.

FIFTY-TWO

Jackson County Sheriff's Office

Burke sat alone in his office.

He'd spent most of yesterday replaying every interview and every loose end since leaving Harold Blackwood's study.

Walter.

Red Stephens.

Mercer.

Bennett.

One by one, he'd gone back through every suspect, every statement, every motive, searching for the piece that refused to fit.

He still couldn't shake the feeling he'd had the moment he'd opened it.

If his hunch was right...

He'd been asking the wrong questions from the very beginning.

A knock sounded at his door.

"Come in."

Sara stepped inside carrying a manila folder.