Page 20 of Homicide in Water Creek

Jacks stood, her spine straight. “Don’t say it. Don’t you dare tell me to be reasonable.”

“I had no intention of telling you that. I was going to say you have to talk to him at some point. Why not tonight?”

She flopped back on the bed, spread-eagled. “I’ll talk to my granddaddy tonight when you talk to yours.”

“Okay, point taken, but that doesn’t solve our problem of not leaving you here alone.”

“I’ve been alone here with the guy for weeks. I’ll be fine. Go back to work.”

“Back to work,” he said, snapping his fingers. “Get dressed. You’re going to the station with me. You can bunk out in the holding cell, door open, of course, while I work.”

“Boy, you really know how to show a girl a good time,” she muttered, her tone laced with sarcasm.

Leaning over the bed, with an arm braced on each side of her and his nose inches from hers, he spoke. “You didn’t let me finish.”

Jacks blinked twice. “By all means, finish.”

“I was going to say that after my work is done, we’ll come back here together, and I’ll make sure you wake up safe and sound come morning.”

He noticed her swallow, then blink again. “Sure, no problem. The couch is comfortable.”

His brows shot up, and he grinned, his teeth showing like the big bad wolf’s. “Oh no, Little Red, we’re sharing this bed. I’ve already tested it. It’s just right.”

Chapter Ten

It was midnight, and Jacks sat at the receptionist’s desk, shuffling paperwork. Since King had dragged her ass in here at eight p.m., she had cleaned the bathrooms, the cell, and the front desk. Still unable to sleep, she decided it was time to file paperwork and see if anyone had applied for the job posting for a new deputy now that Devyn was no longer working as one, and for a new secretary, which they desperately needed. Should she be sleeping? Yes, but try to tell her brain that. It wanted nothing to do with sleep right now. She had Granddaddy and Chinos to worry about, but most of all, she had King to worry about. He was dangerously close to finding out her secrets, though she suspected he already knew. He was the sheriff, and while it happened a long time ago, she was certain the records were still around here somewhere. If he knew, he wasn’t saying. Neither was she.

Maybe you should tell him, her inner voice suggested.

“Maybe you should just shut up,” she hissed.

“What was that?” he called from his office.

“Nothing!” she called back, biting the inside of her lip to keep from laughing.

The room fell silent again, so when an alert came through on her phone, she jumped. Surprised by the late hour, she picked it up. “Dammit,” she groaned, standing from the desk. “King! King!”

“What?” He was standing beside her before she noticed he had left his office.

Jacks began reading. “It is being reported that the body of Vonita King, America’s favorite sitcom mom, was found dead in her hometown of Water Creek, Wisconsin. According to records, no missing-person report has been filed, and there has been no official statement from Sheriff Dean King of Water Creek, who, coincidentally, is her son. We will keep you updated as this story develops.” When she finished reading, she lowered the phone to her side.

His hand was in his hair as he stared at her. “Sounds like all hell is breaking loose.”

Jacks nodded, swallowing hard. “I’ve said nothing. I want you to know that.” His nod was tight, but she could tell by the look on his face that he believed her. “Now what?”

King motioned at the phone. “Who reported it?”

“Looks like TMZ originally. Where they got it from is anyone’s guess. This alert came from the local Eau Claire station I use.” She opened another window and typed in Vonita King, not surprised to see several other local channels reporting the story.

Turning the phone toward him, he took in the page, rubbing the back of his neck. “Looks like someone from the ME’s office must have leaked it because I know it wasn’t anyone from this department. Regardless, I'd better put together a statement for the morning. They’re right; no missing-person report has been filed. I made some calls, but I told no one she was dead. I want to know who leaked it, but first I need to get ahead of this.”

“You can’t hide anything in today’s world of technology. I’m shocked you were able to keep it under wraps for this long. Have you made any progress on where she was going or where she was killed?”

King lowered himself onto the desk. “We know she was flying out of Vegas to a private beach in California. We can be relatively certain she was killed in Vegas, as it was her last point of contact. I’m waiting for an email with all the surveillance videos from the places the hauler stopped. We’ll see if we can find any evidence of someone stuffing her into the trunk. I have to call the Vegas P.D. in the morning to ask for their help. She bled out, which means whoever killed her left a massive amount of blood at the scene. I need them to do the legwork there. Eventually, I’ll have to release the body to California, but I’d rather have the crime scene pinpointed and a suspect before I do that.”

Jacks stood in silence, and he stared at her, but she couldn’t figure out what she wanted to say.

“What?” he asked, grasping her shoulder gently.