AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And he’d been running ever since, because it had been the only way he knew how to survive.
But now, as he looked at that folder, all he felt was shame and regret. If he’d stepped up when he should have and faced Eden’s death, he might’ve been able to prevent the deaths of Jessica and Kiera. He couldn’t know that for sure, of course, but they all seemed to be connected.
“You’re harder on yourself than on anyone else. Give yourself a break.”
In his head he heard the words Eden had spoken to him so many times. But he knew now that she’d been wrong. If he’d been harder on himself, he wouldn’t have run away like a coward.
“I’m going to make another coffee,” he said, standing abruptly. His chair fell back so fast that it almost fell over.
Bethenny looked at him with those inquisitive eyes, but she didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to—she could read him like an open book. She had a brilliant mind, and in the few days he’d spent with her, he understood why she’d forged such a successful career. She’d solved the highest number of cold cases in the country, and she was only thirty-three.
He felt her eyes follow him but he was grateful she hadn’t asked any questions.
The moment he started walking, the chains loosened. He’d always been like this—anxiety gripped him when he sat still, when he sat with his emotions—but as soon as he moved physically, it was easier to breathe. That was why he’d left town and run after Eden’s death—it was the only way he could breathe. But that still didn’t mean it had been the right thing to do. He should’ve stayed and paced holes in the police station floors until he’d found her killer. Sometimes running from pain was the catalyst for more pain later. He was certainly learning that lesson the hard way.
He tipped his head back as he waited for the coffeemaker to warm up.
God, help me. Give me the strength to face my past, to face Eden’s death and find the person responsible for her murder, and for the murders in the woods.
When the coffeemaker rumbled to life, he opened his eyes and made another cup. It was already his third for the morning.
His phone rang.
“Detective Taylor.”
“Taylor, it’s Dean from the IT department. We’re having some issues with the IP request you put in. Someone used a VPN to hide the IP address, so it’s not as straightforward as we would like. We should be able to uncover it, but it might take a while.”
Lachlan fought to roll his eyes. “Let me know when you can,” he said before ending the call, even though he had no intention of waiting. He knew someone who could probably do it in thirty seconds flat.
He looked at his phone, wondering if this was worth the favor—but as he looked at the files in his folder, he knew they had so little to go on. The blood sample Bethenny had collected from the cliffs hadn’t matched anyone in the system, so that was a dead end. Until the body was found, they needed to work on other leads.
He walked back to his desk and made the call. His job sure brought some interesting partnerships into play, and this one that had developed several years ago had proved the most fruitful.
“Detective Taylor, what can I do for you?” a smiling voice answered.
Lachlan knew this favor would come at a cost.
“Samuel, my friend. I need an IP address trace,” Lachlan said already cringing at the response he knew was coming.
“Seriously?” He sounded like he might laugh.
“A VPN has been used. The team is working on it, but it’s going to take some time. I need the information now,” he said.
“And the state seriously wonders why it has so many unsolved cases. If they can’t give people like you the resources they need, how do they expect you to be successful?” Samuel asked—seemingly more to himself than Lachlan as he continued without waiting for a response. “Give me the details and I’ll tell you how long it will take.” Lachlan rattled off the Facebook account and the photo details.
A moment passed before Samuel spoke. “True, a VPN has been used. But seriously, your guys should be fired. The account was accessed from 11 Memory Lane, Redwater.”
Lachlan’s jaw dropped open. “Thank you, my friend.”
“Good luck, Detective,” Samuel replied before the call went dead—before Lachlan had a chance to ask another favor, he knew, though he hadn’t planned to.
This was a case of criminals working with police for the greater good. It happened more than Lachlan cared to admit, but it worked.
“11 Memory Lane, Redwater,” Lachlan said as he looked across at Bethenny. It didn’t take her more than one second to make the connection.
“Jessica’s house! So either Kiera was there or Jessica accessed her account,” she said, rolling her lips over one another as she seemed to think this through.
“Or the killer accessed it,” Lachlan said, not wanting to rule out the possibility.
