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He was one of those 'by the book' cops, and I knew his father was a big part of that. Everything I had observed from working with him gave me the confidence to trust him with this. The disdain in his voice was obvious, but he didn’t hesitate to agree to come back despite the impact Harleigh had on my life.
Twenty minutes later, I heard the rumble of an engine, and Ash pulled up beside me. I left her Harley and heard the quiet hum of the engine as I climbed into the cruiser.
“What’s the plan?” he asked. “And just how deep are you willing to go with this?”
“I just want to question someone in an official capacity.”
“Who?”
“Loraine Harding,” I replied. “She was once affiliated with the Reapers, through her ex-husband, but now she's no longer part of their crew.”
“What evidence do you have that she’s involved?” He asked me as we parked alongside her mobile home, the sound of crickets chirping in around us.
“She has to be,” I responded as I shut off the engine of our cruiser. “Harleigh’s ride was abandoned on the side of the road, and none of us had heard from her. This is the only logical explanation I can come up with.” I knew it was a lot to ask of Ash, but he was the only one I could trust with this. “Look, I know you don’t like her.”
“It’s not that I don’t like her. If she has such a hold on you, she must have some redeeming qualities.” He shook his head and said, “I can't bring myself to have faith in her or her cronies. I'm not down for participating in anything illegal.” Before I could reply, he continued. “But that doesn’t matter because you’re my partner and I know you’d have my back if the situations were reversed.”
“Damn right I would.”
“Besides, I think it would be good for us to be on the inside of this problem. You and I know what could happen if the Reapers retaliate. The last thing we need is another biker war in our city.” He stared off into the distance. “They never end well.”
“No, they don’t.”
We both jumped from the cruiser and walked side by side to the front door. Ash knocked three times with his knuckles. We waited a few moments, and then the door opened, revealing a waif of a woman with delicate hands clasped in front of her. She was taken aback by the sight of our crisp, uniformed attire, her eyes widening in surprise. This was the reason I went back to the street and called Ash for backup. There was a certain level of authority that came with wearing a badge.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“Loraine Harding?”
She glanced back and forth between the two of us, then nodded.
“We’re with SPD. We need to ask you some questions.”
“What’s going on?”
I pulled up a picture of Harleigh on my phone and showed it to her. “Have you seen her anywhere?”
“No, I haven’t,” she answered quickly, then averted her gaze. “Who is she?”
“You don’t know?” I asked, then held the cell phone up again. “Need to take a closer look?”
She shook her head, and with a tilt of her face, she leaned closer. “No, I’ve never seen her anywhere. What happened to her?”
“Her family reported her missing.”
“She’s missing?” she gasped, hand flying to her chest. “I sure hope you find her soon. A pretty young girl like her won’t last it out there. I wish I knew what happened to her. I didn’t see or hear anything outside tonight. I’ve been here all day watching a movie marathon on TV.”
“Witnesses reported that they saw her in this area shortly before she disappeared.” I might have been lying, but she did it first. Her posture and over-the-top explanation of her evening activities said it all. She was either directly involved in Harleigh's situation or had inside knowledge about the events.
“I haven’t seen her.”
Ash crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes hardening. “Ma’am, lying to the police is against the law. You know that, don’t you? Could get you locked up for a long time. You’re sure there isn’t anything you need to tell us?”
Lorraine swallowed as she pulled her arms around her middle. “I’m not lying. I’ve never seen her before.”
I mirrored Ash’s stance and stepped forward, unable to keep the threat from my voice. “Forgive me if I find that hard to believe, considering you were married to a Reaper and Harleigh is one of them.”
