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What the hell was this man thinking? I knew he was incompetent, but this was flat out negligence. “So you’re back to pursuing the runaway angle? Have you talked to her friends and their parents?”
He clenched his jaw. “As I just pointed out, this is my investigation. You aren’t any part of it.”
“Please tell me you sent a crime scene team out to take prints,” I pleaded.
He moved his chair closer to the desk and picked up a ballpoint pen. “There’s no need to be spending money on a crime scene investigation when the girl’s a runaway.”
“You sent a third police car after I talked to you.”
His brow lifted. “Keeping tabs on the crime scene? That’s not a good look. Are you so desperate for another fifteen minutes in the limelight that you’re manufacturing a kidnapping?”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Had he lost his mind? I considered telling him about the photo in my car, but there was no official record of it having been taken, and I wouldn’t put it past him to accuse me of planting it.
“Have you at least notified the sheriff’s department?”
He slammed the pen on the desk. “How many times do I have to tell you that this is my investigation?” he shouted. “Ava Peterman ran away, and that’s how we’re handling it.”
“Are you going to ask the public to look for her?” If I wanted to be in the loop, I had to play the game, as much as it killed me, so I added a meek, “So we can put up flyers and get the word out.”
He shook his head, sitting back in his seat again. “TJ doesn’t want a media circus. We’re keepin’ it quiet for now.” But he at least he had the sense not to look happy about it.
“Why would TJ Peterman not want everyone looking for his twelve-year-old daughter?” I asked in disbelief.
Chief Larson shifted in his seat. “He thinks they can find her quietly on their own.”
“Wait,” I said in confusion. “Was there a ransom note?” That could explain TJ wanting to avoid attention.
His jaw firmed. “No comment.”
While I wanted to believe that was a roundabout confirmation, I suspected the chief was just trying to annoy me. “So if TJ wants to handle this on his own, does that mean you’re not even looking for her?”
“Of course we’re looking for her!” he blustered. “We’re just keepin’ it quiet. No publicity.”
“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that ship has sailed, Chief. News of her disappearance is all over the Jackson Creek Facebook page.”
His lips pursed. “Not for long.”
“You can control what gets published on that page?” Even if he made it disappear, people would still be talking about it.
He shifted in his seat and took another long look at me. “How long you plannin’ on staying in town?”
“I didn’t realize I needed to declare my residency.”
“I don’t know if you noticed, Harper Adams, but you’re infamous. You’re stirrin’ up trouble around town, and we don’t like trouble here, if you know what I mean.”
“I’ve pretty much kept to my parents’ house,” I retorted. “I’ve barely left.”
“Be that as it may, people are still pretty riled up.”
“I can’t really help that, now, can I?” I said in a smart-ass tone. “And last I checked, I’m allowed to live wherever I want. Free country and all.”
“Not if you’re a felon. Or a sexual predator.”
This man was really pissing me off. “And we both know I’m neither of those things. I was accused of a crime, and the charges were dismissed. What happened to innocent until proven guilty in a court of law?” But even as the words left my mouth, I felt like a hypocrite. I’d presumed plenty of suspects guilty long before they ever entered a courtroom. I also wondered why I was arguing to stay in a town I couldn’t wait to get out of.
“My job is to keep peace in this town, and your presence is rilin’ it up.” He circled a finger in the air. “You can see my dilemma.”
“So your solution is to run me out of the place where I was born?”
