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“Too afraid. Seth threatened to kill him if he talked.”
“Allegedly,” Brian said.
“You still don’t think that a cop, one you know, is capable of something like beating up his wife, or her best friend, or murder?”
“That’s not what I think.”
She waited for him to tell her what was going through his head, but only stared back, cool and collected. “You can’t put the assault in an official report. Rafe is worried about it getting back to him.”
Brian looked insulted. “Give me some credit,” he said. “Listen, Internal Affairs is going to investigate Seth. They’re impartial, coming in from Cheyenne. Talk to Rafe again. Let him know. See if he’ll speak to them.”
“I can try.” But she doubted he would be receptive to the idea. She wouldn’t be if she was in his position.
“When was the last time he has seen Haley?”
“Not for months. Not since the assault.” Poor guy. His story tracked with Seth’s history of abuse and violence according to what she’d learned from Haley.
She tipped the glass up to her lips, letting the wine slide down her throat.
“Dead end on who owns the house on Mulberry,” he said. When Charlie frowned, he added, “More like a closed door. My friend, Melanie Merritt, is going to help me pry it open.”
“The assistant district attorney?” she asked, choking on her wine, and he nodded. “Must be nice to have friends in high places.”
A look crossed his face like he wanted to say more but was hesitant.
“I’ve got two more addresses for you to look into. One in Centennial and the other in Woods Landing-Jelm.”
“Please tell me this doesn’t mean that you’re still following Seth.”
“Then I won’t. I’ll text you the addresses.”
“It’s dangerous following him. You need to stop. If he’s not on to you now, it’s only a matter of time. Then you’ll have more to worry about than what happened to Haley,” he said, and she shifted her gaze to the sky. “Are you listening to me?”
Sighing, she was annoyed by the parental tone, and the fact he was right. Olsen was on to her because she’d gotten sloppy, ventured too close to the house on Mulberry. Confessing it to Brian, after his little lecture, would only upset him. And worry him.
To her surprise, it was nice having someone concerned about her welfare. “I hear you.”
“I checked out Seth. The story of domestic violence.”
She perked up in the rocking chair. “And what did you find?”
“Nothing official documented about abuse. Not a single 911 call from Haley. No complaints. No medical history at the hospital to support it either.”
“You don’t believe me.” Charlie’s breath caught. “After what I told you, about seeing the bruises myself.”
“Haley Olsen never reported any kind of domestic violence. Not at the hospital. Not in a 911 call. Detective Kent Kramer spoke to her family. Not a word to them about it, either. Nothing. While Seth’s record is clean. Not a blemish on it.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Did you know Haley used to be a stripper at the Bare Back?” he asked.
Not until today, but she nodded.
“Rumor is, Haley was cheating on Seth. If not with Rafe, then maybe with someone else. The only report, the only evidence I could find, was about Haley. Taking a baseball bat to Seth’s truck.”
“What? When?”
“Six months ago. On Valentine’s Day no less. Want to guess where?”
