AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So they maybe lied about their first names?”
“Yeah.”
Ethan leaned back, hands crossed behind his head. “So first we need to find out more about these laborers—where they’re coming from, what their backgrounds are, any possible motives.”
“Yeah.”
“Alright,” Ethan agreed, pulling up a chair beside her. “Let’s start digging into these guys. We’ll cross-reference their information with criminal records and see if anything might be under the aliases they used, too.”
“Not this guy,” Rachel said suddenly. “Shit. Credit card purchase two hundred miles away the day the first body was found.”
“Maybe he gave his card to someone?”
“I doubt he knew we’d look into it if he was as clumsy as all that with his initial spending spree. Near the crime scene.”
“Right… so not him. One of the brothers?”
She stared at the screen. Two faces peered back at her. The family resemblance was apparent, but not obvious. The two of them looked like they came from different worlds. One had piercing blue eyes and a chiseled jawline, while the other had dark, brooding features.
Both of them looked world weary and tired.
Mark and Jared Adelman.
She scanned through the names they’d provided to the nursery and then glanced back at their pictures.
“Both involved in an assault five years ago,” she said.
“Worth checking out.”
She nodded, slowly rising to her feet. It was late now. Very late. Night had fallen, and already she could feel exhaustion weighing heavy on her.
She stifled a yawn even as the thoughts prompted it.
“We got that motel booked?” she asked.
“Don’t you have dinner with your fam?”
Rachel cursed. She’d forgotten all about the invitation. She’d left her phone on silent and quickly raised it. Three missed calls.
“Shit,” she said. “Sorry. I’ll meet back with you here in the morning.”
“No problem!”
She cursed again, pocketing her phone and hurrying out the door, her shoes tapping rhythmically in the empty precinct halls.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Rachel’s heart pounded in her chest as she sped down the dusty road. Her worn-in Stetson and durable leather jacket didn’t offer the usual sense of protective covering. She felt like a teenager again, rushing home after staying out too late.
The moon was low on the horizon, casting long shadows across the landscape and reminding her that she was running two hours late for dinner with the Dentons and her aunt, Sarah Blackwood. Guilt gnawed at her insides, making her grip the steering wheel tighter.
“Damn it,” she muttered under her breath, her deep brown eyes flicking from the winding road ahead to the glowing numbers on her dashboard clock. In the back of her mind, Rachel knew that her tardiness wasn’t just about disrespecting her aunt’s time; it was another crack in their already tenuous relationship. Her aunt had taught her everything—had been a family to her. For the first decade. Then… things had become strained between them, and always on the same subject.
Rachel’s parents. Her aunt’s sister had died that night too, but the two of them had never been able to really talk about it without someone’s feelings getting hurt.
Rachel still visited. But the visits were quick, and ended in hurt feelings more often than not.
She sighed…
