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He nodded. “It always bothered me that we never found the ring—and Aaron swore Todd was alive when he left him.”
“So why did Aaron plead to manslaughter?” Nicholls asked.
Tucker’s dark eyes flashed. “Because I promised him that no one would touch the rest of the Colony and he would have a fair trial.” He shook his head. “But that wasn’t how it played out.”
No, Barbara thought. According to witnesses, Aaron’s father and uncle tried to break Aaron out of his cell. A group of the town’s men hunted the trio down and killed them. An unauthorized cull. But no one had been prosecuted. Tucker had quietly resigned, and the Colony had fled. End of story. Until now.
Barbara considered. “Are you suggesting someone else killed Todd? And they took the ring?”
“I think…it’s possible.”
“And if the same person left the ring in Marcus’s coat pocket”—Barbara felt something run through her like a current—“then it’s possible that the same person killed him, too.”
Nicholls broke in. “We’re getting way ahead of ourselves. We don’t know how this ring got into Marcus’s coat pocket. For all we know, Aaron could have taken it back after he killed Todd. He could have given it to someone else in the Colony. Maybe Marcus simply found it in the woods.”
Tucker nodded slowly. “Also possible.”
Damned with faint agreement, Barbara thought.
“Okay,” she said. “But bearing in mind this new evidence, I think we should go over both cases again and look for any similarities, even if it’s just to rule out the possibility that this is the same perpetrator.” She looked back at Tucker. “Mr. Tucker, you were chief here when Todd Danes was killed. It might help us if—”
Nicholls cut her off. “No. Absolutely not. We cannot have him privy to sensitive information during this inquiry.”
Barbara bristled. “He could offer us valuable insight.”
Nicholls rolled his eyes. “And he could screw up this case like he screwed up last time.”
Tucker rose. Barbara tensed, wondering if he was about to launch himself across the desk and punch the smaller man. Instead, he picked up his hat and glanced at Barbara. “Good to meet you, Detective Atkins. Good luck with the case.”
“Thank you, sir,” Barbara said. “And what should we do if we need to contact you again?”
“I doubt that will be necessary,” Nicholls said.
“But if it is?” Barbara persisted.
Tucker regarded her somberly. “If you need me, there’s an ancient dead spruce, past the final turn out of town. Can’t miss it. Walk one hundred yards north into the woods till you reach a small clearing. There’s a fallen log there. Leave your message in the hollow of the log and it’ll reach me.”
Barbara raised an eyebrow. “Really? Will the termites deliver it to you, sir?”
Tucker kept a straight face just long enough. Then he pulled a battered cellphone out of his coat. “You can get me on this…if the wind is blowing in the right direction.”
He leaned over the desk and scribbled a number on a corner of Nicholls’s jotter.
Barbara tore the page off and pocketed it. “Much appreciated.”
The big man turned and walked slowly out of the room. There was an awkwardness to his motions, Barbara thought. Like he lived with some pain deep in his bones. She remembered reading that he had been shot attempting to thwart Aaron’s jailbreak, but the report hadn’t been specific about his injuries. Come to think of it, the whole report had been frustratingly vague.
“He’s an enigmatic character,” she remarked to Nicholls, keeping her voice casual.
“That he is,” Nicholls replied. “Survives mostly by hunting. Keeps a few goats and pigs. Comes into town once every few months for a grocery order. But always after dark. Folks are happier not to see him. He’s a bad memory.” He scratched at his chin, looking at the ring again. “You really think the same perp could have killed Todd and Marcus?”
“I don’t know,” Barbara said honestly. “Twenty-five years is a long time for a killer to wait.”
“Or the blink of an eye when you’re Colony,” Nicholls pointed out.
“Or maybe the killer left town and only just returned. Maybe they haven’t waited at all. They’ve just been satisfying the need elsewhere.”
She looked at him meaningfully.
