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Kaden studied the pictures spread over the table, his expression grim. Was he realizing they might have more than one enemy lurking in the shadows?
“The mayor seems to be the most obvious accomplice,” he said at last. “But I think we should keep an open mind.”
Lia nodded. It was possible the mayor was using his position as temporary sheriff to hide his crimes. It was equally possible he was covering the crimes for a friend. Or maybe he was being paid to make the deaths look like accidents.
A shiver raced through her body and she grabbed her mug to take a sip of the coffee.
It had started with a question.
Did the skeleton belong to the woman she’d seen jump off the bridge fifteen years ago?
And now Drew was fighting for his life in the hospital, Judge Armstrong was in the morgue, and Ryan Burke’s head was bashed in. It felt like a bad dream. One she wouldn’t wake from until they discovered the truth.
With an effort, Lia gathered her wandering thoughts and concentrated on the pictures.
No doubt a trained professional could see all sorts of clues the killer had left behind, Lia, however, couldn’t get past the fact he’d been left in the freezer.
“Why would he be in there?” she muttered, grabbing a cookie. It was hours since she’d eaten the muffin for breakfast. Now her stomach rumbled with hunger.
Kaden leaned back in his seat, his eyes darkened to charcoal. “He claimed he was going to work late. Something he never did.”
“And he turned off the security system.” She tried to imagine Ryan Burke alone in his office. Why turn off the cameras? Was he meeting a woman? No. She instantly dismissed that idea. If he wanted to have an affair, he had the money to go to a luxury hotel. Who would want to have sex in a meatpacking plant? Then she abruptly recalled what else Anthony had told them. “Because he didn’t want to record what he had in his hidden safe?”
Kaden nodded, as if he’d already considered the possibility. “Very possible. It might have been some sort of proof of what happened fifteen years ago.”
That made the most sense. Ryan might have questionable morals, but he wasn’t stupid. If he’d been involved in Vanna’s death with a partner, or partners, he would make sure they couldn’t turn on him. Not without paying a painful price.
She frowned, once again imagining Ryan in his office, pulling some mysterious item from his safe. Anthony had mentioned the corner of a manila envelope, so she assumed it was pictures or papers he had hidden away. So why go to such an extreme effort to be alone?
“But why tell Manny to leave early?” she abruptly demanded. “He was across the parking lot. He couldn’t have seen what was happening inside the office from that distance.”
Kaden considered the question. A few seconds later, he sucked in a sharp breath. “Damn.”
“What is it?”
“Manny could see the back parking lot.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “Burke was meeting someone.”
Kaden nodded. “And he wanted to keep that meeting a secret.”
Lia set down her mug, swallowing the last of her cookie. “It had to have something to do with Vanna. Or one of the other supposed accidents that have happened. Why else go to such lengths?”
“I’m guessing we said something to spook him and he reached out to one of his partners. Either to threaten them to keep quiet or to suggest they confess what happened.”
Lia found it hard to believe Ryan Burke would ever confess, but then again, if he feared his sins were about to be exposed, he might have wanted to get ahead of the potential repercussions. What better way than pointing the finger at someone else?
“Maybe that’s the same thing that happened to Judge Armstrong,” she suggested.
“Okay.” Kaden narrowed his eyes as he considered the various implications. “Let’s assume he was meeting someone. Why not use his office? Why go to the freezer?”
Lia tried to put herself in the man’s shoes. Ryan Burke was obviously comfortable enough to arrange the meeting with the mystery killer in a place that was isolated, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t taken precautions.
“If Ryan suspected his partner had already killed the judge, he would have been on guard,” she spoke her thoughts out loud. “He might even have a gun in his office for protection.”
“Yes.” Kaden nodded. “If I was the killer, I would have found some way to lure Burke away from his comfort zone. Maybe they claimed they had something to show him. Or created a distraction that would lead him into the area of the freezer.”
“Then the killer bashed him on the head and crushed his phone to make it look like an accident.”
