Betrayal with Murder (A Rilynne Evans Mystery, Book Three) by Jenn Vakey

the rest you desperately need.”
    She looked at her dumbfoundedly, then back around the room. She didn’t understand why everyone seemed so relaxed, and why no one seemed the least bit bothered by the fact that Mifflin was sitting, unrestrained, in the room.
    Before she could voice her concerns again, someone took her by the arm and directed her to the open seat directly in front of her. She was about to pull away when she looked up to find Sheriff Stigent.
    “It’s all right,” he said. “We know exactly what happened now. Just sit down and we’ll get everything taken care of.” Despite his reassuring tone, the look on his face was something closer to sorrow.
    After being lowered into the seat, her eyes darted around the room. She looked from face to face, and saw the same thing on each: concern.
    Chief Wooldridge stood up and said, “Everyone here knows the situation at hand, and we’re here to try and find the best solution. Because this hits so close to home, we want to make sure it’s handled delicately so we have the best chance for a fair outcome. Does anyone have any questions before we begin?”
    “I do,” Rilynne spoke up. “Why are you concerned with the delicacy of the situation? It seems rather cut and dry to me. Mifflin betrayed us, he betrayed me. He took the lives of at least two people, and should face the full force of the law. Being part of the department shouldn’t allow him any special treatment. If anything, he should face harsher consequences. He swore to protect, and he didn’t.”
    The room was suddenly filled with a buzz of chatter. She looked around for any hint of support, but was met with only more apprehension and sorrow.
    “It’s clear, isn’t it?” Mifflin spoke up. “We had hoped that having everyone here would help to snap the situation back to reality, but it doesn’t appear to. If anything, it’s only worsening the issue. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. We need to confront the problem head on. The truth is the only thing that’ll help.”
    Rilynne was confused. She looked around again and saw that Mifflin’s statement had left many nodding and speaking out in agreement. She turned around toward Lori, who was now standing next to Sheriff Stigent, in hopes that someone would explain what was happening.
    “He’s right,” Lori said, meeting her gaze before shifting away. “It’ll probably be best coming from you, though.”
    Rilynne followed her line of sight as it moved across the room and found her mother standing in the corner. Her eyes were red and swollen. She’d been crying.
    “Mom?” Rilynne asked. “What’s everyone talking about? Why’s everyone here?”
    “Sweetheart,” she said, stepping toward the table. The room fell silent. “Rilynne, we’re all here to help you.” She could hear the tears in her voice. Rilynne looked quickly around the table again before returning her gaze to her mother. “I had been seeing the signs for years-since you were a child-but I’d hoped that it was nothing more than an overactive imagination. Nineteen months ago, you had been working on a case about a murdered woman, and I guess it just set something off inside of you. It was probably due to your failure to find anything useful. After that, you just seemed to change. Then two weeks later, Christopher was killed.”
    “After that, you were a different person entirely. You were withdrawn and wouldn’t talk to any of us. When Mifflin left, you just seemed to lose it. You were obsessed with finding him. When you informed me about you intentions to transfer, I had hoped that it would be good for you,” Wooldridge stated.
    “I had no idea what had been going on when I hired you,” Wilcome jumped in. “Being away from everything must have stabilized you, and you returned back to a relatively normal life. That is until you were called back to Bodker when they found Christopher’s body.”
    “After that you seemed to enter back into your previous