started to speak.
“Sheriff, Brynn and I have reason to believe Rachel might not have left town of her own free will. Let's call a truce and work together, shall we?”
Both members of his audience huffed, but nodded their heads in agreement before seating themselves, Brynn taking the chair next to Adam. Adam shook his head. Brynn had always had a bold tongue and Sheriff Clarkson wasn't the type to take kindly to being questioned about his actions. It was inevitable the two would butt heads.
“What do you know?” Brynn asked Clarkson, not bothering to hide the irritation in her tone.
Sheriff Clarkson gave Brynn a curt glare before turning his head to meet Adam's gaze, speaking directly to him. “Rachel was a young, unmarried, pregnant teenager. She had no job other than helping out in her family's store and nobody knew who her boyfriend was, yet she ended up pregnant and had enough money to leave town.”
“How do you know she had enough money to leave town? How do you know she wasn't murdered?” Brynn sounded genuinely curious.
Clarkson leaned closer, his light brown mustache twitching as he curled his lips into a sneer. “Because we haven't found a body. This isn't the city, Brynn. People don't just up and get killed here daily. Zeke's death was an anomaly, and there's no hard proof it was intentional murder. Why are you asking about Rachel Wood, anyway? You're supposed to be investigating the arsons.”
“We are,” Adam answered before Brynn had a chance to snap out something rude. He had a feeling the sheriff was only being lenient of her attitude out of respect for her deceased father. He didn't want to put the man's tolerance to the test. “If Rachel didn't leave, if she was abducted or worse, it could tie in with the arsons and my brother's death.”
“How so?” Clarkson cocked his head, raising a brow.
“It's been rumored that my brother was Rachel's boyfriend,” Adam conceded, the words leaving a bad taste in his mouth.
He looked away from the sheriff, feeling as though he'd just done the verbal equivalent of pissing on his brother's grave, but Brynn was right. If they were going to discover what had happened to Zeke, he was going to have to look at his brother objectively. And if he had to drag his brother's name through the mud in order to find his killer, then so be it. If he were murdered, he wouldn't care what tactics were used to put his murderer away. He hoped Zeke felt the same way.
Clarkson managed to stop gawking long enough to clear his throat and reach for the phone on his desk. “One of my guys, Jimmy Nelson, was close to Rachel Wood at one time, if you think he might be of any help,” he said questioningly with his fingers poised over the phone's keypad.
“Anything he could tell us would be very useful.” Brynn answered before Adam had a chance to. She inched forward in her seat, her emerald eyes bright and alert. Adam knew that look. The woman was chomping at the bit to question the policeman.
Clarkson nodded and placed the call, ordering Jimmy Nelson into his office immediately. “Are you sure about this?” he asked Adam after disconnecting the line. “Zeke was a good man. I know we all have our secrets, but still.”
“It appears Zeke wasn't the golden boy everyone thought him to be,” Brynn interjected, a trace of contempt in her tone.
“We don't know if these rumors are credible yet.” Adam let the rush of anger he felt coat his words. “Innocent until proven guilty, remember, detective?”
“Of course,” she snapped, her hands tightened on the arms of her chair.
Jimmy Nelson entered the office, a deep set of frown lines marred the smoothness of his baby face as he noticed he wasn't the only guest in the sheriff's office.
Adam knew the young man, had played ball with him a few times during the annual fire-versus-police department games. Too lean to go against the big guys in football, the
“Sheriff, Brynn and I have reason to believe Rachel might not have left town of her own free will. Let's call a truce and work together, shall we?”
Both members of his audience huffed, but nodded their heads in agreement before seating themselves, Brynn taking the chair next to Adam. Adam shook his head. Brynn had always had a bold tongue and Sheriff Clarkson wasn't the type to take kindly to being questioned about his actions. It was inevitable the two would butt heads.
“What do you know?” Brynn asked Clarkson, not bothering to hide the irritation in her tone.
Sheriff Clarkson gave Brynn a curt glare before turning his head to meet Adam's gaze, speaking directly to him. “Rachel was a young, unmarried, pregnant teenager. She had no job other than helping out in her family's store and nobody knew who her boyfriend was, yet she ended up pregnant and had enough money to leave town.”
“How do you know she had enough money to leave town? How do you know she wasn't murdered?” Brynn sounded genuinely curious.
Clarkson leaned closer, his light brown mustache twitching as he curled his lips into a sneer. “Because we haven't found a body. This isn't the city, Brynn. People don't just up and get killed here daily. Zeke's death was an anomaly, and there's no hard proof it was intentional murder. Why are you asking about Rachel Wood, anyway? You're supposed to be investigating the arsons.”
“We are,” Adam answered before Brynn had a chance to snap out something rude. He had a feeling the sheriff was only being lenient of her attitude out of respect for her deceased father. He didn't want to put the man's tolerance to the test. “If Rachel didn't leave, if she was abducted or worse, it could tie in with the arsons and my brother's death.”
“How so?” Clarkson cocked his head, raising a brow.
“It's been rumored that my brother was Rachel's boyfriend,” Adam conceded, the words leaving a bad taste in his mouth.
He looked away from the sheriff, feeling as though he'd just done the verbal equivalent of pissing on his brother's grave, but Brynn was right. If they were going to discover what had happened to Zeke, he was going to have to look at his brother objectively. And if he had to drag his brother's name through the mud in order to find his killer, then so be it. If he were murdered, he wouldn't care what tactics were used to put his murderer away. He hoped Zeke felt the same way.
Clarkson managed to stop gawking long enough to clear his throat and reach for the phone on his desk. “One of my guys, Jimmy Nelson, was close to Rachel Wood at one time, if you think he might be of any help,” he said questioningly with his fingers poised over the phone's keypad.
“Anything he could tell us would be very useful.” Brynn answered before Adam had a chance to. She inched forward in her seat, her emerald eyes bright and alert. Adam knew that look. The woman was chomping at the bit to question the policeman.
Clarkson nodded and placed the call, ordering Jimmy Nelson into his office immediately. “Are you sure about this?” he asked Adam after disconnecting the line. “Zeke was a good man. I know we all have our secrets, but still.”
“It appears Zeke wasn't the golden boy everyone thought him to be,” Brynn interjected, a trace of contempt in her tone.
“We don't know if these rumors are credible yet.” Adam let the rush of anger he felt coat his words. “Innocent until proven guilty, remember, detective?”
“Of course,” she snapped, her hands tightened on the arms of her chair.
Jimmy Nelson entered the office, a deep set of frown lines marred the smoothness of his baby face as he noticed he wasn't the only guest in the sheriff's office.
Adam knew the young man, had played ball with him a few times during the annual fire-versus-police department games. Too lean to go against the big guys in football, the
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