So where’d she get the drugs to overdose?
“Here’s the thing,” Bolton went on. “If we send a counselor out there, one, what are the chances those girls will even talk to her, and two, that won’t lead to us finding the pipeline for all those pills coming into town.”
“I’m working on that. But it’s like questioning where the water in a rainstorm originates.” Steel pointed to the gray clouds filling the sky overhead. The mist had stopped, but more rain was threatening. “There’s local distributors and dealers, sure, but you can order this stuff online, too.”
“Keep asking around.”
“What about a female liaison officer?”
“We don’t have the budget for that. You know it as well as I do.” Bolton opened the passenger side door. “Get in there, do your thing and unravel the connections. We need a bust. A big one. That will deter people. Make parents keep tighter tabs on their kids.”
Maybe, Steel thought. Maybe not. He knew Bolton was a good guy. Knew, too, that the small Silver Falls sheriff’s department was overwhelmed, just like most departments in the country.
“Stop complicating things,” Bolton said, swinging himself out the door. He paused there, one hand on the roof of the truck, peering back in at Steel. “It’s the drugs killing those girls in the end. Stop the drugs, and you’ll stop the deaths. Nice and simple.”
Steel watched him go. Nothing was simple about this situation, as far as he was concerned—and that old-fashioned thinking wasn’t going to work in a changing world.
“Justin and Liz will be here by dinnertime on Saturday. I’m serving a nice roast and baked potatoes. You’ll be home, right?” Mary cornered Stella just as she was heading out the door to work.
“Uh… sure,” Stella said. Of course she wanted to be there to welcome her stepsiblings to the ranch, but she wasn’t sure how she felt about them coming to live here. It was still strange to have her mother back, acting like the head of the household—as if she hadn’t walked out on her family when Stella was fourteen.
On the one hand, she appreciated the chance to get to know her mother. On the other hand, she was finding it difficult to let go of the pain she’d felt when Mary left. Suddenly Stella had become the mother-figure in the family. She’d had to take on all Mary’s chores and responsibilities just as she entered high school. Hadn’t had anyone to turn to with her questions about growing up. It hadn’t been easy trying to parent her younger sister, either, when she was barely a teen herself.
Those had been hard, lonely years, with a father whose moods swung wildly, two older brothers who faced challenges of their own and a load of hurt in her heart she’d had no idea what to do with.
A question had always hung at the back of her mind, one she tried never to voice but that persisted nonetheless: What did it mean when your own mother walked out on you?
Now Mary was back, which left Stella just as confused. Had she and her siblings risen in her mother’s estimation? Or was Mary merely nursing wounds inflicted by her second husband? He’d been arrested recently for embezzlement.
Stella supposed she should be grateful she ranked higher in Mary’s mind than a crook.
She sighed. She was being childish, and she was old enough to know that life was far more complicated than children could understand. Mary had been drowning in unfulfilled dreams when she left Chance Creek. She’d made bad choices and paid for them. If her mother was finding her footing here, especially in her friendships with Enid Cooper and Leslie Falk, that was a good thing.
She didn’t have to trust Mary fully, but she didn’t have to go looking for reasons to dislike her, either.
Mary was being practical. With her husband serving time in jail, her stepchildren needed someplace to go. Stella had no idea where their biological mother was, and she supposed it was good of Mary to take on their care, but the whole situation was uncomfortable.
She had just reached her truck when her phone rang. Seeing Eric’s name on the screen, she nearly didn’t answer it but decided not to be a coward. She would be straight with him.
“Hey, Stella—you up for dinner tonight? I’ve got a baseball game. We could get some takeout on the way, and you can watch.”
Watch?
Stella supposed if she really cared for a man, she might enjoy such an evening. She had nothing against the sport and liked hanging out with a crowd cheering on the home team. So why did Eric’s offer grate on her? After all, if she joined a team, wouldn’t she appreciate her partner cheering her on?
When had she become so judgmental about everyone else? First her mother, now Eric. What else did she have to do tonight, anyway? She’d been so focused on becoming a deputy that she’d lost her sense of humor—and stopped having any fun at all.
She shifted the phone to her other hand. She couldn’t picture a future with Eric, but she didn’t have anything else to do tonight—or any night for that matter. She hadn’t dated anyone in some time, and now all her siblings were married. Meanwhile, she’d been mooning around over Steel Cooper, who thought it was perfectly acceptable to hit on teenagers. Ever since she’d seen it with her own eyes, she’d found herself searching for excuses for his behavior, which was even worse.
“I know it’s not the most exciting thing in the world watching an old man play ball,” Eric said dispiritedly. “Bet
