It was much too late for them, and she couldn’t think about that.
She had to think about her sister.
Sarah, what did you get yourself into?
Ryan trudged down the hallway in the Maynor County Sheriff’s Office, feeling the effects of a long day in which he’d learned nothing new.
“Any news, Bradley?” Sheriff Rollins asked, calling to him from his office at the far end of the hallway. Ryan’s direct boss was Captain Moran, who was in charge of the investigations division. Above Captain Moran was Chief Deputy Carmichael, who oversaw the patrol, court and investigations divisions. But the sheriff, who headed up the entire department, took a special interest in this case. The multiple homicide had drawn much attention and he wanted the case solved expeditiously. Ryan wanted a promotion, and he knew he’d better handle and solve this case or he could kiss any chance of that goodbye.
Sheriff Rollins headed toward him, change jingling in his pocket. Ryan scraped a hand down his face. He hadn’t yet shared with his boss, Captain Moran, that he was leaning toward Sarah being the primary target. Sheriff Rollins still believed the Mason kid’s years-old drug involvement had spurred the homicides. Ryan had spent the day trying to close up those loose ends before he could present his theory to Moran in a way that couldn’t be doubted or ignored. He didn’t like disclosing this to the sheriff without Moran weighing in. After measuring his response, he opened his mouth to speak—
“Ryan?” Hope Rollins was the office receptionist and the sheriff’s niece.
He turned to see Hope approaching him. “Sarah Peterson’s father, David, is here. He wants to speak to you.”
The sheriff’s cell buzzed. He gave Ryan a harried look. “Go ahead. You can add this conversation with Mr. Peterson into your reports. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Ryan hoped he hid his relief and turned to the receptionist. “I’ll get him. Is the conference room available?”
“I’ll check. If not, I’ll find you another room.”
What could the man want besides answers Ryan didn’t have? He buzzed through the door into the lobby. “Mr. Peterson, come on back.”
The man barely smiled. “No need for formalities with me, son. We’ve been through too much for that. You can call me David.”
He’d prefer the formalities while at his place of employment, but he didn’t want to argue. Saying nothing, Ryan offered a tenuous smile and led the man to the conference room. He gestured to a chair. “Coffee? Water?”
“Nothing for me, thanks. I would have called you, but I wanted to have this conversation in person.”
“I could have stopped by the house. I don’t live that far from you.”
“I didn’t want Sheryl to know that I talked to you. Or Tori, for that matter. She’s coming over for dinner tonight, by the way.” His eyes brightened with the words, if only slightly. “Please join us, if you like.”
“Mr. Peterson. Um... David, please tell me what’s on your mind. Have you remembered something about Sarah that could help the investigation?”
David clasped his hands and hesitated, then finally said, “This is about Tori, not Sarah.”
Ryan had figured as much. “Go on.”
“Her mother and I, we don’t want her to stay here. I can’t lose another daughter.”
Ryan measured his words. He wanted Tori to go, as well, but he had to tread carefully here and not get into the middle of a family disagreement. “I’m confused. How can I help?”
“I’m hoping as a detective you can discourage her from trying to find Sarah’s killer, that’s how. Isn’t there something you can do to keep her out of the investigation? If she can’t look into things, she has no reason to stay.”
Ah. “There’s nothing I can do to stop her. I’ve already tried to talk her out of it. She’s determined to find the killer. All I can do is keep her close. Work with her as much as possible.”
David crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair. “We need her to be safe. What can we do?”
“Maybe she needs you,” Ryan said. “She needs the familiarity of her home and the people she loves.”
“We’ve thought of that. That’s why we offered to move with her. Or at least visit her where she lives in South Carolina for months, however long is necessary.”
Ryan’s heart went out to the man. There were no easy answers. “What you need is a therapist or a counselor. Someone who can help you all work through this time of grief. I take it you’re not seeing one.”
He shrugged. “Even thinking about that...it just hurts too much. We don’t want to talk about our feelings with a stranger.”
Ryan refrained from scraping a hand down his face. “I’ll talk to Tori, but you know she probably won’t listen to me.”
“Thank you. And, son, you have more influence over her than you know, despite what happened in the past. She still admires you and I believe she’ll listen to you.” David blew out a breath, relief apparent on his face.
As if Ryan alone could make Tori change her mind. David was about to be disappointed.
“I’ll give it a try,” Ryan said. “Was there anything else?”
“No. That’s it.” David stood. “I appreciate you taking a few minutes to listen.”
Ryan was surprised David didn’t ask if they had made any progress on Sarah’s murder case. “Of course. I’ll walk you out.”
After Tori’s father had gone, Ryan headed to his cubicle. He still needed to finish writing up his reports, but that would have to wait. He rubbed his eyes. He’d already tried to call Tori this afternoon and she was ignoring his calls. She’d texted him to let him know she was okay, so at least there was that.
He needed to maintain his emotional distance while still keeping his finger on the pulse of her little private investigation. The other side of the equation—he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since she’d returned. Opening a drawer, he slammed it shut to vent his frustration with himself, earning
