Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 136507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 683(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 683(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
“She told her friends that the guy she was meeting was older and she’d be in a lot of trouble if her parents found out. Kyle’s what, twenty-one or twenty-two? And a Murphy.” I need to push Isla to divulge what she knows. As much as I hate involving her in any of this, there’s no way she doesn’t know something.
“Kyle sounds like a person I wanna talk to.” Terry scribbles the name on his notebook and marks a star.
I can already see how that will go. “They’re a lot smarter than they look.”
Terry smirks. “Can’t be too smart if they keep getting caught.”
“I’m just saying, assume whatever you get out of them is a lie, even if they had nothing to do with Holly’s disappearance.” They’re bred to not cooperate. Hank’s father, aptly named Big Hank, and his brother Teddy are believed to have loose ties to a biker gang, which might have been how Ian and Jay got caught up in all that. We’ve never been able to confirm it. Big Hank and Teddy have fallen off our radar in recent years, thanks to time spent behind bars and health issues linked to their age and a life of bad habits. “We’re better off seeing what else we can piece together before you go barking up that tree. And I’d like to be there for that conversation. I know how to handle them.”
Terry and Schmidt share a glance but say nothing.
This might be their investigation, but it’s my detachment.
And my town.
“You should probably have a chat with Logan Landry too.” Mike juts his chin toward me. “There was that thing between him and Holly outside the washrooms, right?”
Mention of Logan strikes my pulse. “There was no thing between them. And that has nothing to do with Holly going missing.”
“Still, it’s worth mentioning. Older guy who she shouldn’t be around?” Mike prods. “The guy went to jail for killing her cousin.”
I struggle to keep my expression calm as the two CIB investigators watch intently, waiting for an explanation. I’m usually a master of compartmentalizing. I’ve had to become that way to get through life with this job and all that I’ve been through.
With Holly’s disappearance, I’ve been able to box up all feelings and thoughts about my night with Logan to deal with later. But it seems later is becoming now, as Mike aims to shine a spotlight on him.
“Logan Landry was given statutory release after serving time for double manslaughter. He returned home a week ago.” Stick to the facts, Emery. “One of those victims was Officer Eric Whitley, who happened to be a cousin of Holly.” Gone before she was even born.
“I remember this story now.” Schmidt scratches his chin. “Routine stop. They were moving guns and drugs. Two cops died.”
“As well as Logan’s brother Jay and Ian Murphy,” I say.
“There’s that name again.” Terry pokes his notepad with the end of his pen in thought.
“Logan was at the Bale House with his family on Friday night. He went to use the washroom and Holly followed closely after.” I provide a brief rundown of the encounter I witnessed. “Honestly, the last thing Logan wants to do is get tangled up with a fifteen-year-old girl.”
“She doesn’t look fifteen.” Terry taps a photograph her mother gave us. “And he’s a guy who’s spent how long behind bars with nothing but—” He makes a jerking-off motion. “Think your gut’s wrong on that one, McAllister.”
“Staff Sergeant,” Mike barks before I have a chance to say anything.
I have no time for pissing contests over rank. “Logan left around nine, well before his probation curfew. His cousin Jack drove him home.”
“Doesn’t mean he couldn’t break that curfew and drive back,” Terry counters. “A convict with a hard-on? Wouldn’t be the first time.”
My stomach clenches. Oh, he had one of those all right, but it wasn’t for anyone but me.
Terry jots down Logan Landry followed by an asterisk on his stupid fucking notepad.
“So, you know this Logan well, then? That’s the impression I’m getting,” Schmidt asks more cordially.
“I know his family. I live next door to them. But Logan’s been gone for twenty years. Who he is, I don’t know anymore.” The words coming out of my mouth feel like sand on my tongue—gritty and unwelcome. It’s a lie and a betrayal. The Logan I knew is still in there. I just don’t know what other version of him exists now too.
“We definitely need to talk to him,” Terry declares.
I hum in agreement, even as my pulse races. I don’t care that Terry wrote witness at the top of his sheet. He’s already building his list of potential suspects, and he’s put Logan on it, which means he’s going to go digging for an alibi.
I know Logan had nothing to do with Holly’s disappearance because I was with him all night. But when Terry shows up there and starts poking around …