Her Grave Secrets (Rogue River #3)(16)

“You have a good point,” said Stevie. “I see the intention of the suggestion, but letting tragedy change how we live our lives doesn’t do the dead any favors. It gives credence to those who committed the acts.”

Faye turned a thoughtful gaze on Stevie. “Well spoken. That’s almost exactly what I told them.” She looked at Zane. “I know you’ll figure out what Roy was up to.”

Walt and Faye said their goodbyes.

“So Faye thinks Roy was ‘up to’ something?” Stevie pointed out, biting into a fry.

“I caught that. I’m guessing she heard about the boat and equipment.”

“Can’t keep anything quiet in this town.”

“Of course not,” said a new voice. “Everyone would be completely bored. Gossip gives them something to do.”

Why can’t we eat in peace?

Zane held his exasperation in check as he greeted Eric Hearne and his brother JD. By the look on Eric’s face, his interest in Stevie hadn’t waned. His green gaze carefully took stock of their seating arrangement, making Zane want to slide into the booth on Stevie’s side and claim his territory. But when in uniform, he and Stevie presented a professional front. JD hung back, shoveling bites of a Blizzard into his mouth. Eric’s younger brother had yet to impress Zane; the twentysomething was perpetually unemployed even though his family owned the hardware store. Rumor had it he wasn’t reliable. And if your family found you unreliable, who else in town would hire you?

“I just wanted to extend my sympathies about Roy Krueger,” Eric was saying to Stevie. “He was a good one, and I know he was close to your family.”

“Thank you. Yes, he was.”

Eric excused himself, and JD saluted them with his long spoon.

“Two very different brothers,” Zane commented.

“They always have been. But look at my brothers. James and Bruce are on opposite ends of the spectrum too.”

She had a point. Bruce lived in her mother’s basement and hung out with his aspiring rock band, while James had completed law school, become Solitude’s mayor, and started a family. And stumbled briefly, but seemed to be on the right track now.

“I was thinking of working here in the DQ since it’s cooler, but I’d never get anything done,” said Zane. “It’s like we have a sign asking people to stop and talk.”

“They like you,” Stevie pointed out. “You keep telling me you feel like an outsider, but frankly I think the people here adore you. Once you have a few more years under your belt, they’ll feel like they own a piece of your history. That’s when you’ll feel like you belong. Or when you do something stupid so that you can be known as . . . that police chief who accidentally burned down his cabin, or something equally notorious. Then they’ll have a place to permanently classify you in their heads. You simply haven’t done anything spectacularly stupid or brilliant yet.”

“What do they know about you?”

She put her head in her hands. “Where to begin? I guess most recently I’m the daughter that went to LA and came back. I haven’t heard how they’re describing the reason I came back. I hope no one is saying I couldn’t hack it in LA.”

“I haven’t heard that. But that’s not exactly spectacular. I assume you did something spectacular when you were younger?” He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “I guess I could just ask Faye. I’m sure she has a story or two to tell. What would she share with me first?”

Stevie twisted her lips. “She’d probably mention the time I dyed half my hair blue and the other half red. Or the yin-yang tattoo on my ankle. That was a big deal around here back then, when the only people with tattoos were bikers or sailors.”

“Hmmm. So that’s the kind of kid you were?”

“I like to believe it’s not representative of my entire character.”

Zane’s phone rang and he glanced at the screen. “It’s Seth. The county office was running some of the evidence found at Roy’s scene.” He glanced around, decided no one was close enough to eavesdrop, and took the call.

“Zane, I got back the ballistics report on the bullets found at the Roy Krueger scene.”

“And?” Zane could hear the excitement in the investigator’s voice.

“They match up with another death we had in one of the coast towns about a month ago. It’s still unsolved. We found a guy downtown, near a section where the druggies like to hang out, and he’d been shot in the head too.”

“Same way as Roy?” Zane asked quietly.

“Not exactly. He was shot in the chest but still had the two shots to the head. The examiner said he was standing when he was shot in the chest and then was on his back when the killer put two bullets in his forehead.”

“Christ.”

“I know. No witnesses, no gun, no shells. The victim was a known dealer. And we’d sort of assumed it was a deal gone bad.”

“Never assume.”

“I tried not to, but that was the angle we were investigating.”

“Any family?”

“Not really. He was originally from Portland and had left town two years before. Went through a series of jobs down here and had been picked up twice for selling pot.”