Bones Don't Lie (Morgan Dane #3)(10)

“Yep. He got a new bail hearing.” The sheriff jammed his hat on his head. “I thought you should know, seeing as he threatened to get even with you.”

Two months ago, Sharp Investigations had been hired to find the abusive deadbeat dad. Morgan had been instrumental in getting Tyler arrested. He’d attacked her, and unlike the wife who was too scared to testify against him, Morgan had pressed charges, and he’d gone to jail.

Supposedly.

“I thought he couldn’t make bail.” Morgan rubbed the base of her throat. Though her bruises had healed, she could still feel Tyler’s hands around her neck.

“I don’t know what happened.” The sheriff lifted a shoulder. “I put him in jail. I can’t help it if the system assumes he’s innocent until proven guilty.”

In light of the information he’d given her, she ignored the dig.

“Thank you for telling me about Tyler.” Morgan wasn’t surprised at the courtesy. Sheriff King could be harsh, but his manners were as old-fashioned as his dated approach toward law enforcement.

“You’re welcome. Be careful out there, counselor.” The sheriff got into his vehicle and drove away.

Morgan walked to Sharp’s car. Her skin tingled with nerves, and a headache pulsed behind her ears. She slid into the passenger seat.

Sharp started the engine. “What did the sheriff want?”

Morgan summed up what had happened at the courthouse earlier. “He dressed me down for getting the charges against Eric dropped.”

“He’s a Neanderthal. I wrote Mickey Mouse on my ballot in the last election.”

Morgan stifled a surprised snort. The sheriff had run unopposed.

“He also warned me that Tyler Green is out on bail,” she said.

Sharp turned the car around and headed back toward Scarlet Falls. “Who would post bail for that useless jerk? He’s a flight risk.”

“Maybe the same family members who let him hide from subpoenas in their houses.”

“Good point,” Sharp said. “Are you all right?”

Morgan took a water bottle out of her tote and rolled the tension from her shoulders. “Yes. Lance upgraded our security system, and I’ll tell the family to be extra careful. Hopefully, Tyler will appreciate being out of jail and stay clear of me.”

“I wouldn’t bet on Tyler Green making sensible choices.”

“No. I suppose not.” Morgan rubbed a ragged edge on her fingernail. “But I’m more worried about Lance.”

Sharp nodded. “I know you are. I tried to help him as much as I could, but he learned to handle problems on his own at a very young age. That doesn’t mean it’s what’s best for him or even what he wants. It’s just what he knows.”

And when people were hurting, they retreated to the familiar.

“Thanks, Sharp,” Morgan said. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

She dug a bottle of ibuprofen out of her tote bag. She twisted the cap off the bottle and washed down two tablets.

Sharp frowned. “You shouldn’t take those on an empty stomach.”

Morgan found a candy bar in the bottom of her bag. “I’m not.”

From the look of horror on his face, she could have been holding nuclear waste.

“Put that down.” He opened the center console, pulled out a wrapped bar, and handed it to her. “Eat this instead.”

“What is it?” In the dark, all she could read on the wrapper was the word organic.

“It’s a protein bar. You’ll eat candy, but you’re suspicious of something healthy.” Sharp shook his head. “You’d have more energy if you didn’t eat all that sugar.”

“Probably.” She put the candy back in her bag, opened the protein bar, and took a bite. “It tastes like dust.”

Sharp sighed. “You need the protein.”

As usual, Sharp was right. By the time they reached the office, her headache had subsided. He parked and waited for her to get into her van and lock the doors before he disappeared inside the building.

Morgan drove away from the tiny business district of Scarlet Falls. A few minutes later, a pair of headlights in her rearview mirror caught her attention. The vehicle was too far away to make out the type of vehicle, especially in the dark. She made two turns. The car remained behind her, never getting close enough for her to see it clearly. She stopped at a red light and waited for the car to catch up. But it hung back instead. When the light turned green, she drove through the dark town, suspicion prickling between her shoulder blades.

It was after nine o’clock. Scarlet Falls rolled up the streets and sidewalks at eight.

The headlights were still there when she drove past the country road that led to her grandfather’s house on the Scarlet River. Morgan dug her phone from her tote. She’d call her sister, Stella, a detective with the SFPD, and ask to meet her somewhere. The car behind her was probably a coincidence. Just someone headed in the same direction. But Morgan wasn’t taking any chances.

Not with Tyler on the loose.

She was scrolling for her sister’s number when the headlights disappeared. Morgan blew out a breath.

You’re paranoid.

She turned the car around and went home. But as she climbed out of her minivan, a cold breeze wrapped around her. She shivered, the hairs on the back of her neck rising, as if someone was watching.