Hide and Seek (Criminal Profiler #1)(89)

Rafe Younger wasn’t so clever about covering his tracks. He’d used his credit card to buy gas in Deep Run, beer in Staunton, and then to rent a room in a small motel an hour southwest of Lexington, Virginia.

Nevada and Macy parked in the motel lot where Rafe Younger was currently living. The motel was one story and consisted of fifteen rooms. Nevada got Rafe’s room number from the clerk, and he and Macy knocked on room 106. Each stood to the side with weapons drawn.

Inside the room a television switched off. “It’s Sheriff Nevada. Mr. Younger, you have five seconds to open the door.”

For a moment there was silence, and then footsteps moved toward the door and a chain scraped free of its lock. The door opened to Rafe Younger. A cigarette dangled from his long fingers.

“What is this all about?” Rafe asked. “Something happen to Debbie again? She’s not here.”

“She’s with her parents,” Nevada said. “I have questions about Bruce Shaw.”

“Bruce?” He took a long drag on his cigarette. “What about Bruce?”

Nevada and Macy swept the room to make sure Rafe was alone. Lying on the rumpled sheets of the unmade bed was a half bottle of Fireball, a pizza box, and an ashtray filled with cigarette butts.

Macy sat Rafe in a chair.

“What’s going on?” Rafe asked.

“I want to know about the night Tobi showed up at the bonfire. I want to know what happened.”

Rafe took another drag, still confused. “Nothing happened.”

“That’s not what Cindy Shaw said.”

“Cindy. Jesus. She was always messed up. Drank more than even me.”

“Earlier you said Cindy got Tobi drunk. Who took Tobi into the woods?”

“I don’t know about that. I told you I was drunk.”

“You know,” Nevada said, “you and your teammates were legendary when it came to sticking together. Your loyalty is going to earn you an accomplice to murder charge in about two minutes.”

“Murder? I didn’t kill anyone.”

“You’re protecting one of your boys.”

“Look, Tobi did get drunk, and maybe one of the guys popped her cherry, but no one hurt her.”

“Come on, you four boys didn’t have to chase girls because they came to you. You were rock stars. You also didn’t like any girl to tell you no. Which one of you four got carried away with Tobi?”

Nevada moved to within inches of Rafe, using his height to intimidate. Macy moved to the door and put the chain back on it.

Rafe shifted, dropping his gaze. “I don’t want any trouble.”

“Then answer the question,” Nevada said.

“We bent the rules,” Rafe said. “But I never was into hurting anybody.”

“What about Bruce Shaw?” Macy asked. “He preferred a type of girl, didn’t he? Young, with long dark hair. Remind you of anybody?”

“We all had types. Shit, I’ll do a blonde with big tits anytime. But that don’t mean I’m going to kill one.” He ground his spent cigarette into a nearby ashtray.

“Fair enough.” Nevada leaned in closer. “Let’s talk about Bruce.”

“Bruce was always there for the team. He was there for me. I couldn’t have asked for a better friend. Sometimes he blew off steam, but it was never anything extreme. Sex, booze, most of the usual stuff an eighteen-year-old would do.”

“Most? When did he start stalking girls?” Macy asked.

Rafe closed his eyes. “He didn’t stalk girls.” He shook his head. “And I didn’t have anything to do with those murders,” he rushed to say.

“There’s another woman missing. You’ll go down for her murder if I can’t save her.”

Rafe looked up at Nevada. “I saw a notebook once in the locker room. It was in Bruce’s gym bag.”

“What kind of notebook?” Nevada asked.

“Like a diary. I picked it up because I was curious. I thought I’d tease him about writing poetry or about his feelings. Then I realized he was keeping notes on girls.”

“Did you see a name?” Nevada asked.

“Yeah.”

Nevada reached for his cuffs.

“Ellis. And Brooke.”

“Brooke Bennett?”

“Yeah. She was smoking hot before she became a cop and forgot how to smile.”

“What else did you see?” Nevada asked.

“Nothing. Bruce came up and he saw me reading it. I gave it back, but when he looked at it, he got real quiet. He swore it wasn’t his, and he told me to keep my mouth shut.”

“Did anyone else see it?” Macy asked.

“Kevin Wyatt saw it. He was standing right there. He didn’t look shocked. It was like he knew what it was.”

“Was there anyone else there?” Nevada asked.

“Sully also heard us talking.”

“Sully?” Macy asked. “Deputy Sullivan?”

“Yeah.”

“He wasn’t on the team,” Nevada said.

“But he helped out a lot. He loved it all.”

Sullivan had never mentioned the diary. “Are Kevin, Bruce, and Sully close friends?”

“Kevin and Bruce were always tight. Sully came along for the ride sometimes.”