Secrets Never Die (Morgan Dane #5)(32)

Lance’s gut wrenched. It was no wonder Tina had a hard time trusting anyone.

“Could you please get Tina some water, Sheriff?” Morgan asked.

The sheriff got up and left the room, returning in a minute with water bottles. He passed them out.

“Yet you agreed to testify against him,” the sheriff prompted as soon as he’d sat down.

With a single nod, Tina continued talking in a flat voice. “I was at a point in my life when the idea of dying seemed better than living.” She paused to meet each one of their eyes for a second, almost in challenge. “When I was fifteen, Joe gave me to one of his lieutenants as a reward.” Her entire body shuddered with revulsion. “Tyson had appetites. A year of being raped and beaten regularly had changed my perspective.”

She stopped to drink water. She screwed the top back on the bottle and set it on the table with a solid thunk. “Joe’s weakness was his ego. He was confident that I’d never turn on him. At the same time, he was sadistic and enjoyed hurting and humiliating people. He had no respect for women and focused on putting his sons to work in his business. He never considered that he’d made my life so miserable that I no longer feared death—or him. I testified. He went to prison.”

“But he never threatened you directly?” the sheriff asked.

Tina shook her head. “You would not ask that question if you’d seen the look in his eyes as I testified. He would have loved nothing more than to strangle me with his own hands at that very moment. Several of his lieutenants were in the courtroom. One of them mouthed ‘You’re dead’ over and over.”

The sheriff’s face was grim, but he didn’t look shocked. How much of Tina’s story had he known? “Where did you go after the trial?”

“When I was younger, I worked under the table when I could and put away as much cash as possible, although Tyson found one of my hidey-holes once and beat me for keeping the money from him. After that, he required me to hand over my pay each week, but I always held some back.” Tina picked up the bottle and began to peel off the label. “After the trial, I took the money I’d hidden and ran. I used the cheapest forms of public transportation, mostly transit trains and buses, and paid cash for everything. This was before 9-11. Transportation security and rules were more relaxed back then. I spent the first month just running. Never staying in the same place more than one night. I didn’t have enough money to take me a great distance away, but the rural nature of Grey’s Hollow made it feel much farther from Newark than it really was. Still, I was looking over my shoulder for a long time.”

Morgan folded her hands on the table. “Did the prosecutor’s office try to get you into the witness protection program?”

Tina’s snort was filled with disgust. “Like I would have trusted them with my life. They put me in a safe house before the trial and had to move me three times because my location was leaked. I was better off on my own.”

“But you haven’t heard from Joe since he was released?” Lance wanted Tina to be clear.

“No.” Tina shook her head. “I hope he doesn’t even know where I am, which is why I didn’t want anyone asking questions back in Newark. I don’t want anyone reminding Joe that I exist or telling him where I am.”

But Lance bet Joe already knew. In today’s world of the internet, cameras, and constant connectivity, it wasn’t that hard to find someone if they weren’t making a massive effort to stay hidden. Tina had put down roots.

The sheriff stood. “Thank you for coming in, Mrs. Knox. I’m sure I’ll have more questions.”

Morgan followed Tina around the table toward the door.

Lance hung back. “I’ll meet you at the car.” He handed Morgan the keys to his Jeep. He wanted to have a cop-to-former-cop chat with the sheriff. He leaned close to her ear. “There are questions Tina should probably not hear.”

Nodding, Morgan took the keys. “We’ll be out back.”

After the women left, the sheriff crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Lance. “What do you want?”

“The truth.” Lance went for it. “Is Evan your only suspect?”

“No, but he is on the list.” The sheriff dropped back into his chair. “Mrs. Knox wants to downplay the friction between Evan and Paul, but the neighbor heard the yelling and saw the boy take a swing at Paul. I’d call that a fight, even if Evan was the aggressor.”

“Mrs. Knox explained the incident.”

“Which doesn’t change the fact that the kid is a hothead with impulse control issues.”

“He isn’t normally,” Lance argued.

“But he could have been Monday night.”

It was times like this when Lance missed being on the police force. He didn’t enjoy being locked out of an investigation, begging for scraps of evidence. “What can you tell me about the autopsy? Frank would have moved Paul to the top of the list.”

The sheriff sighed. “I can’t share the results of the medical examiner’s preliminary report at this time. After we’ve made an arrest, the suspect’s attorney will receive the autopsy information.”

Frustration filled Lance. Colgate wasn’t going to cooperate. But Lance would find Evan if he had to go over, around, or through the sheriff’s roadblocks.