The Devil's Daughter (Hidden Sins #1)(54)

“I see that.” He stepped back, as if aware he was looming. “Owens says you’ll want to be there for the interview.”

She blinked. “What interview?” Damn them both, why had she let him talk her into that whole break thing last night? If they’d gone over the case, she’d be up-to-date instead of finding this crap out now. She glanced at her phone. Then again, if she hadn’t overslept, she would already be at the station.

“Sheriff brought in Lee Whitby this morning.”

“What?” Hadn’t they just talked about how there wasn’t enough evidence to do exactly that?

Chase nodded. “He got a call this morning from little Rachel Carpenter’s mom—turns out she left out a pretty important piece of information yesterday when she talked to you.”

Eden wasn’t surprised. The kid had been as skittish as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. In fact, she’d had half a thought to talk to the girl again to see if she could pry loose any more information. While Chase watched, she grabbed her keys and phone. “What did she say?”

“Turns out Neveah did more than make eyes at Lee. She told Rachel she, uh, got up close and personal with both him and Joseph Edwards.”

She froze. “Say that again.” He did, and the words didn’t make any more sense to her the second time. “Both of them?”

“That’s what Owens is going to try to figure out.” He relayed all the information with a reserve that she’d seen before. Deputy Chase Moudy didn’t believe they were going to find Neveah alive, and he was already trying to distance himself from her memory, albeit subconsciously.

Eden didn’t blame him, and she didn’t call him out on it. She just shrugged into her jacket. “Let’s go.”

“Forgive me for pointing it out, ma’am, but you’re wearing the same shirt you were yesterday.”

“Damn it.” She almost said Screw it, but the fact was, she didn’t need any more marks against her as far as Clear Springs went. They already thought she was as dangerous as her mother. She didn’t need them thinking she was loony, too.

“Seems like you’re having a rough time, being back here and all.”

She started to shut him down but paused. There were a grand total of three cops in Clear Springs—alienating one-third of them would be a mistake. Still, she hesitated. She wasn’t inclined to rip herself open just to appease his curiosity. “It’s an adjustment—though it sounds like you’ve had one yourself.”

His mouth tightened, just a bit. “Came out here for a change of pace. The city and I didn’t get along all that well.” Something in his tone discouraged questions.

Fine by her. She was already tired of this conversation. She nodded at him. “Give me five minutes to change.”

“I’ll be downstairs in the cruiser.”

It took her three to change her clothes, throw on some deodorant, and drag a comb through her hair. It went up into its customary ponytail, and she paused long enough to check the truly attractive circles forming beneath her eyes. They’d get worse before she was through with this town, so she might as well make her peace with them. Hell, the only reason she checked at all was because of Zach, and that was stupid beyond belief. She had bigger things to worry about. She needed to remember that.

By the time they made it to the station, Zach was closeted with Lee, and a grim-faced Henry stood outside the door. He shook his head as they approached. “He’s grilling the kid up good. Anyone going in there is going to break his flow.”

Eden peered around him through the tiny window to see Zach bent over the table, his hands braced, his face expressionless. He didn’t appear to be yelling, but Lee cringed repeatedly, his head down and his shoulders bowed.

It’s not him.

She didn’t realize she’d spoken aloud until Henry answered her.

“Evidence says otherwise.”

“I haven’t exactly put together a fully comprehensive profile of the unsub, but there are certain traits that he has to have to fit this type of killing. This guy is a dominant personality, and when confronted by an authority figure, he wouldn’t be able to hide his derision. He thinks he’s superior, and if he bows to anyone, it’s not going to be someone in law enforcement.”

Henry frowned, the lines across his face seeming to fold in on one another. “You sure think you know a lot about a guy who’s little more than a ghost.”

Except he wasn’t. A ghost didn’t kill, and a ghost sure as hell didn’t break into cars to leave presents. These killings weren’t murders of opportunity. He’d stalked Elouise. He’d created a place to hold the girl for more than a week, and then he’d most likely allowed her to run to fulfill some kind of twisted fantasy of his. Was he sick? Beyond a shadow of a doubt. But organized. Cold. Not the type of personality to be shaken by a single cop, no matter how strong Zach’s personality was. She lifted her chin. “He wouldn’t cower. I’d stake my badge on it.”

“He could be faking.” This from Chase, who’d taken up a post a little farther down the hall, though he hadn’t stood still for more than a heartbeat. Nerves and a whole lot of anger. He seemed to take Elouise’s death personally—more personally than anyone else she’d come across, except maybe Zach. He blames himself, though part of him must know it’s bullshit. If push comes to shove, he’s going to be a loose cannon.