The Devil's Daughter (Hidden Sins #1)(71)

But then William lifted the dead girl’s hand, his brown eyes lighting up. “But there’s something different. Our girl put up a fight, and a decent one from the amount of skin and dirt beneath her fingernails.”

Eden exchanged a look with Vic. “That means—”

“Yes. We have the killer’s DNA.”





CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX


Zach couldn’t get any further with Joseph, so he refocused on Lee, all too aware of the time dwindling down to when he’d have to either arrest the man or release him. He ambled into the interrogation room and dropped into the chair. “You look tired.”

“Yeah, well, it’s been a long day—a long week.” Lee’s eyes were bloodshot, and he was shaking, just enough to be noticeable.

Zach nodded, doing his best to appear sympathetic. Good cop might not work on Joseph—or bad cop, for that matter—but Lee was cooperating, for the most part. “You want some coffee? Snack?”

“Sheriff, with all due respect, I want to go home.”

“Just a few more questions.” What he wanted was some concrete evidence that would put the person killing girls in Clear Springs behind bars, but Lee didn’t seem to have that. No telling if that was the truth, though. Zach sat back, suddenly exhausted. He hadn’t been this on edge for such a prolonged period of time since he’d been in the desert. He was out of practice—mostly because he didn’t want to be in practice. He’d left war behind, and he never wanted to revisit it.

It didn’t seem like he was going to have a choice, though this was a very different type of battle.

Working to keep as relaxed as possible, he stretched. “Did you know Joseph had sex with Neveah Smith?”

Lee frowned. “No. Christ, she’s only seventeen years old.”

“Was. She was found dead this morning, same as Elouise Perkins.”

What was left of the light went out of Lee’s eyes. “You think Joseph had something to do with this.”

“Doesn’t matter what I think. I want to know what you think.” Maybe this would get the man talking. Zach studied the scratch on his hand that he hadn’t even been aware he’d picked up. “Doesn’t seem to me that Martha would take kindly to you and Joseph dipping into the local pool.”

“That’s not what it was with Elouise. It actually meant something.” The words started out loud and ended almost in a whisper.

“Not saying it didn’t—which is exactly what would have rubbed Martha the wrong way. She doesn’t seem the type to share all that well.”

Lee’s mouth tightened. “It’s not her. Not like that. She got her feelings hurt about Elouise, though that was never my intention. But she knew she’d won. Elouise chose to leave, and I chose to stay, and that was exactly what she wanted.” He sounded bitter in the extreme, though Zach had a hard time being sympathetic. If he’d loved the girl as much as he claimed, he should have packed his bags and left with her, Elysia be damned. Maybe Elouise would still be alive if he had.

Or maybe they’d both be dead.

There was no telling.

He switched tactics. “What about Neveah Smith?”

“What about her?”

“Did Martha know about her and Joseph?”

Lee shook his head. “Martha knows everything. But she’s not the one with the problem with Neveah. That was Abram. He didn’t like the girl—he considered her disrespectful.”

Zach could see that. Abram seemed to take everything to do with Elysia—and Martha, especially—seriously. He would have no patience for thrill-seeking teenagers who poked into the commune looking for a wild ride. He frowned. “You ever see him threaten her?”

“I don’t know. No, I don’t think so.” Lee rubbed his hands over his face, his shoulders drooping. “I can’t go back there. Or at least I can’t stay. I don’t know where it got all twisted up, but I can’t stay with Martha or in Elysia.”

Zach pushed to his feet. He didn’t think he’d be getting any more out of Lee for the time being. “You can leave when this is all over. Until then, stick close to town.”

Lee sighed. “I thought you might say something like that.”

Zach walked out of the room, but he left the door open. While he couldn’t knock Lee off the suspect list completely, he mentally placed the man toward the bottom. He heard raised voices in the main room of the police station and picked up his pace. He burst in, finding Chase facing off against Martha and Abram. “What in the hell is going on here?”

“I should be asking you the same thing! Where are my boys?” Martha took a step forward, and when Chase didn’t immediately move, Abram did the same. Chase’s shoulders tensed, his hands fisting at his sides.

If this went on much longer, someone was bound to resort to violence, and then he’d have a whole new mess on his hands. Zach crossed his arms over his chest. “Lee is free to go.”

“And my Joseph? Where is he?” She looked around as if expecting him to pop out of the woodwork.

Zach didn’t have the time or patience for this shit. “Cut the act, Martha. There’s no one here to perform for.” He moved forward before he finished speaking. “Chase, tell Joseph he’s free to go.”