The Silence (Columbia River #2)(31)



“We sent him to the medical examiner’s office in Portland.” His voice took on a tender tone. “I’m very sorry again, Agent McLane. Even if you didn’t know him that well, it’s a shock.”

“Thank you. It is.”

“I’ll call you immediately when I get updates. Say a word to Agent Wells for me.”

Ava promised and then ended the call. She sat in silence for a few minutes as Zander drove. “Sheriff Greer says hello,” she finally said.

“He’s a good man. What was that about someone being assaulted?”

She shared the sheriff’s stories about both incidents.

“The clerk didn’t see a gun on the man? Or the woman?” Zander asked.

“Not that he reported.”

“I agree the crimes being so close together is odd. It’s a sleepy little city.”

“Not this time of year,” Ava pointed out. “I’m sure Seaside is crawling with summer tourists.”

“But no one heard a gunshot.”

“No one that they’ve found yet.”

The two of them were quiet for a long minute. “Do you need to go to the coast?” Zander asked. “Have your thoughts changed?”

Ava inhaled deeply through her nose. “No. I’ll stay here. The sheriff will keep me informed.” She pictured Kacey’s friendly face and her two children. “I’ll keep in touch with Kacey several times each day.”

“And after our investigation is over?” Zander asked. “What will you do?”

“I’m sure they’ll be back in San Diego by then.”

“Won’t they be at the wedding?”

“Shit. You’re right. I totally forgot they were coming.” She rubbed her forehead. “Do I need to push off the wedding? It feels wrong—”

“No!” Zander said firmly. “You’ve waited long enough, and a wedding might be just what that family needs. Something joyful after this hell.” He turned into a 7-Eleven lot, parked, and looked sternly at Ava. “If you delay your wedding, I’ll shoot you. And that’s after Mason and Cheryl shoot you first.”

“Don’t know if shoot is the right word to use today,” she said softly.

“Dammit.” He tipped his head back against his headrest. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m feeling rather numb after everything that’s happened over the last two days.”

“I hear you.”

“A wedding is the furthest thing from my mind.”

“I understand that too.” He tilted his head and met her gaze. “Ready?”

Ava looked at the 7-Eleven. Three teenagers with skateboards loitered near the front, cans of caffeinated drinks in hand. The usual colorful promotional posters plastered to the glass blocked her view of most of the interior, but she could see a tall older man behind a cash register.

“Yep.”

Moments later they had brought the tall clerk outside for a chat, leaving his coworker to cover the registers. He leaned against Zander’s vehicle and sized up the two of them.

“Mind if I smoke?” The clerk, whose name was Todd, had already shaken out a cigarette from a battered pack. It was in his mouth and being lit before Zander or Ava agreed. He had the longest fingers Ava had ever seen. They matched the thin legs sticking out of his shorts and his bony arms. She estimated he was in his late fifties.

He inhaled deeply and turned to glare at the three skateboarders. “Hey!” he yelled at them. “How many times do I have to tell you to beat it? Can’t you read?” He pointed to a NO LOITERING sign directly behind the teenagers.

The teens sneered. “Why is the carpet all wet, Todd?” said the dark-haired teen as his friends burst into laughter.

“I don’t know, Margo,” answered the one with a shaved head, setting the three of them into peals of laughter. They dropped their boards in the parking lot and pushed off. Two of them flipped off Todd with both hands as they sped away.

“As if I haven’t heard those lines a million times since the eighties,” muttered Todd as he inhaled more smoke.

“What?” Zander looked confused.

“It’s from Christmas Vacation,” said Ava. “The Chevy Chase movie.”

“Ahhh.” Light dawned in Zander’s eyes. “Never watched any of his vacation movies.”

“Seriously?” asked Todd, skepticism in the tilt of his head. “You grow up in a foreign country?”

“Don’t watch a lot of TV. Or movies.”

“Huh.” Todd examined Zander as if he were a new species of bug.

“You told your supervisor you saw something yesterday before the shootings that the police should know about.” Ava changed the topic. “What time did you get off work?”

“I was off at noon.”

“An hour or so before the shooting happened.”

“Yeah, I was home taking a nap when it happened. I went to work at three a.m. yesterday. Needed some sleep.”

“When did you find out about what happened at the courthouse?”

“Not until around dinnertime. Saw it on Twitter.”

“What did you do then?”

“Called Paula because I knew she had been working at that time, and everyone online had said the shooter took his shots not far from here.”

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