Traces of Guilt

SIXTEEN

Evie Blackwell

Evie spotted Ann easily enough. She simply looked for a woman willing to stand in a parking lot on a winter day. Not that Ann looked cold-she was dressed in a black cashmere coat, gloves, plus earmuffs in a soft, white rabbit fur. Nor would many stand near a crime scene, not be put off by the fluttering police tape, the cops coming and going.

“Evie, thanks for making the time,” Ann said as Evie walked over.

“You make it easy for me, Ann, showing up right where I’m working for the day.”

“There’s a good place that does gyros over on MacArthur Avenue. Ride with me, we’ll order to go, and take a walk on the bike path.”

“You want to take a walk on December twenty-two when there’s six inches of snow on the ground,” Evie felt compelled to ask, “not to mention a wind freezing whatever it can touch?”

“It will wake us up, and only one direction of the walk will we feel the wind.”

Evie laughed at that image. “Sure, why not?” It would be a couple of hours before the medical examiner would hand the crime scene back to her. She had time. She tossed her backpack on the backseat of Ann’s airport rental, slid into the passenger seat, glad for the warmth.

“Your current case-serious trouble?” Ann asked as she swung out of the lot.

“A lawyer committed suicide-at first glance, at least. State got the case because he once sued the current police chief, and no one in that office was going to touch this investigation.”

“Smart of them.”

They stopped to get their lunch to go and then found the bike path easily enough. Ann parked at a nearby church’s lot, and they pulled up their collars and walked across the footbridge connecting with an asphalt path that followed a former railroad line. They had walked here before in the distant past. The wind wasn’t bad with the trees on either side, but the smooth snow was more like ten inches. Both were wearing boots-as functional as they were fashionable-and the snow wasn’t that much of a problem. Evie appreciated the stillness, and the lunch was as good as advertised. She kept it mostly wrapped in the foil to keep it warm, and they ate as they walked. She’d forgotten how nice it was to share a meal with a good friend, especially one that wasn’t rushed.

“I came to ask you something,” Ann said.

Evie nodded. “Ask me what?”

“I’ll get to that in a minute. But first… you haven’t heard from Gabriel recently, have you?”

“No. Didn’t expect to.”

“And you haven’t thought about calling him?”

Evie gave Ann a curious glance. “No, should I have? Something going on I haven’t heard about?”

“Nothing in particular. Grace’s parents-ballistics were a match to a handgun Kevin Arnett once owned, so that case has officially closed. The Thane brothers triggered a slide along that entire bluff to make the area safer before the land was sold and reburied the car, hopefully for good.”

“I’m very glad to hear that.”

“Yeah,” Ann said. “Grace appreciated the flowers you sent for her parents’ funeral, and the gift you sent for Angel-it was a thoughtful gesture, Evie.”

“It seemed appropriate.” The plastic horses had been hers as a child, and she remembered what it had been like opening that Christmas gift box and finding her wish list fulfilled. She’d kept them neatly boxed in her spare room for a child she still didn’t have. It was time to pass them on so that another could enjoy them.

“Grace is doing well,” Ann added. “She’s enjoying planning for Christmas. Baking up a storm. Her tears have passed, for the most part. I wanted to mention that because you saw so many of them over those two weeks.”

“She arranged her daughter’s vacation,” Evie said, “returned to Carin with all its terrible memories, and then gave herself two weeks where she could safely cry because that’s what she needed to do. You think I didn’t see that, Ann? That planning on Grace’s part to handle a personal crisis well? She’s got guts, that friend of yours.”

“Thanks for noticing. May I tell her that observation?”

Evie nodded.

“Josh is going to take them skating, build a snowman with Angel, generally find reasons for Grace to let him into her life this winter. His work gets busy come March and April, but he’s got some time now, and he’s planning to use it well. When you next come to Chicago, Josh would like to meet up with you, take you to dinner with Grace and Angel. I think he figures having Grace comfortable with a few cops would be a good thing. I can wave him off, though, if you prefer not to get that invitation.”

“No, it’s fine, Ann. I’d like to be more than passing acquaintances with Grace and her daughter.”

“She will appreciate that. I do too.”

“Sure. Will and Karen are doing okay?”

“I haven’t heard anything since we were there, but I expect so. Tom Lander got himself a summons to appear in tax court, so that saga continues. He started hiding money from his creditors and underreporting his income when his businesses began to fail-someone good in finance happened to notice that fact.”

“Paul’s pretty good with numbers,” Evie noted with a knowing grin.

“Super geeky grunt work, but he’s willing to dive in when it’s for a good cause,” Ann said with an answering smile.

Evie finished her lunch, tucked the foil in the bag. “I appreciate the updates, Ann. But that isn’t why you came to find me. What’s on your mind?”

“A formal invitation for the task force is coming from the governor-elect unless you want to decline it. A two-year deal, you keep the same title and desk you have now, time-share between your current boss and Sharon Noble, keep your hands on some current cases while primarily working cold cases with the task force.”

Evie had thought about the differences of her day job and what those two weeks in Carin had been like. The depths a cold case would require that a current one didn’t often need. “I’m excited about the challenge, Ann. I want in.”

“He’ll call you.”

“The governor-elect will call me,” Evie repeated with a smile. “Have to admit-that statement’s got a ‘wow factor’ to it.”

Ann laughed. “Been there. The first time the vice-president called me from DC, it took my breath away.” Ann neatly folded up the napkins and foil wrapper of her lunch, pocketed it. “All right. That was just the preliminaries. I’m retiring in a more formal way, Evie. And over the next couple of years I’ll be passing what has been falling on me over to you.”

“Ann…” Evie stopped to look at her friend.

“You’re ready for it.”

Evie felt her heart stutter. “Not particularly. What I know you do is already way deeper than I want to even think about, let alone what you haven’t told me.”

Ann simply smiled. “Flying lessons are your Christmas gift from Paul and me. And you’ll get comfortable with the governor calling you. I’ll open the door gradually to what is going on, Evie. But you’re made for more than you’ve considered for yourself, both personally and professionally. When the governor asks you to call him Jeffery, do so. Or stay with ‘sir’ if it’s impossible to make that step. But I think you’ll get there.”

“Okay.” Evie felt like the earth had just shifted under her, tried to find her sense of balance. “Why me, Ann?”

“I see a lot of myself in you. The personal questions you keep wrestling with as much as the work. God has a good path in mind for you, Evie. There’s a rich life ahead of you, and it’s got so many facets. Work, certainly. But I’m also certain He has a rich personal life in mind for you too. Don’t be afraid of that. Wary about taking a wrong step, sure, and patience is a good thing. But don’t be scared of where He leads.

“I want you to enjoy the task force work, learn to fly, and begin to figure out how to take a deep breath and let important people lean on your expertise. They’re going to start doing so. The governor is likely in office for eight years. I predict over the next three years, his wife will become someone you’ll think of as a friend, his daughter will call you by name and not be surprised to find you at the breakfast table. The governor will hand you hard things to do because he’ll learn to trust what you tell him. When those days come, say yes, do your best work, and let the outcome go where it will.”

“Can I ask you something?” Evie asked.

“Sure.”

“You do that for people now, solve problems?”

Ann thought about it. “I have a friend gifted at solving problems. Like you’re gifted at being a detective, she can look at a situation and see what needs to happen. I think I mostly sort out how to help, as a friend. Sometimes it’s what I can do, sometimes it’s the resources I can bring to bear, but most of the time it’s knowing who I can ask for a favor.

“The calls I get are often a situation that requires discretion, occasionally secrecy, and probably has a security concern. That’s the circle of influence I walk in-my own and Paul’s. I don’t regret laying down the badge, not being the one dispatch will call to a scene. There’s still interesting work that needs to be done. But I can tell it’s shifting again, what God has in mind for me. I’m retiring in a more complete way and making sure people are there to deal with matters-passing the mantle, so to speak. You’re one of those people-not the only one, but an important one. If you’re married, single, retired, still on the job, the surface can look like many things, and it’s not going to be an issue, Evie. I want you to see the role, try it on for size. That’s part of the next few years if you want it.” Ann gave her a long, considering look. “You’ll take the flying lessons, think about it for a year?”

“I can do that, but I can’t imagine stepping into the role you fill.”

“You’ll adapt. He’s a nice guy, the governor. Adorable daughter. Great wife. His sister Shannon is a stitch, likes jokes like you do. We’re having a late holiday party on the twenty-ninth, Paul and I, seven o’clock at our place, and they’ll be there. Come with Rob if you wish, if he can get free for the evening. Matthew Dane will be there too if the weather cooperates. A few other people as well. Dress is jeans and some kind of holiday-decorated sweater, or dress slacks and a jacket if you’re not comfortable going casual.”

“A few other people would be who?”

“Mostly cops, or those who spend their lives around them. If a third of the guests aren’t children and dogs, I haven’t thrown a good party.”

Evie appreciated the image. “Thank you. I’m delighted to be invited.”

They turned back the way they had come. Ann offered a cherry candy from her pocket, and Evie unwrapped it with a thanks.

“I want to mention one other thing,” Ann said, “compliments of Paul.”

“Oh?”

“He said it’s the first time Gabriel had ever asked him for a read on a woman, that first day when he called to ask about you.”

“Did he now?” Evie asked, intrigued.

“Rob will grow on me,” Ann said, “if you like him enough to stick with him. I’ll figure out what you see in him and start to appreciate him more. But for what it’s worth, I think there’s somebody who’s a better fit for you, Evie. I think you know that.”

“I’m aware. You’ve been tactful, but not silent on the subject. I’m not sheriff’s wife material either, Ann.”

“Maybe not. But I would suggest you insert a maybe in your statement.”

“I’m aware of the fact that I’m waiting. I’m single because that’s the step I’m on. But it’s not the step I’ll stay on. I’m aware of that too.” Evie glanced over. “Gabriel Thane is not a small county sheriff, no matter what his job title says. Just as you’re not a retired cop. He just happens to inhabit that space for now, and he’s comfortable there. It’s where God has placed him. I like that about him. Gabriel’s got excellence in mind for the job he does now, and he’s not pushing out the walls of it on the assumption a bigger turf is more important.”

“He’s ambitious in the right ways,” Ann agreed. “It’s why Paul likes him.”

Evie got it. She nodded, glanced at her friend. “Flying lessons, huh?”

Ann smiled. “Wait till you learn how to take off on a runway packed with snow. It’s not something you do every day, but in the right situation where it’s necessary, those are some good skills to have in your tool kit. Flying at night around a storm is another one.”

“Okay, I vote for summer flying lessons… in something that flies about the speed of a bicycle,” Evie replied.

Ann laughed. “You’ll love it, Evie.”

“It’s a really nice gift. The truth is, I’ve been thinking about it for a while.”

“I know you have, hence the offer. It’s time.”

Evie nodded and repeated, “It’s time.” They were back in sight of the car and warmth. “I’ve got a lawyer who needs an official ruling of suicide or murder. That’s my afternoon.”

“I’m picking up a state congressman, flying him to Chicago so he can apologize to his daughter for forgetting her birthday.”

“Ouch.”

“The divorce was messy, but he honestly didn’t intend to hurt his daughter. He’s beginning to realize why his life ran so smoothly before, and it wasn’t because of his staff. He had an organized wife who loved him.”

“Playing matchmaker, Ann?”

“I’m all for people admitting they made a mistake. A second marriage to his ex-wife would probably go better than the first attempt. I like them both, so I don’t mind playing Cupid.”

Evie laughed at the way Ann described it. “Yeah. I can see why you’d spend an afternoon doing that favor.”

Ann drove back to the crime scene and parked past the police tape. Evie got out, picked up her backpack. “Thanks for lunch. I’ll call you about the party.”

“No need. Show up with a guest if you’re free, no big deal if you’re late or alone. You have other plans that night, I’ll invite you to the next one.”

“Okay. Thanks again, Ann.” Evie ducked under the tape, headed back to work. She felt a bit like she’d been walloped with a fastball. Evie glanced up toward heaven for a brief moment. She’d never been so grateful for a day job and a case to work as she was right now. This was something she was comfortable concentrating on for the next several hours. She’d think about Ann’s visit and its implications later tonight. She knocked snow off her boots and stepped into the building. “Where are we, Bill?”

The officer pointed to the service elevator. “Body’s on its way down. Think he had help, Lieutenant?”

“I’m going to find out.” Based on what she’d learned so far, she figured it was a coin toss, suicide or murder. That would tip in the next few hours because she was good at the job.

A fat cardboard tube with a red bow on top sat on her desk. Evie walked over to check the attached card while she unbuttoned her coat. The gift hadn’t been there when she left yesterday evening for the shooting range. The parking lot had been mostly cars she recognized when she eventually left for home. Ann, she guessed, as she had been in town the day before and liked to arrange things like this.

She picked up the card. Merry Christmas, Evie. She recognized Gabriel’s handwriting even before she saw the initials GT. She removed the bow and lifted the rather heavy tube. A map of some sort? No, the tube was too short for that. She reached inside and felt metal, flexible but strong, and eased the coil out.

Precision-cut metal letters in Calibri font. I am not a wo… She didn’t need to see more and laughed out loud. I am not a woman of small ambitions. He’d remembered the stencil she suggested for her office, had the sign made for her. She glanced at the wall over the window and thought it would be perfect there. She unrolled the gift and saw it hooked with wire loops at the top and either end. A small plastic bag with picture nails had been taped to the first letter. Oh yeah, he does thoughtful, all right.

She opened the top left drawer of her desk, pulled out a blank stationery card embossed with her name at the top. Gabriel, you hit a home run with your Christmas gift. Thank you. Evie. She slipped the card in its matching envelope, found his work address in her files, and put the card in her outgoing mail. She hadn’t gotten him anything but wasn’t going to sweat it. When she saw something that reminded her of him, she’d buy him a gift.

This was turning out to be a very nice end to the year.

January arrived and stomped on her cheerful mood. Normally, Evie didn’t mind working weekends, but right now half the support staff were still vacationing somewhere warm and she didn’t get paid enough for the reality of working crime scenes in the cold and blowing snow. She’d pulled a body out of the semi-frozen Illinois River today and still smelled like it, even after washing her hair twice in the locker room shower and changing clothes down to the new tennis shoes she wore. It seemed like the odor had invaded her skin, or at least her nose, and Evie was tempted to find some Vicks ointment to combat it. She did pull a rarely used bottle of perfume from her desk drawer and sprayed it more liberally than she otherwise might. She’d have to ID the man before she could figure out how he ended up in the river. But at least this one still had his hands-the last body pulled from the river didn’t.

A new folder had landed in her inbox. Lab results on the dead lawyer, sent to her from the medical examiner. The official cause of death was determined to be suicide, yet Evie found it odd the lawyer had overdosed on his cousin’s prescription rather than his wife’s. A good defense lawyer with an ego to match didn’t go the suicide route easily. She wanted a solid reason for his taking the pills, one that made some sense to her before she closed the case. She could imagine a suicide note: Blackmail drove me to kill myself… She’d find more time to analyze the case before she moved it off her desk.

The light was blinking on her phone. She entered her password to play back messages. “Lieutenant, it’s Sheriff Thane. This is an official call. Please call me back at your first opportunity.” Gabriel gave her a number. There was a long pause during the recording. It was the first she’d heard his voice since she left Carin. He went on, “Evie, we’ve found a property of interest out on County Road 33-the phone canvas turned up the lead. I’m working on a warrant and hope to search there in the morning. Feel free to just show up if you can join us. Anyway, you can reach me at that number anytime. Either way, I’ll let you know how it goes.”

He sounded like the same Gabriel, but terribly sad. She picked up the phone and hit the speed dial for her boss. Someone else would have to ID the guy from the river. She needed a couple of personal days.

The state and federal flags in front of the Carin County sheriff’s office hung heavy with moisture, but the metal ringlets rang like a bell as they struck the pole in the wind. Evie turned up the collar of her coat as she walked the shoveled sidewalks and was glad to step into the heated building. She greeted the officers she recognized. Iris was at the front desk and on the phone. Evie pointed toward the hall, and Iris nodded for her to go on back.

Evie found the sheriff in his office just putting down his phone, so she tapped on the doorframe. “You called.”

Gabriel merely nodded and reached for his hat and coat. “Come with me.” No Hello or Nice to see you. She wondered if she could see more gray hairs than before. Looking grim, he headed outside and over to the truck he favored, paused to open the passenger door for her. “You’ll want to buckle in.”

Something really, really bad. Evie didn’t know what to brace for, icy roads or dreadful news, but she prepared for both. The snow had come down heavy in the county over the New Year’s weekend. The roads were packed with it and showing ice in places. They headed out of town, and she soon recognized the route the Florist family might have taken the night they disappeared.

“Sorry for the terse welcome.”

Evie glanced over at him. She knew pain when she heard it. “Tired of talking about it?”

“I understand what Grace means when she says talking about it is like ripping her guts out. We’ll get to it, Evie, in about thirty minutes when I show you why I called. The warrant came through an hour ago. We’re just waiting on the crime-scene people to arrive before I serve it. How’s Springfield?”

He obviously wanted a change in subject. “I’d say the job is much the same as it’s been,” she responded, “mostly messy crime scenes to wade into and try to solve. I had a nice Christmas with Rob and his family. Even his mother was mostly kind in her remarks about my being a cop. It probably helped that Governor-elect Bliss called while I was sitting down to dinner with them, to formally invite me to his inauguration in Springfield and the press conference the next day when he plans to announce the new task force.”

“That’s next week?”

“The twelfth for the inauguration, one p.m. the following day for the announcement.”

Gabriel nodded. “I figured it would get some press. I’m glad you’re taking the job. You’ll solve a lot of cases over the next couple of years, I’m sure of it. Can I get an invite?”

“Of course. If I can’t get you in, Ann can.” They shared a chuckle. “Seriously, Gabriel, I’d like to show you my place if you have time for a meal. I built the dogs two large doghouses, and after seeing Will’s creations, I added a few more items to their backyard playground as their Christmas presents. You’ll enjoy seeing it, even in the winter.”

“I’m sure I will. Who looks after the dogs when you travel?”

“Two people in my neighborhood, both recently retired vets. They’ve got some post-deployment problems they’re working through, and the dogs are good therapy. Apollo and Zeus enjoy their company. If I’m not home, one or both of the guys will be around.”

“I’m glad you’ve got that arrangement.”

“Anything new with you?”

“I bought myself a new snowblower.”

She laughed. “Please tell me Christmas was more interesting than that.”

“The county mostly behaved itself. There were a few home burglaries while people were at the Christmas Eve church services. We had our share of domestic-disturbance calls with family grievances escalating at holiday gatherings. We had two suicides and a probable murder-suicide. As you know, the season can be extra stressful for people with ongoing problems in their lives.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s the job, Evie.” He looked over, smiled. “More cop work than detective work, I’ll admit.”

“I can handle mine easier than yours,” she said.

A comfortable silence settled as Gabriel drove them north for thirty minutes. The woods grew thicker and the snowfall more even. Traffic dwindled to only the occasional vehicle.

Gabriel began to decelerate, and Evie sat up straighter, knowing from the tension in him they were nearing their destination. They took a curve, and Evie saw sheriff vehicles parked along the roadside. Gabriel pulled in behind them but didn’t shut off the engine. He pointed to a driveway up ahead. “Elliot Fray owns that property. It’s a decent-sized place-he raises horses, cattle, leases out his farmland for a share of the crops. He’s not on any of our lists, no priors of any kind. A good guy, according to those who know him. Been in this county all his life. He’s married, father of two. His wife died of cancer about fifteen years ago. Sons are married now, each living on opposite coasts. Elliot is an old man now, not as active, but he’s still a hands-on owner with a good business sense. My father knows him better than I do.

“That phone canvas you suggested turned up a postman who remembers a mailbox post being shattered and replaced.” Gabriel nodded to the end of the driveway. “That mailbox. Elliot doesn’t remember the specifics, only grimaced at the reminder and said he’s replaced it at least four times now, as delivery trucks coming into the property misjudge the turn. Probably true enough; it’s a common problem along these country roads, especially in the winter. But one of my deputies took some initiative and walked the roadside before the first snow came down and found some items of interest.

“We’ve got dried blood on the underside of an almost-buried rock found near that replaced mailbox, blood that matches by type with Scott. And a fragment of front headlight plastic that matches the model of truck he was driving. That was enough to put several deputies walking this road, and they located a few more small pieces of debris that match the Florist truck.

“Back twelve years ago, four employees worked for Elliot Fray, handling a dozen horses and a hundred-plus head of cattle. They’ve all moved on since, and there’s new staff now, but we tracked the former four down. There’s nothing I’ve discovered about them that would cause concern. The staff worked daylight hours, mucking out the stalls, exercising the horses, feeding the cattle, cutting the hay. Elliot was considered a good boss, not one to say much, concise on what needed done, one who did the work alongside them.

“What I’ve got are two odd facts those employees mentioned. Elliot nearly drank himself to death back a dozen years ago. He had never been much of a drinker until that year. And there’s a barn on the property that has been locked for years. He told staff the floor was buckling. He didn’t want an accident, to be paying a workman’s comp claim. They vaguely remember the concrete was buckling some in the freeze and thaw. It’s the oldest of the barns on the property. The building was padlocked the same calendar year the Florist family disappeared. With the dried blood, the headlight fragment and other debris, a locked barn, and a very sympathetic judge, it’s enough for a warrant to search the property.”

“You think the Florists were involved in an accident here, and it was covered up?”

“I don’t know what to think, Evie. I’ve spoken to Elliot twice. When he says he doesn’t remember anything unusual happening back then, he’s convincing. If the deputy hadn’t found what he did, I would have written up the note about the mailbox and moved on.”

“What did Elliot say about the barn?”

“The same as what his past employees told me. I asked if I could see inside, and he said the padlock key had been lost for years. He’s mostly polite, but turns grouchy with the conversation going on for a while. He wasn’t interested in having me buy him a new lock.” Two vehicles pulled in behind them. “There’s crime-scene personnel now. I’m going to serve the warrant to look around, get this search started.” He held out the keys. “It’s likely to be a long day. Come back to the vehicle and kick on the heater to warm up occasionally.”

“Thanks.” Evie pocketed the keys.

Evie hung back as Gabriel served the warrant, catching only a quick glimpse of the man inside his doorway before he closed it again. Gabriel organized his men, his deputies spread out to walk the property, the current employees going along to handle the gates, move horses and cattle out of the way as required.

Evie walked beside Gabriel as they trailed down the slope to the old barn, fighting through heavy snowdrifts. The drive this direction hadn’t been plowed. The owner had joined them in cold-weather jacket and boots, now walking beside them-elderly but not particularly frail, a man accustomed to hard work. He wasn’t saying much, but he wasn’t as angry as Evie would have expected, given the warrant to search his property.

The barn showed the neglect of years, paint flaking off weathered boards, weeds tall enough that a few poked through the deep snow. The deputy with them had brought along bolt cutters. The rusted padlock hanging from the barn door showed its age.

“Elliot, you could give us the key.”

“Haven’t had it in over a decade. I told you that when you asked me to open this place before.”

“Then I’ll be buying you a new lock.” Gabriel nodded to his deputy.

He cut the padlock, then pushed away the snow to get the door to swing outward. The smells of dust and hay hung in the air. The light from the doorway was enough to reveal the interior as they stepped inside.

They were staring at a damaged truck and camper.

Gabriel’s face turned to flint. He swung around. “Where are they, Elliot?”

Evie had to walk away from where the bones were being excavated. Officers standing at the perimeter watching the crime-scene team work had their badges covered with strips of black tape as a sign of respect for one of their own. Thankfully, the frozen earth was cooperating, as the Florists’ bodies had been buried deep, well below the frost line.

Gabriel was still doing the interview at the house. The DA had joined him, and the story had mostly come out now. She felt more than slightly sick and gratefully sipped the coffee someone had handed her. She’d push this one away-she would have to-but it would take some time. Gabriel wouldn’t be able to do so.

She strode over to the vehicles, considered knocking the snow off her boots to sit inside for a bit, but the wind was dying down and she was bundled up. Instead, she leaned against the vehicle and closed her eyes, breathed deeply and let the time pass.

Minutes later she saw Gabriel leaving the house, gave him time to talk with his deputies and the crime-scene supervisor before joining him. His face was etched with a grief beyond words. Evie understood it better than he realized. It was like another boulder had crashed down.

“I can’t do this with the smoothness you do, Gabriel.” She held out a sweet-tarts roll.

He looked at it, blinked, then managed a smile. “Thanks.” He thumbed out the first one, offered it to her. She took it. He slid the next two into his mouth. “I can get a deputy to drive you back to town or you’re welcome to take my truck. I can catch a ride with one of the guys. There will be a press statement to release, questions to answer, but that won’t be today. This is going to take some time.”

“I’ll leave here when you do. I asked my boss for a few days off.”

“I appreciate that.”

She reached over and squeezed his arm. “Tell me the details, just dump them and get them out of your head. You’ll drown in them otherwise. You’ve got to talk to someone, Gabriel. If not me, go talk to your father.”

His gaze met hers for a long moment. Then he gave a nod and said, “Let’s walk, Evie.”

He pushed his hands into his pockets as they moved down the driveway, didn’t speak for a long time, and when he did his voice sounded tired. “The accident happened at the end of the driveway. Scott was driving north, as we did, doing about forty miles an hour, the truck pulling the camper. It was dark that night, but road surfaces were good, there wasn’t much traffic, and he was driving safely for what this was. He hit a horse.”

Evie flinched. Even knowing that was coming, the image hurt.

“The impact shattered the horse’s ribs, the animal went under the truck rather than over it, crushed its legs. The truck stopped mostly on the road, the camper swung to the maximum movement of the hitch, came to rest against the back of the truck.” Gabriel rubbed his eyes. “The horse was alive, but dying, screaming in pain, trapped under the truck. Scott shot it to put the animal out of its misery. It’s pretty much chaos. Scott’s hurting from the impact of the crash, the airbags deploying. Susan’s nearly hysterical, and Joe’s throwing up. The accident scene, it was… bad.

“Elliot had been trying to corral his prized horse, which had jumped the gate after being spooked by a wolf. He was carrying his hunting rifle and a side arm, hoping to spot the wolf. He got to the foot of the drive just as Scott shot the horse. Elliot goes crazy, shoots Scott. Scott shoots back, but he’s dying. Susan runs to her fallen husband. Joe scrambles to get his father’s gun that had fallen on the roadside, tries to kill Fray. It’s not clear yet who killed Susan, whether a stray bullet from Elliot or Joe, but she was hit in the side. Joe died there beside his mom. Fray survived it mostly by luck-two bullets passed through his arm without hitting bone.

“It was a hellish accident that shifted to a multiple murder in less than thirty seconds. And I believe Elliot when he said it was the heat of the moment-the screams of his horse, the blood, the adrenaline, the gunfire-that he reacted to. He never thought until it was too late to think, and by then it was all over.

“It takes a sizable forklift to move a dead horse, but it wasn’t the first large animal to die on the property. Elliot had the equipment. He buried them and then buried the horse. Drove the truck and trailer into the first barn, padlocked it, and threw away the key. The horse’s bones-they’ll tell the story, as will the bullets in the bodies. The truck still has the impact damage, and there’s horsehair and traces of blood on the vehicle’s undercarriage. The tires have rotted, the food inside the camper has petrified, but it’s otherwise as it was that night it all happened. The crime-scene folks are going to excavate everything. We’ll have our answers confirmed.” His voice became rough. “It should never have happened, not that kind of accident, that collision of gunfire…”

She tightened her grip on his arm for a brief moment. “Another tragedy pulled from the ground. You’ve had too many of those, Gabriel.”

“This will go down as one of the saddest cases I’ve ever closed.”

“What about the employees?”

“They worked days, didn’t live on the property. Never knew a thing. It was a strong stallion and a beautiful animal, the man’s pride and joy. He told his employees the horse had gotten free of its paddock, broken its legs, that he’d been forced to put the animal down. Most of them used the back entrance to the property that comes in at the stables, rather than this road that runs around the house. Whatever was left at the crash site, Fray had resolved it enough that it wasn’t obvious to anyone there had been a collision like what took place there. A broken mailbox was about all that was left to see. He told us he handled the blood by dumping a load of feed, using his tractor’s scoop to shove it off the road as if a spill had happened during a turn into the farm. The birds would have cleared it away for him in a day or so. The underside of a rock with dried blood on it and the small debris left behind from the damaged vehicle are the only lingering pieces of evidence.”

“Elliot Fray wasn’t on our list of names,” Evie said. “He’s nowhere in the case file.”

“Your deer accident was one of your first hunches; the actual truth was so close it rhymed. You had mapped out who it was cops had interviewed along the routes, where there were gaps. The phone survey was targeted off that data, and it gave us the broken mailbox. If not that, we would have found this eventually-the right phone call, the right question. Someone would’ve remembered a horse died that week.”

She smiled at the pep talk Gabriel was giving her. “The owner would have said nothing unusual happened that week; he wouldn’t have confessed simply because he received a phone call. And the odds one of his former staff would remember a horse dying that particular week would be slim. This was an accident that turned into a crime scene, and someone had time to cover it up. If there’s a reason it was missed originally, blame the lack of traffic on this roadway late on a Thursday night when it happened. You got lucky with the mail carrier remembering the mailbox. I’m okay, Gabriel, with the new piece of information turning up mostly by luck. The case is solved. That’s the point of all this effort, however it comes.”

“Yeah, you take the win however it comes.”

“What’s going to happen to Elliot?”

“He’ll die from his pancreatic cancer long before the DA is able to bring formal charges and take the case to trial. His doctor confirmed it’s in the late stages. That’s the only reason he was willing to talk with us today. There’s no specific punishment he’ll face, and this way he doesn’t leave to his sons the discovery in that barn.”

“Not so much justice in this case either,” Evie said with a sigh.

“Not so much. Reality is what it is. The DA suggested we seal his interview, the forensic findings, rather than let them go public. The Florists’ relatives deserve what privacy we can give them, even if the funeral is going to be attended by hundreds of friends and neighbors and cops from everywhere.”

Evie smiled at the remark, knowing that was an understatement. People would come to pay their respects, to honor the fallen deputy and his family. “How else can I help, Gabriel?”

He squeezed her gloved hand. “You just did.”

“Have you spoken with your father?”

Gabriel nodded. “He’s coming out.”

“The Thanes will get through this together.”

Gabriel faintly smiled. “We always do.”

“When will you tell the Florist family?”

“Calls are already going out, asking people to come to town in the morning. They’ve previously asked me to tell them any news as a group, and a few have to travel some distance. The medical examiner will have dental confirmations for me by then. I’ll be able to make an official notification.”

“Good that they’ll be together. And that you’ll only have to do it once.”

“A small mercy I’ll gladly take.”

“Being sheriff is not an easy calling.”

“The hard days are brutal, and the good days are mostly quiet and occasionally boring,” Gabriel agreed.

Evie smiled. “You wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“There are days…” he began, then stopped and offered her a smile instead of completing the sentence. “I’m a good sheriff, I know it. And on days like this, no one else wants the job. I’m likely to keep getting elected until I stop putting my name on the ballot.”

“Its own form of job security,” she quipped to further lighten the moment.

“Something like that.” They turned to walk back. He offered another sweet-tart from the roll. “I’m glad you came, Evie.”

“So am I. It’s good to end together what we started… what seems like ages ago now.”

Evie took off her gloves and held her hands to the warm air pouring from the heater, grateful Gabriel was the one driving as they headed back toward town. She was pretty much freezing from her fingertips to her toes and looking forward to Marie’s offer of hot chocolate.

“Mind if I mention something?” Gabriel asked.

She glanced over. “Depends on what it is.” He didn’t look as grim now-the hours of routine work had helped. She was glad to see the change as he smiled.

“That task force you’re taking on? I hope you find more than an occasional missing person who’s still alive-like Shannon Bliss. Those cases that still can provide a happy ending. But all too many of the cases will be closed with a death. When you remember Carin County and the Florist family, Ashley Dayton, the Arnetts, when you think of the funerals, I hope you can keep this in mind, Evie-they may be sad moments, but families and friends are finally having the memorial service they and their loved ones deserve. It’s not such a bad outcome. The cases are now solved rather than left in those ‘unknown’ folders. Accept that as a win in its own right.”

“We made an effort to unearth the truth and eventually got answers.” Evie nodded. “I can live with that, Gabriel. Can you?”

“I’m working on it.”

“How’s your father doing with this?” Evie asked. She’d seen Caleb speaking with Gabriel at the excavation site in the hour before they left the scene.

“He’s in better shape than I am. We knew they were dead, Evie, have lived with that likelihood for years. But the how of it has been hard to absorb.”

“Sad doesn’t cover it.”

Gabriel nodded. “You unearth the truth, you deal with what comes into the light. Nothing says the truth isn’t going be painful, but at least it’s known now. Twelve years of wondering what happened finally gets laid to rest.” He glanced over. “That’s why you’re a detective, Evie. If you ever wonder if it’s worth it or not, it is. I now know what happened to my friends.”

She heard the strong emotion along with the sadness and finally understood what closure really meant when she saw it in Gabriel. Acceptance could come now. “The Thanes are going to get through this together,” she reminded him once more.

Gabriel smiled, reached over to squeeze her hand. “Yeah. That matters.”

She deliberately steered the conversation away from the events of the day. “I envy you for that, the family you have.”

“Nothing says you can’t have the same, Evie. You choose someone, you build a family together, you slide into his. The process isn’t hard, it simply takes time.”

“I’m sitting on a marriage proposal.”

“Are you now?” he asked, looking over at her with more than some interest.

“One of those kind where he’s not going to officially ask unless he’s sure I’m going to say yes, but it’s got a nice ring attached and a five-year plan.”

Gabriel chuckled. “Admit it, that five-year plan is a relief-a picture of the future painted by someone else, something you struggle so hard to see yourself.”

“The banker in him can’t resist painting in the future.”

“Do you like the picture?”

“Mostly. I’m not a detective, though, in his view of things.”

“Just a point of reference here, Evie? You’re like a good baseball pitcher-your career does have an end date. There will be a day you stop being a detective. There’s no reason why you can’t make that decision, the when that best fits with what you want in your personal life. It doesn’t always have to be work that wins. Acting in favor of your personal life is perfectly acceptable. Even smart. So there it is. What do you want, Evie?”

“I still don’t know.” Evie turned to give him a long look. “You know what you want. Your picture is so clear, you can lay it out with ease. I want to solve real-life puzzles, and along with that figure out how to have a personal life that I consider successful. But I don’t see what that looks like yet.”

“Then wait,” Gabriel said. “It hasn’t aged enough yet, the answer you’re looking for. Just put it away for now, Evie, and let it be. Focus on solving the next crime you’re handed, the next cold cases your new task force has to deal with. Play with your dogs, make more friends, and just live. You’ll be fine. Like stinky bait, you catch more interesting things if you just let it sit there.”

Evie laughed. “I’m not sure I shouldn’t be highly insulted, Gabe. We’re talking catfish here?”

He grinned, then turned serious again. “You’re after an interesting life. Why not just admit that to yourself? You’re ambitious for your personal life, you want a great relationship, like Ann and Paul have, and you haven’t figured out where to find it yet. So just let that soak for a while and see what happens. You like Rob?”

“I do.”

“Does he make you laugh?”

“On occasion.”

“Then consider his proposal, see if it grows on you. I always figured he would propose around Christmastime-seemed a logical move from what I’ve heard of him. Much like the fact you’re not sure you’re ready to answer him seems like you. There’s nothing at all wrong with that picture, which time isn’t going to resolve.”

“I can’t forget those three near misses-”

“When you say yes,” Gabriel said firmly, “I expect you’ll make it to ‘I do’ this time.” He glanced at her again. “We’re at the Fast Café for a late dinner, whoever in the family is free and available. You have time to stay another hour? Karen’s cooking isn’t to be missed.”

“I’ve got time,” Evie said.

Life was going on, and for now she’d be content with where the days led her. Gabriel was good for her in that respect. He was willing to be a friend, to tell her the truth as he saw it. And she did need time. Her professional life was about to take a significant turn. She could afford to give her personal life the space it still needed. She looked over at Gabriel. “I heard a joke last week.”

She waited to see if he was ready for something that light. He nodded. “Tell me.”

She told him her joke, careful on the timing, and got the full smile she was hoping for. She produced a second roll of sweet-tarts and dropped them into his dashboard change collection.

“Hey, you’re stealing my MO,” he quipped.

“You taught me well,” she said and grinned back. “A good friendship needs the give-and-take, and also something sweet.”

Gabe shot her another smile. “It does. All candy is accepted.”

He parked at the café. She let him come around and open her door, stepped out into the snowy evening.

She’d picked up another friend in the process of working toward the launch of the task force. It was a beginning. A good beginning for whatever came next in her life.