Page 18 of Dark Shadows
The sheriff hadn't believed her about the dead body she’d seen in that barn decades ago; the guy with him had only been in training back then. He looked a little more weathered now, but she clearly remembered him mocking her to the locals around town.
Mason brushed his foot against hers beneath the table, a comforting reminder that she wasn't alone in facing these men.
“Mind if we ask you a few questions about your case?” Sheriff Caldwell asked, his gaze flicking between Mason and Savanah.
“Of course,” Mason replied, leaning back in his seat. “What would you like to know?”
“How exactly did you find the body?” Officer Daniels asked, his voice flat.
He planted his feet like he expected a lie and gave them both a long, slow look that didn’t hide his doubt.
“Our psychic tip line,” he answered confidently, trying to hide the twitch in his lip, watching as the men's expressions shifted from suspicion to agitation.
“A psychic?” Sheriff Caldwell echoed, his voice dripping with disdain. “You expect us to believe that?”
“Believe it or not, it's up to you. We were looking for a pedophile, and we found him dead, hanging in the gray barn in the woods on federal land on the outskirts of town. I'd say she nailed the location, wouldn't you?” Mason replied.
Savanah hadn’t led them to this body.
Hell, she hadn’t had plans to ever come back to town.
Why was he implying that it was her?
Regardless, it didn’t matter. Mason was right. She was starting to feel vindicated. Had these guys done their job back then, they might not even need to be here.
Mason’s gaze stood steady, his posture relaxed as if neither these guys nor anything in this town threatened him. She wasn’t alone in this. It wasn’t just her fight anymore.
A heavy weight had lifted off her chest.
“Are you saying this girl is your psychic?” Sheriff Caldwell gestured dismissively toward Savanah.
“Did you know when Savanah was younger that she lied about another murder?” Officer Daniels asked.
His incredulous gaze made her feel small, like an unwanted intruder.
“I never said Savanah was the psychic,” Mason said, his tone calm, but the set of his jaw said he was done playing nice.
“And I didn't lie. You guys just did a crappy job of searching,” Savanah added.
“Savanah is right, you know. We found more than one body in that gray barn; we found two. The forensics team is already running dental and bone structure comparisons. Early results show the buried victim’s approximate time of death matches the window from when Savanah originally reported the crime.” Mason met the sheriff’s gaze. “So, unless our killer has a time machine, I’d say she nailed it. Perhaps you could explain how it was that your department couldn't find a dead body back then.”
The sheriff gawked and snapped his mouth closed.
Officer Daniels’ hand rested on his gun belt.
“Don’t worry, gentlemen. We're here to help get all this sorted out. We're just grateful that Savanah agreed to come back and help with our case, considering your department can’t even find the police report. Why is that?”
Mason hadn’t told her that he’d already looked for the police report. Was that why he’d really needed her help?
“There wasn’t an actual case.”
“We’ll be requesting a full audit of your records. If the file was destroyed or misfiled, it’ll show up in the chain logs. You might want to prepare your admin about the extra work.”
Mason let that hang. The implied accusation was enough.
“There wasn’t even a body. No signs of foul play. Nothing to investigate. Just a girl looking for attention.” Sheriff Caldwell’s voice came low and rough, laced with accusation.
“I guess you were wrong.” Mason leaned back casually, resting his arm across on the back of the booth as if daring them to challenge him further. “I don’t care if your department works with psychics. The FBI does. The Director of the FBI and I have teamed up with one who has a better close rate than yourdepartment. She sent me here. We aren’t as close-minded as some folks around here. If you ask me, it’s better to explore every lead to catch a killer, no matter how unconventional. Wouldn’t you agree?”
