“This could be how the shooter stayed out of sight,” Cat said as he turned onto the street. The dirt road was just up ahead. “That’s a creepy thought.”
“I already thought it, and I agree.”
He turned onto the dirt road and parked the car behind a few trees. From the angle, it would be difficult to be seen by anyone driving by.
They made their way down the road, but behind the tree line, until they were directly across from Josh and Rachel’s house. The couple appeared to be home, their cars parked in the driveway.
Tate stood behind the cluster of trees, imagining the shooter doing the same. How long had they stood there and waited? Had they been there before dawn? Did they worry about being seen when they left, or were they counting on the chaos afterwards to distract any witnesses?
His gaze ran over the small area, but he already knew there wouldn’t be any evidence to see. If any had existed, Finn’s team would have collected it that day.
“What are you thinking?” Cat asked, giving him a sideways glance. “You look very serious about something.”
“I’m thinking about the shooter and what they planned or didn’t plan that day. Were they emotional or stone cold? Had they planned it for a long time, or was it spur of a spur-of-the-moment decision?”
“I’m not sure those are questions we’re ever going to get answered unless the killer gets chatty after they’re arrested. This isn’t an episode of ‘Murder, She Wrote’ where the guilty party confesses all and explains every detail.”
True, but one thing was for sure. Tate could easily tell who was standing at the end of the driveway. It wasn’t that far, unless the shooter was near-sighted and wasn’t wearing their glasses or contacts that morning.
“They knew they were shooting at Tyler,” he said. “There’s no way they didn’t know.”
Cat stepped in front of him, her gaze scanning the street in front of them.
“Tyler might have had his back to the shooter. From that angle, he looks a lot like Josh. I’m not trying to argue with you, I’m just trying to play devil’s advocate here. If you’re going totalk to Finn, and it sounds like you want to, we’d better have our ducks in a row. Because he’ll ask the same questions and more.”
“I agree, and that’s why I’m glad you’re here challenging me. I could be way off, and just letting that little voice take over.”
Tate wasn’t even sure what had gotten into him today. He wouldn’t normally blow off an entire day at the bar to chase down a wild idea he’d picked up from looking through a friend’s phone. He could be way, way off base here and end up with egg all over his face.
Yet…he couldn’t make himself stop. He had to see this through, no matter how insane it sounded when he said it out loud.
“Sometimes, those little voices are damn annoying. But seriously, he could have been turned around. They may never have seen his face.”
“I have that same garbage can,” Tate replied. “Everyone in town does, too. When I put it at the end of the driveway in the morning, I lean it back on its wheels and pull it behind me. I’m facing the street. Otherwise, I would be walking backwards. I’m not saying that Tyler definitely did that because I didn’t see him, but I think it makes more sense that way.”
“I do, too,” Cat sighed. “Since being back in town, I’ve put the garbage out for Mom. That’s how I do it.”
“I suppose we could say that maybe the shooter hadn’t had enough caffeine or poor eyesight. Maybe they were so upset that they were just shooting at the first thing that moved, but I think that they saw Tyler’s face. They fired the gun, knowing it was Tyler.”
“Tell me if you can see my face clearly,” Cat said, pushing through the brush before Tate could stop her. “I’ll only be a second. They won’t see me. I doubt they’re looking out their front window.”
Cat darted across the road, standing at the end of the driveway where Tyler’s body was found next to the trash can. She turned and looked at the house, and then back at where Tate was standing, before scampering back across the street.
Altogether, it took only about a minute,
“Could you see me clearly? Would you recognize who I was?”
“Yes, I would, and don’t ever do something like that again,” Tate said, pressing a hand to where his heart currently raced in his chest. “What would you have done if they’d seen you?”
“I’d have just pretended that I was out getting my steps in or something like that. Enjoying the beauty of nature.”
“Miles from your own home?”
“I got tired of walking my own neighborhood,” she replied with a careless shrug. “Even if they thought it was strange, they wouldn’t question me about it. They’re too polite. And I don’t think they saw me. No one has come out of the house.”
That was true. There was nothing going on there. Perhaps Josh was resting, and Rachel was quietly working in her home office.
“The important point of all of this is that you knew it was me,” Cat pointed out. “The shooter had to know they had a gun pointed at Tyler, not Josh.”
