What I didn’t expect was Sully.
The bell rings signaling another customer. I pause my inventory on a shipment of new reels and glance up. “Afternoon,” I greet one of the county deputies. “Can I help you?”
“Declan Cain?” he asks without returning my greeting. When he doesn’t look around and doesn’t answer my question, my hackles start to rise.
“That’s me. What can I do for you?” I try to keep my voice steady, but I can’t say the same for my heartbeat. Something feels off.
“We’re going to need to talk to you for a minute, sir. Do you mind coming over to the courthouse with us?” Over his shoulder I can see a police car with another deputy leaning against the hood.
“What is this about?” I ask as I wipe my hands on a cloth.
“There’s been a murder near your property, and we have a few questions considering the location and your history.”
I heave a sigh. I knew something like this was going to happen. I just wish it didn’t have to happen now that I’ve met Sullivan. Now that I’ve convinced myself it may just be okay to have her. To keep her. The secrets I keep were bound to get out sooner or later, I just wish it was later.
“Let me tell my guy that I’ll be out, okay?”
“Five minutes.”
I scrub a hand over my beard. This is going to dredge up so many things I’d hoped to keep buried. Things I am not ready to deal with or talk about. Things I don’t want Sullivan to know. At least not yet.
There’s no need to go searching for Red. I find him standing in the hallway with a menacing look on his face. He’s worked with me since my Dad died and has been a friend of the family for as long as I can remember.
“What the hell do they want?” he asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
“They just have a couple of questions. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I need to go with them for a while. Can you watch over the shop until I get back?”
“You don’t even have to ask. I’ll see you when I see you.”
“I’ll let you know if I’m going to be so late that you’ll need to close up.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be here if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Red.”
Red claps a hand on my back and I turn to go with the deputies.
* * *
The sheriff’s office is already a circus which is my first clue that shit has hit the proverbial fan. I spot Sullivan huddled in the corner with Suzanna Thomas and that’s the second clue. Then, I come to a realization that has me staggering. Suzanna must be the grandmother who Sullivan spoke about, which is just my fucking luck.
The deputies lead me into the station. Sullivan hears the door slam behind us and looks up at me. Shame washes over me like a bucket of cold water and I avert my eyes.
They lead me to a conference room and settle around me, their voices low as they whisper to each other. When they’re all seated at the table, the Chief of Police T.J. Rickman, a man I’d known my whole life, sits in front of me, his elbows braced on his knees.
“Hey, Dec, I’m sorry to pull you out of work like this.”
I drag a hand through my hair. “No, T.J., I understand. I want to help in any way I can.”
“We appreciate that, and we’ll get through this as fast as we can.”
“They didn’t tell me exactly what happened.”
T.J. sighs and his gaze drops to the floor. “Your girl, Sullivan? She came across a body in the woods behind your place. Looked like it had been mauled or something.”
Furious and sick to my stomach that she’d been there, alone, I rock back in my chair. “I’ve been at the shop since six this morning. We had a couple of early trips planned.”
T.J. nods. “And last night?”
