Chapter Twenty-Seven
Maxwell
After Deputy Juan’s call, Royce looked like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. He told me they’d found Liam James’s burned-out car but nothing more. Then he got dressed and kissed me goodbye, and it was once more just me and Grumpy.
I couldn’t begin to sleep once he was gone. Every single creak of the house felt ominous. There was a bloodthirsty lunatic loose in Rainy Dale, and I was petrified. First, Kyle had been murdered, then Lincoln, and now Liam James? Was it something in the water? Even I had to admit there was a terrifying number of murders being committed in Rainy Dale recently.
I made a pot of coffee and watched the sunrise paint the kitchen pink and orange. I was meeting Girdy at the new clinic today. She was going to help me set up my bedroom and the bonus room. I was excited to transform that house from a stranger’s to my own. It would probably take a while for it to reallyfeellike mine, but I was looking forward to it.
As long as Royce came too.
We still hadn’t hadthatdiscussion. He’d been working his tail off trying to figure out who had killed Lincoln and Kyle. Now he had to jump into another investigation? How was he supposed to shoulder the responsibility of three murder cases while also dealing with a recall election?
Feeling anxious, I ate some granola and yogurt. I forced myself to shower, even though I was nervous to take a shower when I was alone in the house. But I was a grown man, and I couldn’t go around stinking because I’d seen thePsychoshower scene one too many times.
What bothered me most about the murders, other than the fact that they were happening at all, was that there seemed to be no rhyme or reason. Kyle couldn’t have been more different from Lincoln. I doubted they’d even known each other. Liam James had known both of them though. Washethe common denominator? Was the motive purely emotional? Maybe the killer picked his victims based off whether or not he liked how they looked?
I decided to bring Grumpy with me to the clinic. I was curious how he’d like the house and the yard. When I arrived, Girdy was already there. She was busy organizing files on the shelves behind her desk.
“Hey, boss.” She smiled at me over her shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here. I was nervous being alone.”
“Were you?” I set Grumpy down, and he promptly began sniffing every inch of the room.
“Yep.” She brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “I’m on pins and needles after hearing about Liam James.”
I stiffened. “How in the world did you already hear about that?”
She looked sheepish. “Oh, I have my sources.”
“Come on, spill it, Girdy.”
She sighed. “Todd is friends with one of the guys who found the car. They used to go off-roading together all the time when they were in high school.”
“And he called Todd and immediately told him everything?” I frowned.
She laughed. “No. Carl, that’s Todd’s pal, he was in Common Grounds Coffee this morning at the same time. He’d just left the police station after giving his statement.”
“I see.”
She lowered her voice. “Apparently, the car was a burned-out hulk.”
I shivered. “Good Lord.”
“Yep.” She sighed. “Todd didn’t want to give me the grisly details, but I wormed it out of him. There was a body inside the car, and it was like a piece of charcoal.”
“Oh, dear.” The yogurt and granola gurgled in my stomach.
“I guess it was pretty gruesome. One of the deputies puked on a yucca plant.”
“God. Poor Royce.”
“His job surely does suck when it comes to stuff like murder.”
“So then, they think it was… murder?” I felt guilty gossiping like this, but the truth was Royce couldn’t tell me details, and Girdy was a gold mine of information.
“What else could it be?” She quirked a brow. “If it’s Liam James inside that car, I highly doubt it was suicide.”
“Good point.” I noticed Grumpy was heading toward the french doors, and I followed. I let the dog out into the yard, and he scampered across the grass, chasing a few birds. The sun felt nice on my back as I trailed behind Grumpy, smiling at his antics.
