I sat, toying with the lid of my cup. “Yeah. Have you talked to Marisa and Isaac?”
Three. That was all that was left. How was that possible? So many lives cut short.
“I got in touch with Marisa but haven’t been able to find Isaac yet. I think he’s out of town on a job.”
Guilt pricked at me. I didn’t even know what Isaac was doing these days. I rarely saw him around town, and if I did, he passed me with a polite hello that someone would give a stranger. Not like we’d once been the closest of friends. Not as if we’d mourned the loss of someone we loved together.
My stomach cramped. “I hope he’s okay.”
“At this point, I think out of town is a good thing.”
I picked at my cup’s lid. “You’re pretty sure, aren’t you?”
Hayes’ dark blue eyes hardened a fraction. “That there’s something off about these deaths?”
I nodded.
“Came in this morning to Lisbeth’s tox screen on my computer. It was positive for high levels of opiates in her system. The same kind that was in Scott’s system at the time of his death. It’ll take a few days to get the results on Mitch.”
My fingers curled around the arm of the chair, gripping it tightly. “Lisbeth didn’t do drugs.”
Hayes was quiet for a moment. “We don’t always know what people get up to in the private moments of their lives.”
“Hayes, she wouldn’t. Not after what we went through. She wouldn’t get behind the wheel of a car while high.”
“Scott had a drug problem. It was documented. I brought him in at least a dozen times.”
My back teeth ground together. “Did you ever once arrest him for driving under the influence?”
“No. He was never arrested for that.”
“Because we all went through hell because someone drove high. None of us, not one, would do that.”
Hayes held up both hands as if trying to calm a wild animal. “You don’t have to convince me that something seems off here. I agree. I’m looking into it with the force of the whole department behind me. But this could also be something else entirely. I want you to be prepared for that.”
“I just want you to find the truth.”
His eyes locked with mine. “I promise you, Laiken, I won’t stop until we know for sure what happened.”
But the truth wasn’t always such a simple thing to find. The world wasn’t black and white. It was shades of gray that twirled and twisted. Sometimes, the truth hid beneath all those knots. And sometimes, it was impossible to see it at all.
16
Boden
Bangingon my door had Peaches barking like mad, even though she didn’t move from her bed. I sent her a wan look. “Some guard dog you are.”
I crossed to the door, pulling it open. I hadn’t said a word before Ramsey barged into my space. “I gave you one rule. No guests. I don’t let people onto my property. I made an exception for Gaines because he’s my brother in every way that counts. You betrayed that trust, and now you can get the hell out.”
My jaw went slack. It was the most words I’d ever heard Ramsey say. And I could feel the rage flowing off him in hot waves. “I’m sorry. You’re right. It was a breach. I should’ve called you.” Not that I had his number.
“I don’t want you to call me. I want you to respect the rules I laid out, not bring your conquests back to my property.”
“Her friend died.”
Ramsey stilled. “What?”
“Laiken. She’s had two friends die in the last week. The sheriff is wondering if foul play is involved. They were all part of an accident in their senior year of high school. Now, they all seem to be dying, one by one.”