“You don’t have to stay, you know,” Blake said as he joined them. “Maybe it would be better if I talked to Sara one on one.”
Laura handed Blake a freshly brewed coffee, and Andy took in his sons and Tiffy, who were outside on the front porch. They all seemed to be in this waiting game now, but waiting for what? For the other shoe to drop, he thought.
“He’s on his way over,” Sara said. Andy took in her marked-up face.
“Who’s on their way over?” Blake said. He was watching her, maybe considering what to ask her.
“Devon,” she replied so matter of factly. “I asked him to come over. He said yes, and he’s on his way.”
“Well, that’s great…” Laura said, resting her hand on Andy’s arm and looking up at him. Her expression was pure amusement. “I guess with Devon coming over, you can have the sketch artist come out, Blake, and then both of you can sit down together. Then you’ll have a picture you can put out there and actually catch the guy who attacked my daughter.”
“What sketch artist? What are you talking about?” Sara rested her hands on the kitchen island.
“You know, I want to have a talk with you before Devon comes,” Andy said, “and Blake has a couple questions, too. Come on, let’s go sit down in the living room.” He stepped away from the counter and took in the frown that furrowed his daughter’s brow.
“What do you want to talk to me about? And you didn’t answer me about the sketch artist,” she said.
Maybe it was because his wife had pointed out that his daughter wasn’t all that forthcoming about things, and he’d never really considered that, but now he just wanted to make sure she was telling him everything. He loved his kids, but Sara was his baby girl.
“Just some things some friends of yours brought up when they were interviewed. The sketch artist is so we have a picture of the guy who attacked you,” Andy said as he maneuvered Sara into the living room and sat her down on the sofa. He sat on the sofa table right in front of her, and he didn’t have to turn around to know that Blake was there too. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”
She didn’t nod, and for a second he thought she looked worried. It was just something in her expression. “Okay, should I be worried about where this is going?” she said, not pulling her gaze from him.
Andy leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees, and reached for her hand, taking in the scrape. He wished he could turn back time and undo what had happened to her. “No, never be worried. You don’t have to worry with me. You know that. If you’ve done something, you know you could tell me, right? No matter what? It would never change how much we love you.”
She could just look at him, and he would do anything for her. She said nothing. Andy didn’t let go of her hand, feeling how tense she was. He glanced back to Blake, who he knew was waiting to talk to his daughter.
“So we have a couple things that we wanted to ask you,” Andy continued. “When Blake and his deputies were interviewing some of the kids on campus, trying to find out who the guy was who attacked you last night, a few of the kids tossed your name out in a way that could cause some problems.” He reached for her other hand and squeezed, as he could see the shock in her expression. He wasn’t handling this very well.
“Maybe it would be best if I talked to Sara and asked the questions,” Blake said.
Andy didn’t pull his eyes from his daughter, who appeared truly thrown. “No, Blake. I’m doing the talking here.”
“Dad, what are you talking about? You’re starting to freak me out a bit. What did they say?” Her voice squeaked, and he didn’t pull his hand away.
“Well, the deputies had to threaten to go to the dean to actually get people to talk. Eventually, a couple of the girls, friends of yours, said you were the one who brought in the pills.”
Sara’s eyes went wide with shock. He heard the screen door squeak, then footsteps, and then Gabriel, Jeremy, and Tiffy were there. Sara looked up, and he knew she was rocked by what she’d just heard.
“Which girls said that?” she snapped. “That makes absolutely no sense. I want their names. What did they say? They said I brought the pills? That’s absolute bullshit. I don’t do drugs, I’ve never done drugs, and I don’t sell drugs! Who said that? It’s a damn lie. I told you I had a couple shots of tequila, and yeah, I saw others crushing up pills, but I don’t do that kind of thing—and what does that have to do with me being attacked, anyways?”
Andy leaned back when Sara pulled her hands from his. His daughter looked so innocent and helpless, but she was so strong willed. It was deceiving when he looked at her.
“It has nothing to do with you being attacked,” Gabriel said. “But believe it or not, Blake made a lot of sense when he laid out the problem to us. None of us believe you would sell pills, take pills, or do anything your so-called friends are ready to throw you under the bus for, but please humor us.”
Andy took in Gabriel as he moved closer. He was strong and handsome, casually dressed. He wouldn’t let anyone mess with his sister, and Jeremy was shaking his head too in anger.
“Well, what exactly is the problem?” Sara said. “As I see it, you’re more interested in what happened at the party than the attack. It was a fucking college party…”
“Sara, seriously,” Laura interrupted. Andy could see how worked up she was getting.
“The problem is, Sara,” Blake said, “as I already explained to your parents, catching this guy isn’t going to be the biggest hurdle. We’ll charge him, but I’m looking at the big picture if he doesn’t plead out and it goes to trial. If his parents can afford a fancy lawyer, they’re going to be taking all these statements and twisting them to make it look like a different story.”
Sara was giving everything to Blake, and then she nodded. “I see. So what you’re saying is that this could very well end up with me looking like the slut, the guilty party, and he’s…what, some kid who was confused? How can you twist a guy trying to kill me, rape me, into something else?”
She was smart, brilliant. Andy didn’t give her enough credit.
“That’s why I’m asking you these hard questions, Sara,” Blake said, “because this kind of thing always comes down to who can tell the better story.”
Sara’s face paled, and she nodded and crossed her arms. “Okay, then I guess you’d better ask your questions. Is this going to be a formal questioning?”
“I can talk to you alone, if you’d like,” he said.
Sara pulled her gaze from the sheriff and took in all of them before landing on Andy. His chest tightened, because he didn’t want any of it to be true. If she asked him to leave, to talk to the sheriff alone, he didn’t know how he’d react.
“I’m not a saint,” she said, “but I’m not a bad kid. No, I don’t need to talk to you alone. My privacy, it seems, has been invaded, and if I’m hearing you correctly, everything is about to be aired publicly so everyone can dissect my character. I would be humiliated anyway, so talking in private is pointless. What is it you want to ask me?”
He could see she was pissed. Good! Pissed was good, because then she wouldn’t let others fuck her over.
“Did you bring the pills to the party?” Blake asked.
Jeremy swore, while Laura and Tiffy moved to sit beside Sara on the sofa. Both of them appeared furious.
“No, I did not,” she said.
“Do you know who did bring the pills?”
Sara bit her lip, and he had to really look, because that was something she did when she was avoiding telling something. She allowed her gaze to settle on Andy. “I don’t know who brought them, but I can tell you who I think arranged for them to be brought. Again, I don’t want to get someone else in trouble.”
“You kind of need to tell me,” Blake said, “because with how this is going, Sara, someone has already pointed the finger your way.”
“Anne Smith,” she replied, taking them all in. “Everyone knows that if you need something, any kind of drug, you ask
Anne. A few were grinding them up and snorting lines at the table. Do you want to know what they were taking? Pretty sure they were stolen pills, oxy, Vicodin. Those are all I remember, but there were more. Anything else?”
“You’re kidding, right?” Andy said. “Where would they get their hands on these pills?” He was out of his depth, and he wondered how much Sara had seen. This was not the kind of thing he wanted any of his kids around.
“Stolen,” she replied, “most often from their parents’ medicine cabinets. Anne knows people, though, and she can always get her hands on anything for anyone. But I guess I would like to know who tossed my name out there.”
Even Andy wanted to know that. He rested his hands on his knees and glanced over to Blake.
“Well, not Anne,” Blake said. “She’s one we haven’t talked to. Are you friends with Carmen Luxe and Sue Tanner? You should know they said you were making the rounds with a few of the guys, leading them on and then disappearing into dorm rooms. This is something the defense would run away with, if you understand where this is going?”
Sara’s face lost all color, and she gripped the arm of the sofa. Andy didn’t know what to say as he waited for her to compose herself enough to answer through the embarrassment and shock.
“They said that?” Her voice squeaked. “It’s not true, not in that way.”
Andy could feel his chest tighten.
“Yeah, I know Carmen and Sue,” Sara finally said. “Wouldn’t say they’re close friends, but they were hanging with us all night on the sofa, drinking, partying, and snorting the pills. I didn’t take a bunch of different guys into dorm rooms, but I may have been making out with one.”
Andy wasn’t sure if he should be relieved.
“Well, it would be helpful to get his name,” Blake said. “Do you have any idea why Carmen and Sue would make up that story?”
Fury filled Sara’s expression. “I didn’t think she blamed me,” she started, then ran her hands over her legs and lifted her gaze to Blake. “Her boyfriend made a move on me a few months back. I told him no, and I told her what he’d done. She didn’t believe me at first, and she actually accused me of going after him, which isn’t true. He soon dumped her, and I thought we were good. Apparently not.”
Andy heard a car, then a door slamming. Laura and Tiffy looked out the window.
“So is that everything you need?” Sara said. “Have I been humiliated enough? Let me ask you this: Are these the kind of questions I would be asked in a court room if you catch this guy and it goes to trial?”
“It would be way worse, Sara,” Blake said. “The questions I asked were nothing, and I used kid gloves. In a courtroom, it becomes ugly, and everything you say or that someone says about you will be twisted around and used against you. That’s why I asked, you know, so that I can make sure it doesn’t come to that. Okay?”
“Devon’s here,” Tiffy said.
The screen door squeaked, and Andy watched as his daughter stood up and stopped in front of Blake. He reached over and touched her hand, and she dragged her gaze over to him.
“It’s okay, Dad,” she said.
“It will be,” he replied. “I’ll make sure of it.” Then he pulled in a breath and squeezed his daughter one more time before letting go of her hand. “Now go talk to Devon.”
Chapter 10
So this was what a Saturday drive in the country felt like. At the same time, he could hear Anton asking what the hell he was thinking. He took in the ranch, the sizeable land, the large barn, and all the vehicles, including one cop car, parked out front of a house that he and his brother’s two-bedroom apartment would get lost in. What was he walking into? He’d thought this was a simple invite, whatever the hell that meant.
“Hello. You must be Devon?”
He paused on the bottom step as the screen door opened, and out stepped a woman, slender, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, with a wide smile. She looked familiar, but he couldn’t place her, so he said nothing.
“Uh, yeah.” His hands were in his hoodie pocket, and he yanked them out when she held out her hand. He climbed the two steps and shook it. He towered over her, but then, he was tall, solidly built. Her smile was lovely.
“I’m Sara’s sister-in-law, and before everyone gets a chance with you, I just wanted to say thank you for what you did. You’re a real hero.” She had a soft touch, and he flashed her a smile. Right, a hero. He had to fight the urge to roll his shoulders. This was crazy. The last thing he was or could be was a hero.
“Hey, come on in,” she said. “Not everyone is here, but some of the family is, and Sara will be so excited to see you.”
He followed her into the house and looked up at the high ceilings, hearing voices from the living room. He took in the fireplace, the furnishings, seeing comfort and people with means. Two men not much older than him were lingering in the archway.
“Devon’s here,” Sara’s sister-in-law said.
He could see the sheriff from last night, now dressed in a uniform, and the girl’s father. What was his name? He couldn’t remember. He felt everyone’s eyes on him.
“Oh, hi, Devon. I’m Laura, Sara’s mom. We met last night, kind of chaotic. We never really got a chance to talk. Thank you for what you did to help Sara.”
Yes, Laura was definitely where Sara had gotten her looks. She was tiny, attractive, with unique green eyes. He shook her hand but couldn’t get his tongue to move as he took in Sara’s father, who towered over her. He was solidly built, and he rested his hands on his wife’s shoulders.
Then Sara was there, walking around her parents. He didn’t miss the way her father watched over her. It was just something. He could see he was the type who looked after his family.
“Devon, thanks for coming out, and sorry about this,” Sara said. “This is my family—well, not all of them. My two brothers, Gabriel and Jeremy. You met Tiffy, and you remember my dad, Andy, and Blake, the sheriff.” Sara gestured to everyone, and her brothers held out their hands, both of which he shook. One was shorter than the other, but both were tall and solidly built. The sheriff said nothing, simply nodded.
Devon took in Sara, who was dressed in a tracksuit. Her blond hair hung in soft waves down her back, and her face was bruised and marked. On her neck, he could see the imprint of fingers, seeing what that guy had been trying to do. It took him a second, and he breathed when the full impact hit. He knew the bruising was always worse the second day.
“Yeah…” Sara started, then lifted her green eyes. It was a shade he’d never seen before, just like her mother’s. She was striking, beautiful. The way she gestured around the room, he could see she was nervous. She crossed her arms over her waist.
“I’m sure everyone’s said this, but thanks for being there,” Jeremy said, “for hearing our sister and stepping in and saving her. Seriously, it’s a very big deal. Thinking of what could have happened...”
Everyone grew quiet, and Andy cleared his throat and rested one hand over his daughter’s shoulder and his other around his wife. Yeah, it was kind of uncomfortable.
“You look familiar, but I’m not sure from where,” Jeremy said. “College? Maybe we went to school together?”
He didn’t know what to say. “Don’t think so, but it could have been from somewhere.” He knew he was being vague, considering he was pretty good at placing people, faces. He hoped Jeremy didn’t know someone he’d done business with. He seemed to be thinking, and Devon could feel the sweat beading up his spine.
“So do you live on campus in the dorms?” Gabriel asked. “You taking classes there?”
He could feel the sheriff waiting and watching him. That was the question he hadn’t answered the night before.
“I don’t live on campus, but I used to be a student,” he replied. He’d had to drop out, but that would soon be rectified. It was all about the cash.
“Oh, what did you take?” Andy asked.
Sara hadn’t said a word. Here it was, the inquisition.
He hoped so, anyway, but Anton had pointed out that he needed to find other ways to make money instead of tossing it away on courses that weren’t going to get him anywhere.
“Great courses,” Andy said. “You must love dealing with people.”
Devon had no idea. People were complicated. He just had a need to understand how everyone ticked, and he saw himself in a company someday, running things.
“So what are you doing now to earn money?” Andy said, not pulling his gaze from him. What was he supposed to say? He had to fight the urge to shuffle his stance. He’d learned long ago to take the heat.
“I work at a warehouse and do odd jobs around town, whatever I can pick up.”
He wasn’t sure what the exchange was between the sheriff and Andy, but the last thing he wanted to talk about was the odd jobs he did, considering that was the bulk of his cash, his brother’s cash.
“What warehouse are you working at? What do you do there?” Andy said, not letting up.
“Gulligan’s, just part time, moving boxes, getting shipments ready. It’s the grunt work no one wants to do. I sort through the shipments, make sure everything goes to the right party.”
“How about stopping with the interrogation?” Sara said. “Devon didn’t come out here for this. Sorry, Devon. Welcome to my life. How about we take a walk?”
It seemed Sara had a sense of humor. He could feel everyone watching him, and for a second, he wondered if it would be okay.
“Sure…” was all he could get out. This was so weird.
Sara strode past him and out the door, and he took in the porch, seeing all the land, a corral, a few horses. He could hear cattle in the distance. He’d never been on a ranch before. He shoved his hands in his gray hoodie pocket and followed Sara down the steps, then noticed her hesitation when she looked back at the house. She didn’t look his way, but he wondered if maybe she was suddenly nervous to be with him.
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