Page 21 of The Perfect Divorce

“Good morning, I’m Sheriff Hudson of Prince William County,” I start. People shush one another and a silence falls over them. “I’d like to start off with some news regarding former sheriff Ryan Stevens...” When I finish telling them what has occurred, several people in the crowd yell out inflammatory comments. They’re beyond cruel, and each one feels like a punch in the gut.

Good.

Let’s finish the job.

Stevens sucks at everything, even suicide.

He deserves to die.

They don’t see Ryan as a human being. They see him as a uniform, just like the rest of us that have sworn to protect and serve. But unlike Ryan, I’ve kept my oath. I swallow hard and continue with the statement, moving on to what they’re all really here for. They want to know what we’re doing to right this ship.

“As many of you are aware, new information regarding the Kelly Summers homicide investigation has come to light as a result of Ryan Stevens’s recent arrest.” The crowd begins to quiet again.

“I want to assure each and every one of you that no one is above the law, including the former sheriff. That is why he was promptly arrested for the DUI crash that took the life of forty-four-year-old Jackie Clarke. My department followed protocol by entering Ryan Stevens’s DNA into CODIS to see if there was a connection between him and a hit-and-run accident that occurred last summer, resulting in the death of Tim Redding. No link was found, but I speak on behalf of the entire Prince William County Sheriff’s Office when I say that we were just as shocked and devastated as all of you were to learn there was a connection between Ryan Stevens and the Kelly Summers case. I know how upset this community is. Believe me, I share your sentiment.” My mouth forms a hard line, and I pause to scan the assembled crowd.

“As sheriff, I swore to protect and serve this community and that is exactly what I will continue to do, as I have done since I took office a mere five months ago. This new information undeniably calls into question the validity and handling of the Summers homicide investigation. Like all of you, I want justice, and I want to be one hundred percent certain the person responsible for this murder pays for their crime... no matter who it is. As of this morning, I have ordered the investigation into Kelly Summers’s murder to be reopened.” Whispered conversations ensue after this announcement.

“It is now an open and active investigation, so I will not be taking any questions. Thank you.” I fold the piece of paper that I never even looked at once and slip it into my pocket.

The media erupts with questions, reporters screaming simultaneously. The crowd is in an uproar too, but their sentiment is now split. Some are cheering. Others are still spewing hateful remarks. At least I got a handful of them on our side. This is already going to be a tricky investigation given how long ago the murder took place, so having the public’s support is vital. I turn from the spectacle before me and begin to climb the steps to the sheriff’s office, taking each one nice and slow so I don’t appear like I’m running away from this.

At the top of the steps, Marcy holds the door open. “Great job, Sheriff.”

“Thanks,” I say, entering the lobby. “I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

She delivers a small smile as I part ways with her. Rounding the corner, I run smack-dab into my second-in-command here and first-in-command at home, Chief Deputy Pam Olson. She’s petite but tough as hell, which is why she’s not sent reeling backward when we collide. The pad of paper and folders she was carrying fall to the floor, and I quickly bend down to pick them up for her.

“Sorry, Marcus,” she says. “I mean, Sheriff Hudson.”

She calls me Marcus outside of work and Sheriff or just Hudson here, but sometimes she mixes them up, which I find endearing. We’ve been dating for over two years, long before I made sheriff. Even though I’m in charge now, I don’t play favorites—as much as I would like to with Pam because I wouldn’t be where I am without her.

I stand and hand the folders back to Olson. “What’s the rush?”

“I came to find you,” she says, restacking them.

“Is there another closed investigation coming back to bite me in the ass?” I say it teasingly, but I’m serious.

“Negative, but I just met with a woman named Deena Walsh. She came in to file a missing person’s report on her roommate, Stacy Howard. She hasn’t been seen or heard from in nearly three days.”

“Okay, so put out an APB on Ms. Howard and assign a deputy to it,” I say, starting to walk away because I’m not sure why she’s bringing this to my attention, considering the shit show we’re dealing with.

“Hudson,” she says firmly. “You’re gonna want to hear this.”

I sigh and turn to face her, noticing the seriousness in her eyes. “This better be good, Olson.”

“Deena said she received a text from Stacy on Monday night around five p.m., saying she wouldn’t be home when Deena got off work, which would have been just after ten p.m., because she was planning to meet up with a guy she’d been seeing.”

“Okay, and...?”

“The guy Stacy said she was going to meet is Bob Miller.”

FOURTEEN

BOB MILLER

Sitting in an interrogation room in the Prince William County Sheriff’s Office is something I expected, due to the reopening of the Kelly Summers investigation—but not this soon. I assume they’re dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s. I just didn’t think I’d be the first ithey dotted. There’ve been a couple updates since the last time I was in this room. The lights are a little brighter. The chairs are new, a bit more uncomfortable. Maybe that was the intention behind replacing them.

I received a call a couple hours ago from a Chief Deputy Olson, asking if I would come in for questioning. I said yes because saying no would make it appear as though I’m hiding something. I’d never advise my clients to accept—but I’m a lawyer, and I know what I’m doing. Hudson has a lot to prove to this community, at least that’s what I gathered from his statement to the media, and I’m sure they want to wrap up this reinvestigation swiftly so they can put it behind them once and for all. We’re on the same page there, and I’ll do what I can to helpme—not them.

---