Page 13 of The First Hunt

“Of course not. If I refused to go, it might look suspicious. There’s nothing to be afraid of, John. I’ll never get caught.” He smiled. “If they askyouany questions, however, I need you to keep quiet. That is your right. So, say nothing. And I meannothing.Don’t let them trick you, because they’ll try. Cops cannot be trusted. Understood?”

John nodded. He’d read about fifth amendment rights and knew what he meant. “Understood.”

Chapter 7

JOHN

“You seem tall for your age. You play any sports?”

John looked up from his book at the detective, who looked very different than the one who’d approached them in the forest. His young-looking face didn’t match the white hair, reminding John of Steve Martin, but without the humor. He’d been sitting across from John in the small, windowless room for the last hour. His father had been taken to an interview room to speak with Detective Peretti, the man who’d found them at the lake, and another detective.

John shook his head.

“That’s a shame,” the detective said. He’d introduced himself as Detective Harris but told John he could call him Andy. “So, where’s your mom?”

“She died,” John answered, guessing the detective already knew.

“I’m sorry to hear that. How did she die?”

John thought of that night, three years ago. His mother’s crumpled body on their concrete patio, her head lying in a small puddle of her own blood, was a sight he could never unsee. ButJohn didn’t gratify the man with an answer. The older detective was probably looking for a way to blame his mother’s death on his dad. Instead, John lifted his faded, paperback copy ofThe Call of the Wildhigher to cover his face. His leg jiggled against his chair.

“Whatcha reading, son?”

“The Call of the Wild,” John said without looking up, even though it was clearly printed on the cover. “By Jack London.”

“Huh. Your teacher making you read that?”

“No.”

The detective shifted in his seat, causing his chair to creak. “I had to readWhite Fangin fourth grade. I don’t remember it that well, but I know I wouldn’t have read it on my own.”

“You should’ve readThe Call of the Wild.” John turned the page. “It’s much better.”

The man chuckled. John lowered the book in time to see the detective’s belly shake.

“I didn’t know ten-year-olds were such literary critics.”

John furrowed his brows at the detective before returning his attention to the book.This guy couldn’t get anything out of me if he tried.

His stomach growled. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast. What was taking his dad so long? There was no clock in this room, but it had to be at least early afternoon.

“You and your dad take a lot of walks in the woods?”

John thought of the sandwiches his dad had packed for them to eat at the lake that were still in the backseat of the car.

“You ever been down to the Green River, son?”

John’s gaze shot up from his book. Ever since Sally’s body was discovered, John had been stopping at the library most days after school, reading everything he could on the Green River Killer in the hope of understanding his father—and the laws about murder. Since John was under twelve, the detectiveshouldn’t be questioning him without his father’s consent. But if the police believed John had witnessed his father’s crimes, that changed everything. But John knew enough to know he didn’t have to answer. He’d memorized everything he could about the fifth and sixth amendments, and his teacher always said he had a memory like a steel trap.

John’s stomach twisted, but this time it wasn’t from hunger. Did they think his dad was the Green River Killer? Were they so desperate to make an arrest they’d lock his father up?

John set down his novel. He was about to say no, he’d never been to the Green River, when the door to the small room flew open. Detective Peretti, the Rocky lookalike who’d found them at the lake, stood in the doorway. John peered around him, looking for his father. But the hallway was empty.

Peretti turned to the older detective. “I’ll take it from here, Andy.”

“Actually, I was just asking the kid—”

“IsaidI’ll take over now.”

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