Page 20 of Engaging the Deputy

He started to shake his head but quickly stopped himself. His eyes closed for a moment. When he opened them, he was staring at her again. “I’m sorry. I thought Jaden would have… I can’t rememberanything. When I woke up, I didn’t even remember you were in town, let alone that I’d apparently seen you at the bar. You’re back in town?”

He sounded so surprised at that, but not half as surprised as she was to hear that he didn’t remember anything from Starling. “Wait. You don’t remember Starling, the tornado…?”

“Nothing. What were we doing out there? Were we together?”

She sat on the edge of the chair next to his bed. That was when she noticed the deputy standing in the doorway, watching them. “What did Jaden tell you?”

“Not much. He said he’d prefer that I remember on my own. But I heard there was a tornado that hit Starling and you were there with me?”

Olivia fought to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. “It was just a bunch of old friends doing something foolish.” She explained how Emery had come up with the idea at the bar the night before Halloween.

“We couldn’t have known there would be a tornado,” he said, frowning. “How was it that we survived?”

Before she could answer, the deputy stepped into the room. “That’s enough for now,” Jaden said. “I know you have a lot of questions. The doctor said you need to rest. Once the swelling goes down in your brain, you’ll probably remember at least some of it.”

Cody looked at Olivia. “Thanks for coming to see me.”

She smiled and rose. “Just get well.”

On the way down the hall toward the exit, Jaden stopped her.

“I couldn’t let you tell him. I want him to remember on his own,” the deputy said.

She couldn’t hide her frustration. “I need him to remember so that I’m no longer a suspect.” His expression didn’t change. “You being angry with me isn’t giving me confidence that I’m innocent until proven guilty. The way you’re looking at me right now feels as if it’s more about our broken engagement than what happened to Cody.”

“How am I looking at you?”

“Like you want to see me behind bars,” she snapped.

“Sorry, that’s not my intention. I’m only trying to get to the truth.”

“I’ve told you the truth.” She shook her head, seeing that he still didn’t believe her. “None of this has anything to do with me.”

“Right. You were just an innocent bystander who just happened to be down in the root cellar alone with Cody. You wouldn’t have hurt him,” he said, studying her closely. “But aren’t you at least curious to know who tried to kill your boyfriend?”

“He isn’t my boyfriend,” she declared. “We’re just old friends.”

“‘The old gang.’ Isn’t that what you used to call them? I think you know more about them and what happened out there than you’re telling me. They’re still your friends.”

Olivia wondered about that. Friends didn’t kill each other. What was he asking? “They’ve had years together while I was gone. I hardly know them anymore.”

“Right. You’ve been gone so long that none of this probably matters to you.”

“That’s not true.” She had to look away. She knew what he was doing. “What is it you want from me?”

He looked down at his boots for a moment. “You know these people. They trust you. You’re one of them.” His gaze rose to meet hers and held it. “Someone’s lying. If you hear something…”

“You want my help?” She hadn’t meant to sound so shocked. With a sigh, she said, “I’m really not sure anyone will be telling me anything, but you have to know that I’ll help any way I can.” She started to turn away, but stopped. “What did you find out about the bones we discovered in the root cellar?”

“They’re checking dental records and DNA, but the coroner said the remains are those of a young girl of about sixteen.”

“Is it Evangeline?”

He shrugged. “We’ll see.”

Olivia couldn’t believe that he could doubt it. “Whose house was that root cellar in?” she asked, keeping him from walking away just yet.

Jaden hesitated. “My family’s.”

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