Page 41 of Engaging the Deputy

“Have you seen enough?”

She glanced around and nodded. If Cody did come out here, she couldn’t imagine that he would find any more answers than she had. “I’m done.”

* * *

Jaden followed Livieback to her turnoff to home. They’d stopped earlier when they’d reached their vehicles but kept their distance. He knew it wouldn’t take a lot for him to cross the line with her during this investigation. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her, how much he wanted her, that no matter what happened, he would always want her.

The kiss had sealed it. He felt even more determined to solve this case so he and Livie could see what happened next. He believed her about Cody Ryan. But he wondered if Cody had accepted that she’d moved on.

It all came back to Rob Perkins, he realized as he forced himself to concentrate on the case. Whatever Perkins had been up to, Jaden couldn’t believe that his friends hadn’t known, might even have been involved. He called the hospital, only to find out that Dean Marsh had been released.

He’d only just disconnected when he got a call from the Fortune Creek dispatcher. Dean Marsh had been trying to reach him. “He sounded upset and said he needed to talk to you right away.”

On the outskirts of town, Jaden decided to swing by Dean’s house, hoping to catch him at home. He doubted Dean would have returned to his job in construction yet, especially with a broken arm. He hit pay dirt when he saw Dean’s car in the driveway. The vehicle had taken a beating during the tornado but apparently still ran after being brought into town when the state boys had finished with it.

Dean must have heard him coming up the steps, because he opened the door before the deputy could knock. “Thanks for coming by.” He motioned Jaden inside. “I don’t know if this is important,” he said once they were seated in the living room, “but I overheard my wife on the phone planning to meet someone after Halloween. She didn’t leave me because of what me and Jenny had going on. Apparently, she’d been planning this for some time.”

Jaden had to admit he’d been surprised at how quickly Angie had bailed on the marriage—even before they’d known what had happened to her husband. “You have any idea who she was meeting?”

“No, but I got a call asking if I had made a reservation for a hotel in Spokane, Washington. I hadn’t. The reservation had been madetwo weeks ago. Apparently, Angie hadn’t checked in when she was supposed to—the night after Halloween—and she hadn’t called to cancel, so they were going to have to charge me for the first night as per their policy. It was for a room with a king-size bed. Angie had told them there would be two people.”

“Have you heard from your wife, Dean?” Jaden asked.

He shook his head. “I don’t blame her for running off with someone, but I’m worried about her. Why hadn’t she checked in? What if something has happened to her?”

“You should consult a lawyer,” the deputy advised. “You might want to cancel your credit cards. That way, you’ll probably be hearing from her. Let me know when you do.”

“Can’t you put out a BOLO on her car? Something. I just need to know she’s all right.”

Jaden hesitated. “I can do that. One more thing. Some of Rob’s friends seem to think he might have been involved with the wrong people. Would you know anything about that?”

“Wrong people?”

“Drug dealers,” Jaden said.

Dean blinked. “Rob? Seriously?” He sounded genuinely surprised.

“I can’t seem to find anywhere he was employed for the past few years,” Jaden said.

“He was working with Angie.”

“Doing what?”

“She has a craft business she’s been running out of an old barn in the country. Buys furniture and redoes it. Rob was helping her.”

“Was it profitable?” Jaden asked.

“Seemed to be, but she wasn’t paying enough taxes, you know?”

The deputy thought he did. “Where is this barn?”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“You’re acting strange. Is it because I asked you to help me with the jelly?”

Olivia looked at her mother sitting across from her at the table. Each year, Sharon Brooks picked the crab apples from the huge trees in the backyard and froze the juice to make jelly once the weather got colder.

“I already told you that I’d be happy to help with the jelly.”

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