Page 6 of Silencing Stolen Whispers
While Alex took notes, Kinsley's gaze drifted back across the room to where Shane stood with his partner, Detective Sam Haugen. Both men were speaking in low tones with Captain Thompson, and all three wore expressions that suggested their discussion was serious.
Thompson's weathered face seemed almost carved in stone, Sam’s arms were crossed in frustration, and Shane...well, Shane had that stern expression he wore when he was compartmentalizing. His jaw muscle even twitched slightly beneath his tanned skin.
Her stomach tightened.
Almost two years since their breakup, and the sight of him still affected her. She had come up with some lame excuse that their relationship was moving too fast.
Not the truth, of course.
The truth was that every time Shane stared at her, she was deathly afraid that he would discover her secret. What would he have done had she told him the truth?If one night, tangled in his sheets, her defenses worn thin by his tenderness, she had whispered, "I killed a man to protect my niece"?
Would he have understood?
Or would he have placed her in handcuffs and turned her over to their captain?
“The minute we start deciding who deserves to live or die based on our personal judgment, we're no better than them.”Kinsley recalled Shane’s words during a random conversation, and she didn’t need to second-guess his response to her actions. It had been better to break things off with him than face his disappointment.
“We're up, Aspen,” Alex announced, hanging up the phone and startling her out of her memories. He stood, tucking his notepad into his shirt pocket with practiced ease.
“What've we got?” Kinsley asked, grateful for the distraction. She checked that her badge was clipped to her belt before reaching for her keys. “Let’s take our personal vehicles. I have dinner with the family tonight.”
“A female vic was discovered at one of those remote cabins north of town. Dot Whitaker's property. Apparent blunt force trauma."
“Dorothy Whitaker? The property manager who's always arguing with the town council over zoning regulations?”
“The very same.” Alex grabbed his car keys from his top drawer while Kinsley reached for her sunglasses. “Don’t forget my mother’s banana bread. And you’d better give me credit, Kin.”
As they headed to the elevator, Kinsley glanced over to see Shane monitoring their exit. His expression was unreadable. Their gazes briefly met across the room, and she wondered if he could somehow sense the weight of her secret from twenty feet away.
She broke their stare as she and Alex entered the elevator, shielding herself from Shane’s scrutiny. For the next few hours, at least, she could lose herself in the investigation. Her own guilt and fear would have to wait while she concentrated on someone else's tragedy—a bitter comfort, but comfort nonetheless.
As they exited the station into the bright July morning, she put on her sunglasses and took a deep breath of warm air. For a moment, just a moment, she wasn't a killer hiding her crime—she was simply Detective Kinsley Aspen, doing the job she had sworn to do.
The irony wasn't lost on her.
3
Kinsley Aspen
July
Thursday — 9:21 am
“I’m not asking for the world, Kinsley Rose.”
The dirt road snaked through a thicket of pines, sending spirals of dust into Kinsley's rearview mirror. Her Jeep handled the rough terrain easily, but she held back, resisting the urge to slam the gas pedal in frustration as she listened to her mother’s lecture.
“It’s just one week. I think switching your father’s birthday location to the cabin up at Blue Heron Lake is the perfect surprise. Don’t you remember us renting out the large cabin every summer when you kids were little?” Margaret asked before taking a sip of her coffee. The slight slurp was more than obvious. “Lily doesn’t start school until the following week, so everything lines up perfectly.”
A long weekend with her whole family was manageable, but an entire week?
“What about Olivia? She and the family only planned for a long weekend, and she has patients who rely on her.” Kinsley wasn’t above shifting blame onto her older sister. “And when does school start for Hazel and Knox?”
One of the best parts of having a large family was always having someone else to blame. Noah and Olivia were not only the oldest but also twins. They were followed by Kinsley. Then came Dylan, with Owen bringing up the rear.
Olivia was definitely the wisest among the five siblings. She moved to the East Coast for medical school, became a pediatrician, married her dream man, and had two wonderful children. She was also the easiest to throw under the bus because of her absence from the family’s daily drama.
“Olivia has already agreed to take the entire week off, and school out East doesn’t start until September,” Margaret shared without changing her tone. She wasn’t going to let Kinsley get away with redirecting the discussion this time around. “You haven’t taken time off in close to two years.”
