Page 39 of A Curse On Black Lake
“Killian,” she calls.
I go back into the trees, my neck itching. “What,” I grunt.
She grabs a stick and picks up a woman’s pink bra, holding it up in the air. “Do you think she was killed here?” Eliana asks.
I puff out a breath and look around. “Maybe, but I don’t see any blood, and if there was any, it’s long gone because it rained.”
“Are you going to tell the Sheriff?” she asks.
I look away from the bra. “It could make everything worse.”
She nods and sets the garment on a rock. “What do you need?” she asks confidently.
I blink, considering her question. “What?” I ask her.
“I can see this going one of two ways. You call the Sheriff, who already suspects you based on what you told me, but also the way I saw him looking at you, or—”
“We used to work together, and he’s my cousin.”
“Ah, that’s right, I forgot about you and the Sawyers,” she says.
I nod, wondering what she’s getting at.
“That doesn’t help, does it?” she says, popping her hip out.
“No,” I mutter.
“As I was saying, you could tell him, and it would give them more reason to believe youarethe killer, and you’re … I don’t know, toying with them.Oryou get rid of the evidence and keep it in mind for yourself. Someone was obviously here. But based on the way I found this bra shoved between this tree and that rock, the purpose was to hide it or plant it. The wind didn’t pull it here, unless there was a tornado I didn’t know about. But nowoman with tits this big would walk off without her bra if she was with some guy out here getting it on. No way.”
I chuckle despite the situation and shake my head, but my smile drops, remembering the poor woman laying there under the rock.
“I think that bra would have fit the woman I found,” I rasp, the words feeling too hard to say.
Eliana licks her lips and puffs out a breath. “This is not looking good, and also how would you know that?”
I pin her with a stare. “It wasn’t like that Eliana, I used to be an investigator. I was observing the scene and took no pleasure in it.”
“Got it, and I never thought you did,” she says carefully.
“Shit,” I mutter. I don’t want to ask her to do this, but I can’t think of any other option at the moment.
I have to cover my ass, and I need Eliana for it to work.
“Or there’s one more option.” I start.
“What’s that?” she asks, looking around the trees and the brush.
“Be my alibi.”
She spins around and meets my eyes. “Sure,” she says.
“You could be arrested for lying, for obstruction.”
“It’s fine. I told you I was here to help, and I meant it.”
I swallow thickly because I still don’t understand that. It’s one thing to get help on the ranch, but it’s another entirely for her to risk everything to help me avoid murder charges. She doesn’t owe me anything.
“Are you sure?” I ask her.
