Page 52 of Outlaw Ridge: Griff
He took another sip, watching Lily as she leaned in, tapping the screen to shift a few images—Catherine’s autopsy report next to the photo of Hannah’s original crime scene. The parallels were impossible to ignore.
They were both dressed in their usual gear. Jeans, boots, weapons holstered. But there was something heavier in the air between them this morning. Maybe it was the knowledge that everything was coming to a head. Or maybe it was just the pressure of what they needed to pull off in the next few hours.
Hallie had given them the green light to handle the interviews on their own. No outside interference. Just the two of them, face-to-face with the three people who’d been lying to them in various shades since the start.
A full slate.
A chance to finally punch holes in someone’s story. Or catch them slipping.
Griff glanced at the clock on the wall. “Rhett’s due in fifteen.”
“After that, Margo,” Lily said, barely looking up from the board. “Then Everett. If they all show.”
“They’ll show,” Griff said. “Too much heat now. And Everett will want to protect whatever’s left of his image.”
Lily gave a tight nod. “Let’s make it count.”
He looked back at the board one more time. Three suspects. One truth. It was time to start pulling it out of them. One lie at a time.
Griff was reviewing the interview notes they’d prepped for Rhett when the soft knock came at the cold case room door, and Jemma poked her head in.
“There’s a call you’ll want to take,” she said. “Someone who used to work for Everett Langston. Said she wants to talk to whoever’s handling Catherine’s murder. She sounded… shaken.”
Griff and Lily exchanged a quick look. “Put it through to the landline,” Griff said, already moving toward the desk in the corner. Jemma gave a nod and stepped out.
The phone rang a second later, and Griff picked up and hit speaker. “This is Deputy Griff Abrams. I’ve got Deputy Lily Oliver with me. You’re on speaker. Who am I speaking with?”
“I’m Sharon Bennett.” The woman’s voice was shaky, thick with nerves. And grief. “I… I worked for Everett Langston for six years. Office assistant. Left in 2012.”
Griff didn’t interrupt. He could hear the strain in her words. She was pushing herself to make the call.
“I heard about Catherine,” she continued. “I saw it on the news this morning. I keep thinking maybe I should’ve said something years ago. But it didn’t seem like it mattered then. Or maybe I just didn’t want to get involved.”
Lily stepped closer, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the phone as if she could pull the truth out of it faster.
“I don’t know who killed her,” Sharon went on, “but I do know this. Fifteen years ago, when that girl, Hannah Cole, was killed, Everett left the office unexpectedly. I remember he was agitated. Maybe scared. It was near closing time, but he had a supplier coming in for a late meeting, and he still just left, told me to reschedule the meeting.”
Griff felt Lily go still beside him.
“The following day,” Sharon added, “he asked me to cover for him. Said if anyone asked, I should say he was meeting with a confidential client. Someone big. That it was a private deal he didn’t want public. I figured it was another affair. I mean… we all knew. Everett wasn’t exactly subtle.”
Griff’s jaw tightened, and he leaned in. “Sharon, has anyone else ever asked you about that night?”
“No,” she said. “Not until now. I thought the police had an airtight case. That they didn’t need anything from me.”
Griff met Lily’s eyes, the weight of the moment settling in. Everett’s alibi, such as it was, just crumbled. He hadn’t been working late. He hadn’t been with Catherine. He hadn’t been anywhere anyone could verify.
Fifteen years ago, he vanished for several hours on the night of Hannah’s murder.
And now Catherine was dead, too.
Griff leaned in toward the speaker, keeping his tone steady and reassuring. “Sharon, I’d like you to come in and make an official statement when you’re able. Doesn’t have to be today, but sooner is better.”
There was a long pause on the other end, followed by a shaky inhale.
“Am I in trouble?” she asked quietly.
Griff didn’t hesitate. “No, you’re not.”
