Page 39 of Search for the Truth
Liam turned to her. She gave him an apologetic look.
“Cassandra said you had his fans all up in arms by asking questions after the case closed.”
He grumbled.
“I’ll never understand how a retired businessman has so many folks sticking up for him. You’d think he was a celebrity or something.”
“He might as well be one,” Blake said. “Jobs are a big deal here. Some of those guys had been working at the tractor supply straight from high school up until retirement.” She became angry again. “You know, Ray and Chase McClennan’s fathers were like that. They started working at the tractor supply alongside Mr. Clearwater when they were all in their twenties. They managed to retire before he shut down the business. He kept them and their families fed and clothed for their entire lives basically. That’s where the loyalty comes from.”
That was also why Missy had taken the general public’s criticism for her father’s decision to sell the business. No one would go up against the elder Clearwater since they would potentially have to deal with those older folks who had been through thick and thin with her daddy.
It hadn’t been fair to Missy.
“I wonder how they’ll act when they find out what their kids did.”
Blake shrugged.
“Not every parent will go to bat for their kids. They might come down harder on them than even you could. I don’t know much about their dynamic, but I bet, regardless, they’ll all be loud about it.”
The door behind them opened right in time to stop their conversation. Lola presented Liam with her scramble bowl with a flourish. That flourish extended in part to Blake when she handed her a bag of little cookies.
“You earned it,” she said, all smiles.
Blake let out a breath and returned the affection.
A year ago, she had barely known Lola. Now she couldn’t imagine her not being around.
Blake’s gaze fell onto the man next to her.
A week ago, he hadn’t even been on her radar. Now? Would Blake be okay not seeing him again?
Blake decided not to think about any of that yet.
Instead, she listened to the rain with the sheriff at her side.
Chapter Ten
A week passed and nothing about it was satisfying.
Ray and Chase McClennan remained committed to their story. They had believed Blake was their friend Henry, driving a new car and messing with them. They had followed her into the field because they thought it was funny. Chase hadn’t known about the gun Ray had in his hand, and Ray had been insistent that he had simply had it to give Henry a funny scare. If Ray hadn’t had a permit for the gun, he would still be in jail. But both of them were now out and about.
It had absolutely riled Liam up.
That wasn’t even figuring in the lack of laptop either. Liam had gone through every part of the original investigation again to try to find the computer that Missy had had at the coffee shop, but he had come up short. He was on the fence about reaching out to her father again to see if maybe he had any idea where it might have gone and was still thinking about it when Price knocked on his office door and let himself in.
“Winnie heard some talk at school about the McClennan boys,” Price said, bypassing a traditional start to a new conversation. He sat down opposite him in a chair that squeaked at the weight.
“We’re still talking about those two?” Liam asked, instantly grumpy. “Also, isn’t your daughter in high school? What talk about the McClennan cousins are going around there?”
Price adopted a high-pitched, flitty voice.
“‘Oh, Sheriff, haven’t youseenChase McClennan?’” He dropped into a more dramatic voice. “He’s young enough that the high school girls think they might have a chance with him if they say just the right thing. He’s also just old enough that flirting with him at the restaurant he works at has become the ‘it’ dare in the past few months. According to Winnie, Amber Bell even live-streamed her asking for his number. He declined. She was mortified.”
Price said everything with a straight face. And with an absolute sincerity. Liam could always tell the difference when Price was talking about anything that had to do with Winnie, including the talk that she was simply relaying to him.
Price Collins loved his daughter immensely.
Liam didn’t have children, but he couldn’t deny that his deputy’s dedication to his daughter made him appreciate the man more.
