Page 11 of Katherine's Last Hope
“Okay, outside it is.” He slipped into his slides and led the way outside. He leaned against the railing of his deck and took in the view he’d never tire of.
Bailey raced down the steps to the fenced-in back yard. She sniffed the perimeter of the yard, squatting to do her business before a squirrel caught her attention and she took off after the brown, furry creature.
Growing up, he couldn’t imagine finding a way to escape the trailer park just outside of town where he’d been raised. The dingy, faded walls had caged him in, threatening to crush him. He’d never wanted the life he’d been born into. The empty beer cans stacked on the counter and the constant yelling. Things had been tolerable until his mother died.
Then the real nightmare began.
He hadn’t understood how much his mother had protected him. How she’d shielded him from the cruelty of his father and older brother. Without her, he’d struggled to stay under the radar and off the tragic path that led to trouble and jail.
A choice his family didn’t understand and often found insulting.
But he’d escaped that world and carved out a small place with the mountains as his neighbors and silence his company.
Well, that was until he got Bailey.
The blast of the doorbell forced his attention back inside. Knowing Bailey couldn’t be torn from her hunt, he left her in the yard and headed inside where he found Tommy on his front porch.
“Hey, man. What’s up?” He got along with his co-worker, but the two didn’t exactly socialize outside of work.
Tommy shoved a hand through his already messy hair. Dark circles hung under his bloodshot eyes. “Sorry to barge in on you like this. I just…I don’t know, dude. I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around what happened to Katherine. I didn’t get a chance to talk to you about it, and I know it’s not cool showing up at your house. I guess I just hoped we could talk.”
“Uh, sure. Come on in.” He stood back to let Tommy in then shut the door behind them. Frantic barking clued him in that Bailey had spied their visitor. “You okay with dogs?”
“Yeah, sure.” Tommy sank onto the recliner in the corner of the living room.
Cody crossed over to the kitchen and let in Bailey, who sprinted across the room to Tommy.
Unaware that her giant size wasn’t meant for lap-sitting, she hopped onto the chair, her tail wagging like crazy.
Laughing, Tommy shooed the dog to the ground and ran his hand over her fluffy head. “Have yourself a real killer, huh?”
“You have no idea. Bailey, get down.” He waited for the dog to settle on the floor, gaze intent on Tommy and tail thumping against the hard wood, before lowering onto the couch. “So what’s up?”
“I need to clear my head,” Tommy said. “And to be honest, I’m not sure how to do that. Serving as a deputy, I’ve seen my fair share of scary shit. Hell, even ran into some trouble that could have cost me Sadie. But Sadie’s a trained officer and knows how to handle herself. Katherine…that’s different. She doesn’t deserve any more crap tossed at her feet.”
Although he agreed with Tommy, he wasn’t sure what that had to do with him. “I get that. She’s had a tough year. With any luck, this was a one-time thing.”
Concern wrinkled Tommy’s brow. “Do you really believe that?”
Sighing, Cody scratched the side of his jaw. He was a straight-shooter, not great at cushioning his words, but he had a feeling Tommy needed more than the hard truth right now. “I want to, but it’s difficult to tell right now. There’s no real reason to assume Katherine’s attacker will come after her again. His anger seemed more targeted toward me and my job than Katherine specifically. Even though we need to get him off the street to make sure he doesn’t do something like this—or worse—again, I don’ t know why he'd choose to keep going after Katherine.”
Tommy bobbed his head up and down as if in agreement. “Yeah. That makes sense. When I left the station, Dad and Owen were looking at recent crimes that could stick out. Something where the wrong person was arrested or notes were made about hostile family members.”
Cody couldn’t help but laugh.
“Why’s that funny?” Tommy asked, frowning.
“Great minds think alike. I was doing the same thing here before you arrived. Looking up old news articles to see if anything sent up a red flag.”
“Find anything?”
“A couple stories I found interesting. I saved them and planned to talk to your brother about them when I went in.” He glanced at his watch. “My shift’s not for another three hours, but I might as well head in early. If we’re researching the same shit, it’d be better to bounce things off each other.”
Tommy stood, his hand automatically reaching for the top of Bailey’s head. “I should tell you not to bother, but I know we’dall appreciate the extra support. Not to mention Owen and I will need to take a break at some point. Sadie’s with Amelia, but I can’t expect her to stay home while I work twenty-four hours a day. It’s just hard not to keep going—keep searching for this asshole.”
“Understandable,” Cody said. “But there’s an entire sheriff’s department behind you—behind Katherine.”
Tommy sniffed back emotion and nodded. “Thanks, man. For everything. I’ll see you back at the office.”
