Page 72 of Out to Get Her
And the fear of what she suspected to be true.
“Samantha?”
“It’s me,” she said.
He gestured for her to sit once she entered the office. “You didn’t have to come out here. I don’t want to put you in harm’s way when we could have discussed this over the phone.”
“No, we couldn’t,” she said. “I was at Erin’s. The Sonnier house.”
“Oh.”
Her cheeks flushed with his sheepish reaction, but she wasn’t embarrassed. Erin had been wrong about that much.
After too many years of holding back, Samantha was no longer interested in hiding who she was.
She only hated this uncomfortable disclosure step. She knew Gary would be on her side, but that didn’t mean his discomfort as he processed the information didn’t make her a little squirmy.
“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t realize you two had grown… close.”
She nodded. “But she’s been through enough. I don’t want to involve her in this case any more than she already is.”
A knot formed in Samantha’s stomach, remembering how much of the case they’d discussed earlier that evening. She should have never revealed that much and just kept her mouth shut. Erin was already hell-bent on finding out who killed Paul. More information was only going to fuel that flame and could put Erin in danger.
Gary smirked. “Hard to keep that one out of trouble still, I guess.”
Samantha felt a sudden tug to defend Erin, but she quickly realized she didn’t need to. It was a statement meant with genuine affection, as proven by Gary’s warm smile.
“I think we have a problem.”
Gary raised his brow. “Yes, I believe we have some missing evidence.”
“The bigger problem is who I think may have taken it.”
“And who might that be?”
“After Dustin collected the prescriptions from the Sonnier house, Connie remembered seeing them on my desk the next morning. Before the funeral.”
“Right,” Gary said.
“You were in a meeting when I left.” She paused, allowing him to retrace the memories. “With Deputy Fonseca.”
Gary thought for a moment, then his eyes widened as his expression fell and his brain put the pieces together.
“Did he leave with anything?” Samantha asked. “Did you see him leave the building?”
“No.” Gary’s mouth pressed together, then he said with certainty, “I walked out with him. Connie left for the funeral. We stood out front a moment, then he left. He wasn’t carrying anything with him. I’m sure of it.”
Samantha’s shoulders relaxed with the relief that she wouldn’t have to arrest a deputy sheriff. At least not for this particular bit of obstruction.
But her stomach rolled as her anxiety cranked up. The feint worry she’d been ignoring roared to the surface with a vengeance. “Was Dustin still here when you left?”
“Yes. He was finishing up a report for me. He was supposed to lock up before he left for the funeral.” Gary’s brow furrowed even deeper. “Do you think he forgot to lock the door and someone stole the evidence while we were all at the funeral?”
She couldn’t blame Gary for not seeing the obvious answer right in front of him. She hadn’t wanted to see it either. But it was the only answer, and she couldn’t ignore it. No matter how outrageous or painful it sounded.
“No, I think he locked up before he left.”
“Well then, how…” His voice trailed off as her implication hit him with full force. “You can’t possibly think—”
