Page 108 of Whispers of You
“That’s my line, isn’t it?” Lawson asked.
“Just trying to spread the concern around.”
“Fair enough. Got two things for you.”
My fingers tightened around my phone as I lowered it and tapped a button. “All right. You’re on speaker with me and Wren.”
Lawson let out a long breath, and I heard the bone-deep fatigue in it. “County techs came in early this morning so they could run ballistics.”
“And?” I pressed.
“The handgun wasn’t a match. But the rifle we pulled from Joe’s trunk is the same one used in the Peterson shooting.”
“Prints?”
“Looks like it was wiped clean, or Joe was using gloves. But our chain of custody is tight, so we should be good.”
Sorrow etched itself in Wren’s face. “Is he talking to you?”
That was my Cricket. She needed to understand the why. Her empathy was so ingrained, she felt for those who had done the worst to her.
Lawson sighed. “Not a word. To us or his lawyer.”
We would likely never know the why. We might get pieces but never the whole picture. Sometimes, a person’s mind simply twisted. And Joe had been living with the derision of so many in this town for too long. The fact that we were coming up on the tenth anniversary only added to it all.
“What’s the second thing?” I asked.
“Got a favor.”
“Name it.”
After everything Lawson had done for us, I’d give him anything.
The sound of shuffling papers came across the line. “We got a call from out of state. A girl who’s been backpacking up here didn’t check in with her parents when she was supposed to. They have the coordinates for where she would have likely been over the past twenty-four hours. Asked if someone could go look for her. They’re sick with worry.”
“Backpacking alone?”
Lawson let out a huff. “Don’t get me started. It was some walkabout after she broke up with a boyfriend.”
It was beyond reckless. Anything could happen in these mountains, and if you weren’t prepared, it could be deadly. “What do you need from me?”
“It’s a wide area, and it needs to be searched. With everything going on down here, I can’t leave to help. A few others on the team can’t get off work today either. Can you go with Nash?”
My gaze automatically pulled to Wren. The last thing I wanted to do was leave her. She’d been through too much in the past twenty-four hours. “I don’t think—”
“He’ll meet Nash at the station,” Wren cut in.
“Cricket…”
She smiled at me. “Grae’s been blowing up my phone like crazy. I told her I’d meet her in town for lunch. She won’t rest until she sees for herself that I’m in one piece.” Wren leaned over and kissed me. “Go help this girl.”
Lawson’s voice intruded on the moment. “It’s gonna be your ship soon anyway.”
Wren’s brows lifted. “Your ship?”
“Way to spill the beans,” I said.
“You haven’t told her?”
