Page 78 of Whispers of You
Nash was not.
“Holy shit.” Nash let out a hoot from the couch. “It’s a Christmas miracle in the middle of spring.”
“Nash…” Holt warned.
“What?” Nash asked with mock innocence. “I can’t be happy for my brother?”
“You are welcome to your happiness, but you arenotwelcome to give Wren a hard time.”
Nash’s gaze went from Holt to me, a devilish grin playing on his lips. “Little Williams, you don’t look too rested. Could someone have kept you up all—?”
Lawson threw a pen at Nash.
“Ow! That was uncalled for, big brother. I could report you to HR for an abusive work environment.”
Lawson shook his head. “Good luck with that. Morning, Wren. Holt.”
“Morning,” I said, my cheeks still fire engine red.
“We wanted to see if there were any updates,” Holt said, bringing us back to the point.
All humor fled Lawson’s face. “We don’t have much. A figure in a black hoodie, fleeing the McHenry home and heading into the woods.”
Holt glanced between Lawson and Nash. “This one’s different. The other was through a window. This is up close and personal.”
“Someone’s getting more comfortable with killing,” Nash said, shadows swirling in his eyes.
Nausea swept through me at such callous disregard for human life. “The officers were right? Mrs. McHenry didn’t make it?”
Lawson shook his head. “They called it at the scene.”
I didn’t know if that was a kindness given that Mrs. McHenry wouldn’t have had anyone left. I had to hope that she and Gretchen were together somewhere and that they were at peace, even if it was far too soon.
“Who are you bringing in for questioning?” Holt asked.
Lawson and Nash shared a look.
Holt let out a growl.
“You’re not police,” Lawson said. He turned his focus to me. “And neither are you.”
I stared back at him. “Maybe not, but I could be on some asshole’s hit list, so I’d say that entitles me to a little information. And it’s not like I won’t see whoever you bring in.”
Holt’s hand twitched in mine, holding me tighter.
“Little Williams has a point,” Nash said.
Lawson blew out a breath. “We’re talking to a lot of different people. Everyone with a connection to the shootings years ago and everyone who was in the vicinity of the recent ones. But we aren’t bringing anyone in for an interrogation just yet. We’re also contacting all of those who survived the shooting ten years ago and warning them to be cautious. But we’re asking them not to spread that around.”
I ran that over in my mind. “You don’t want to spook anyone.”
“No, I don’t. I don’t want panic in my community, and I don’t want whoever did this to cover their tracks any better than they already are,” Lawson agreed.
I gripped Holt’s hand tighter as I searched for the words I needed. “What if therewasa third shooter?”
I hadn’t talked about my suspicions since that third and final conversation with the police ten years ago. The acting chief then had made me feel like a hysterical child whose mind couldn’t be trusted. And I’d started to believe him.
“I know the doctors said that I might have been confused because of the blood loss and trauma, but I swore there was a third person in the house that night.”
