Page 12 of Beyond Her Reach (Bree Taggert #10)

“Nothing is out of place. It’s creepy.” Like living in a museum.

Even when Matt had lived alone, he’d had tufts of dog fur tumbleweeding down the hallways and random, slobbery Kong toys scattered on the furniture.

Now, in Bree’s crowded house, the kids left their mark everywhere.

And they weren’t just regular kids—they were farm kids.

Most of their clothing was covered in dirt, hay, and/or horse hair.

The dogs were in and out, running through the barn and pasture, and back inside.

The floors were muddy. The furniture was covered in fur. Big dogs sprawled everywhere.

Their house would never be clean, and Matt wouldn’t have had it any other way. Dirt was healthy, right? He hoped so.

He and Bree entered the great room.

“I don’t see an alarm panel,” Matt said. “Or cameras or motion detectors inside.”

Bree paused to examine a window. “No alarm contacts.”

She led the way out of the patio door. Todd and Zucco were emerging from the monster shed.

Todd jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Clear.”

Bree turned to scan the rear exterior of the house. “He had a camera on the front door, but we didn’t see an alarm system, and I don’t see any surveillance out here either.”

They returned to the front of the house. In the driveway, Bree checked her phone screen. “We need to start searching the premises for any evidence that Troy killed Kelly. Whoever killed her didn’t walk away completely clean.”

A soft whirring sound drew their attention to the driveway. A large, utilitarian gray SUV cruised toward them, an electric vehicle from the sound of the engine. The vehicle drew closer. It was a Rivian.

“That’s Troy’s vehicle.” Matt started toward it.

The SUV parked next to the sheriff’s vehicle.

A tall man with a long, trimmed beard and short cropped hair stepped out.

Matt recognized Troy from his driver’s license photo.

He wore a black down jacket, a gray T-shirt, and faded jeans.

The tailored clothes fit like he was walking a runway.

But his shirt was wrinkled, as if he’d slept in it.

Blood oozed through a bandage on his forehead.

Around the white bandage, the skin was darkening into the beginnings of a bruise.

Matt pictured the crime scene. Had Kelly swung something at him when he slashed her throat?

He didn’t remember seeing anything Kelly could have used to defend herself. Maybe Troy took it with him?

Troy reached into his jacket chest pocket.

Bree drew her gun. “Stop right there. Let me see your hands.”

Troy froze. His head tilted in confusion. “What?”

“Let me see your hands!” Bree moved closer.

Matt circled to the left to surround Troy.

“This is my house!” Despite his protest, Troy did as instructed. He slowly removed his hand from his pocket to show a cell phone. Then he raised both hands in front of his body in a surrender position.

Nodding at Matt, Bree kept her weapon trained on Troy.

Matt stepped forward and patted down Troy’s pockets. He found a wallet and a key fob. “He’s clean.”

Bree slid her gun into its holster.

“What is going on?” Troy lowered his hands but didn’t move otherwise.

Bree introduced herself and Matt. “We need to take you to the station to answer some questions.”

But Troy didn’t budge. “What is this about?”

“Kelly Gibson,” Bree said.

Troy tilted his head. “What about her?”

Bree tried to brush off his question. “Let’s finish the task at hand, then we’ll have a discussion.”

But he was not having it. “No. I want to know now.”

Bree’s chin dipped in a curt nod. “How well do you know Kelly?”

Troy’s face went blank until it was devoid of emotion. “We’ve dated,” he said vaguely. “Why? Has she done something?”

“Why would you automatically think she did something wrong?” Bree asked. Why wouldn’t he assume something had happened to her?

Troy drew his chin inward, clearly regretting his words. But he didn’t bite on Bree’s response. “What is this about?”

Bree hesitated. Matt wondered if she would just say it or continue to evade giving Troy the reason for their visit.

There was a tricky line to walk when interviewing suspects.

You wanted them to be open. So you needed to appear to be honest as well.

But the news of Kelly’s murder might make Troy less likely to share information.

Technically, it was legal for cops to lie to suspects, but it wasn’t always the best idea to do so.

On the other hand, if Bree continued to press him and simultaneously withhold the knowledge of Kelly’s death, Troy could be resentful and extra wary when he discovered she’d been willfully holding back that information.

He might feel like they’d been lying to him in an effort to set him up.

With a man like Troy, who was clearly smart, Matt would be up front.

Wealthy, successful people weren’t intimidated by the law.

Annoying a man like Troy could result in him shutting down this interview and calling his attorney.

And face it, this guy could afford the best. He could hire an army of lawyers.

Bree must have read him the same way, because she said, “Kelly was murdered.”

“What?” Troy’s entire body stiffened. He shook his head a single time, as if clearing it.

“Her body was found yesterday,” Bree added without giving too many details.

Still confused, Troy lowered his brows into a solid, disbelieving line. “That doesn’t seem possible.”

“There’s no mistake.” Matt broke into the conversation. “She’s dead.”

Troy took a minute to absorb the information, but he didn’t seem sad at the news that the woman he’d been dating was dead. In fact, shock was the only emotion he’d exhibited. Maybe he would be upset when he’d had a chance to process her death?

“When did you see her last?” Bree asked.

“Last week.” He scrolled on his phone and opened a calendar app. “I had dinner with her last Thursday night. We went to Café Aldi’s in Scarlet Falls.”

“Did you go back to her place afterward?” Matt asked.

Troy didn’t answer. Was he too smart? Or did he have something to hide? He appeared oddly cool and composed, but Matt sensed there was a lot going on beneath the surface. Troy returned his phone to his pocket without responding to Matt’s question.

“Did you communicate with Kelly since your date?” Bree asked.

“Yes,” Troy said after only a slight pause. “We talked on the phone Sunday.”

Bree pushed. “What was the nature of the call?”

Troy scanned her face, then turned to search Matt’s. Did he suspect they already knew? “I’m not going to answer any more questions without an attorney.”

And that was that.