Page 57 of Fatal Deception

The woman smiled, and there was something about the eyes, almost the same shade as Rosalie’s, that had him more wary than the sudden appearance of a stranger. She held out a hand as she approached, offered a firm handshake. Cop or military, he was almost certain.

“My name is Karly Young. It was brought to my attention that you’ve been looking in to my brother.”

Definitely the same blue eyes. He glanced back at Audra. She looked a little pale. But she stood there, strong as ever, ready to face something she shouldn’t have to face.

“Bent County is a bit of a hoof from Schriever.” He’d looked into all the half siblings, so he knew Karlywasmilitary, currently working at a Space Force base in Colorado. He wanted her to know that he’d looked in to her as well as her brother. Maybe this was innocent, but he wanted her to know he wasn’t caught unaware.

“I suppose it is, but I’m desperate to find my brother. You were looking in to him before he was reported missing.”

Copeland studied her. “Where’d you hear that?”

She smiled, maybe a little ruefully. “I know people. I want to know your connection.”

Copeland gestured at the house behind him. “You really going to pretend like you don’t know the connection?”

Karly’s expression hardened. Copeland noted she had expressly not looked in Audra’s direction.

But Audra clearly couldn’t resist. “It’s cold,” she said from behind him. “You should both come inside and have this discussion.”

The woman—Karly—looked at the house. She did not look at Audra. “No. Thank you.” The words were clipped. Icy.

Hurt crossed over Audra’s face, and it made him want to be difficult with Karly for the sake of it, but that wouldn’t get them answers.

He weighed his questions, his next moves. Decided being forthright without explanation was the best course of action. “What connection does Austin have to Florida?”

Karly frowned. “None.”

He could have played along, but he was tired of Audra living in a world of nonanswers, so he didn’t even play that game. “That isn’t true, and I know it. So you can either give me the truth, or you can leave.”

He watched the woman’s face. Hints of Audra, but something harder and sharper. Angrier. There was a deep-seated bitterness there that even when Audra found some bitterness within her, didn’t twist like this.

Copeland found his hand creeping back up to his gun. There was something about this woman he didn’t trust.

But some of that softened. Not into anythingsoft, but something far more resigned. Karly looked back at her rental car, shook her head.

“Some internet girlfriend. He’d talked about visiting her in Fort Myers. Honestly, the first day he was missing, I figured that’s what he’d done. But I can’t find any evidence he went to Florida.” Everything in her expression went hard again. “I want to know where my brother is.”

“So do I,” Copeland returned. “Would your brother have any reason to want to harm this place?”

“Of course not.” But Karly’s gaze looked at the boarded-up house windows. The plastic-wrapped truck windows. “You’ve had trouble.”

Copeland could have corrected her. Pointed out it was Audra’s trouble, not his. But it felt a little too tenuous. So he kept talking to Karly like Audra wasn’t there, even though he knew it hurt all of them. “Lots of it. Coming from someone who has connections to Florida.” Something occurred to Copeland then. Maybe Karly didn’t know what her brother was up to, but she had the background.

“When your dad was alive, did he give your brother any reason to think this ranch was his?”

She snapped right back up—all bristle and offense instead of any hint of exhaustion or defeat. “I don’t have to answer these questions. I came looking for my brother, and I want to know why you were looking in to him before he disappeared.”

“You’re looking at it,” he said, pointing at the boarded-up windows.

“Then you’re a really bad detective,” Karly snapped, then turned on a heel and headed back toward her car.

Chapter Eighteen

Audra didn’t think. She just acted. Because she’d never been this physically close to anyone from her dad’s other family. Every overture she’d made since he died had been met with refusals or silence.

But Karly was here now.Here. And Audra wasn’t about to let that go. She followed her, pulling away from Copeland’s attempt to stop her. She moved between Karly and the car so Karly couldn’t get in and speed away without some kind of altercation.

“We’re sisters,” Audra said firmly.