Page 31 of Inside Silence

“That’s right.”

“How long have you been back in town?”

“Since mid-August.”

“And what brought you back?”

Definitely not a social visit. He’s got an agenda and it’s making me uneasy I don’t know what it is.

“Dad? Everything okay?”

I glance over my shoulder to find Tatum behind me, concern on her face. Poor kid, daughter of a father with a juvenile record and a drug addicted mother, I guess she comes by her mistrust of law enforcement naturally.

“It’s fine, honey. Finish your dinner, I’ll be right there.”

When I catch Auden looking at her, I step outside, crowding him back, and pull the door shut behind me.

“Who’s that?”

“My daughter.”

“Is that a fact? Does she live with you?”

“She does. Look…” I’ve had enough of this game and hold up my hand. “You’re obviously not here to welcome me back to town, so why don’t you tell me what brought you to my doorstep tonight?”

It figures I’m still an outsider in Silence, I always was, even though I was born and raised here. I could say I have my mother to thank for that—she was a drunk who slept with anyone who’d pay her rent or buy her the next bottle—but I guess I did a good job alienating everyone in town myself during my teenage years. I tried for a long time to earn my place here, but any gains I might have made were negated when I left town the way I did.

I’m really starting to wonder if I made a big mistake coming back.

“I’m just asking a few questions as part of an investigation, that’s all.”

“An investigation of what, exactly?”

He doesn’t immediately respond but stares at me sternly, as if that might elicit some kind of confession out of me.

Jesus, I thought we’d passed the days I was getting tagged for shit because of my transgressions as a kid.

“Where were you last weekend? Friday late afternoon and evening specifically?”

My blood runs cold when I realize he’s not talking about some traffic violation, but that body they found in Watts Lake on Saturday morning. The case that has Savvy looking tired and drawn.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

Chapter 10

Savvy

* * *

“Are you out of your fucking mind? What the hell were you thinking?”

From the stubborn set of his chin, I can tell he either does not feel any remorse, or is hiding it well.

“I was thinking the guy is the only new arrival in town.”

I try to get a handle on my outrage. Screaming like a banshee—even though it feels really fucking good to let my anger fly—is not an appropriate representation of the office I hold.

I was surprised when Brenda patched through an urgent call and I heard Tatum Gaines’s timid voice on the other end. She said there was a cop in a blue uniform at the door, and he and her dad were yelling.