Page 91 of Little Dark Deeds

“What did he have to say for himself?”

“He hadn’t admitted to taking the photos because he was afraid if he told the truth, we’d consider him a suspect.”

“He’d be right.We do.”

I huffed out a frustrated sigh.“Why don’t people make it easier on themselves and tell the truth from the start?”

“These are strange times we live in.People seem a lot more on edge and nervous nowadays.It’s almost like they’re losing their faith in law enforcement, even though for the most part, we’re still the good guys.And we are, of course, but for some, it needs to be proven to them.”

Even so, it made me question Chad’s innocence.

“I’ll have Whitlock pay a visit to Landon and Chad, and we’ll see what he thinks of the fellows,” Foley said.“What do you have planned for the rest of the day?”

“This morning, I realized I’ve been going nonstop since the investigation began.When I don’t take time to slow down, it’s hard for me to see what’s right in front of me.I think I’ll go home and clear my head.”

I planned to do just that until I turned and saw Jordan heading our way.

Foley stepped in front of me, hand outstretched as if to stop him.“How did you get in here?”

“I ...ahh, I walked in?”

Foley cupped a hand to the side of his mouth, yelling, “Higgins, get in here.”

Moments later, Officer Higgins approached.He looked at Jordan, then Foley, and the color drained from his face.“Yeah?”

Foley thumbed in Jordan’s direction.“You were supposed to be manning the front door.”

“I needed to go to the bathroom.I was only gone for a minute.”

“A minute is all it took for someone to waltz in here and contaminate my crime scene.Get him out of here.”

“Sorry, boss,” Higgins said.

“I don’t need you to be sorry,” Foley said.“I need you to do your job.”

Jordan turned toward Foley.“Can’t I just—”

“Not another word,” Foley said, pointing toward the front door.“Out.”

Higgins escorted Jordan to the door, and I followed.Once he was outside, I said, “Hey, Jordan.Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure, and listen, I’m sorry about entering the house and causing a problem.”

“It’s fine.I’m assuming you know something about what happened here.How?”

Jordan tipped his head toward a white news van parked across the street.“They went live about twenty minutes ago.Lila was watching the news on her phone, and she came rushing into my office, saying reporters were talking about a possible homicide at Jana and Tyler’s house.”

Word traveled a little too fast for my liking sometimes.

In this tight-knit, loose-lipped town, it didn’t shock me.

“What happened?”Jordan asked.“Do you know?Is Jana here?”

I considered how much I wanted to say.

“I think the less the public knows, the better, for now,” I said.

“Come on, Detective.I’m not just anyone.I’m a friend.”