Page 32 of Little Dark Deeds (Georgiana Germaine #12)

I was back at Jana’s house, updating Foley on the conversation I’d had with Jana at the hospital.

“What do you think?” he asked. “Do you believe her?”

“I don’t know. I’m guessing Silas has been here. What did he have to say?”

“Jana’s wound was a through-and-through. Has the bullet been found?”

He nodded. “We ran the firearm’s serial number through the registry. It’s registered to Tyler.”

If Tyler had intended on killing her, as Jana had suggested, what was his plan afterward? Turn himself in? Turn the gun on himself?

“Whitlock mentioned you visited with Landon Fairfax this morning,” Foley said.

“The guy’s a creep. When our conversation was over, and I turned to leave, he smacked me on the butt.”

Foley pressed his fingers to his lips, a smirk tugging at them like he was struggling to hold back a laugh. “And you? What did you do?”

“I’m not sure you want to know.”

“Is the guy still in one piece?”

For now.

“He’s fine,” I said.

“What did you talk about?”

“He admitted to confronting Tiffany, but he tried to play it down, like she’d exaggerated what he said to her. I disagree. She had no reason to lie.”

“Sounds like we need to take a closer look at the guy.”

“I’d love to take him down for Tiffany’s murder, but so far, there’s no evidence to suggest he did it. When Jana gave me the photos that were left on her car, I thought Landon had something to do with them. He didn’t, though. Chad did.”

Foley tilted his head to the side in that familiar way he always did before launching into lecture mode, and I had a good idea of what was coming next.

“Speaking of Chad, you’ve been keeping things from me,” he said. “I’m not a fan of feeling like I’m the last one to find things out. When were you going to tell me?”

“Right after I spoke to Landon. Then I learned Tyler was dead, and we’ve been dealing with that ever since.”

“When Silas mentioned it to me today, he seemed surprised to hear I didn’t know anything about it.”

“Yeah ... sorry. I went to Chad’s house last night.”

Foley sighed. “And?”

“I asked him about the photos he left on Jana’s car. He denied it at first, said it wasn’t him. Then I told him we lifted a few prints, and one of them was his.”

“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.”

I crossed my arms, thinking. “If I share some information with you, I need you to keep it to yourself for now. All right?”

“You got it.”

“Tyler is dead, and Jana is in the hospital.”

Jordan’s mouth fell open, and he gasped. “I can’t believe it. What happened?”

“She said he shot her in the leg.”

I paused, assessing his demeanor as the news I’d just delivered set in.

His shock seemed genuine, his head shaking back and forth like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Is she all right?” he asked.

“I just saw her. She’s fine. I can tell you what Jana told me, but her story hasn’t been verified yet.

She said Tyler showed up at the house earlier today.

He was angry, and he had a gun. He accused her of killing Tiffany, and he said she needed to pay for what she’d done.

He shot her, she lunged at him, got control of the gun, and then killed him in self-defense. ”

“I don’t even know what to say. I can’t believe it.”

“When’s the last time you talked to Tyler?”

“Yesterday, in his office.”

“How did he seem?”

“Detached, angry, and on edge. I tried talking to him. It was like he was there but wasn’t, if you know what I mean, like I was talking through him not to him. I didn’t think he’d been getting much sleep, and the way he smelled, it had been a while since he’d showered.”

“Did he say anything to you about Jana?”

He mulled over the question. “I hate to say it, but he tried to convince me that Jana killed Tiffany.”

“Did he have any proof to back up his claim?”

“He did not. I told him I disagreed with his accusation, and I tried to get him to calm down, which didn’t work. He was too riled up.”

“How did the conversation end?”

“He said a real friend would take him at his word. Ask me, he was trying to find someone to blame, and Jana was an easy target.”

“Even if he’d decided to murder Jana, what was his endgame?” I asked. “He knew he wouldn’t get away with it. He used his own gun, for heaven’s sake.”

“Who knows? He’s been irrational since Tiffany died.

I mean, I knew he loved her, but I underestimated just how much.

After our discussion, I was worried about him.

I even swung by his house later that evening.

He wasn’t home. I called him, and he didn’t answer.

I figured he was still angry with me and needed some time to cool off.

I wish I’d known what he was planning. If I had, maybe I could have talked him down. Maybe he’d still be alive.”

“Have you been visited by one of Tiffany’s neighbors since we spoke last?” I asked.

“I haven’t, but I heard she talked to both Tyler and Jana. She thought one of them was involved in Tiffany’s murder. Said something about having proof, a lighter or something with blood on it.”

“How did they react to her accusation?”

“I don’t know about Jana, but Tyler was upset. He told her to get lost.”

“She’s dead.”

“Yeah, I heard. Hey, I’m going to take off, see if they’ll let me see Jana.”

I nodded.

It was time I went home and got everyone’s story straight.