Page 89 of Secrets Along the Shore (Beach Read Thrillers #1)

CHAPTER

THIRTY-ONE

Patrol cars line the driveway, their blue lights flashing, reflecting off the house’s windows and creating an unhinged disco effect.

More patrol cars sit along the shoulder of the road that runs along the front yard, which separates the property from the nearby riverbank.

Deputies are scattered everywhere, two of them currently assisting Matthew into the back of the nearest vehicle.

The door slams behind him, and from where I’m standing on the weed-infested, cracked-pavement drive, I see him through the car’s rear window, staring at the floor, his shoulders heaving.

I was right about the house being on the river. It’s a white clapboard structure, well-kept with a pot of daisies at the door. It’s more like a cottage than a cabin—probably someone’s weekend getaway place.

“You sure you’re all right?” Cole asks for the tenth time. He’s been at my elbow since he released Matthew to the other deputies. “Ambulance is on its way already, just in case.”

I groan. “I told you I don’t need an ambulance.”

He gathers me up for yet another hug, nearly suffocating me before finally letting go. “I don’t know what I would have done if anything happened to you.” Regret sweeps over his face. “It was the one thing he asked me.”

The poor guy is torturing himself with undeserved remorse. “Cole, you cannot protect me from everything out in the world. You know that, right?”

“I should have protected you from him. I didn’t see it, and it was in my own backyard.”

“You think you feel stupid? Think about me. I had dinner with the guy once a week.”

He considers me for a moment. “That just means we both missed it. Doesn’t make it better.”

“Forget it. Right now, I want to know everything,” I say, desperate for the answers he promised I would get once the scene was secure. “How did you know I was here?”

“Tyson Winchester.”

“How did he?—”

“Like you asked, I looked into who might have tampered with the tip-line messages. Winchester was the only deputy who signed in with his passcode over the weekend who wasn’t on duty or scheduled for the tip-line.

I asked him about it, expecting a fight, but instead he caved.

I mean, instantly gave up. Apparently, the guilt’s been killing him.

When you wouldn’t answer my calls…I pressed him.

He admitted to getting a text from Matthew not long before, saying he had you out here and was going to end it.

This is Matthew’s place, and he’s brought Winchester out here to fish in the past, so we were able to find it quickly, thank God. ”

“So Winchester erased John Parry’s message about seeing Kamden at the gas station?”

“Yep.”

“Why? Was he paid to do it?”

“No,” Cole says, shaking his head. “He was buddies with Matthew Calder back in high school. Winchester’s got his own sketchy past with women, so when Matthew told him Kamden tried to blackmail him, Winchester was sympathetic—even when Matthew told him it went too far and she ended up dead.

Matthew asked Winchester for his help, to keep tabs on what the department knew. ”

“He’s the leak.”

“Yeah, he copped to that too. Winchester’s been listening to the tip-line for months, making sure no one called in with anything that could come back on Matthew. When he heard John Parry’s message, he erased it and warned Matthew.”

“Did he say who ran Parry off the road?”

“Doesn’t know. And he swears it wasn’t him.”

“Do you believe him?”

Cole wags his head back and forth. “I think so. You should have seen him. I really do think the guilt was getting to him—once he mentioned it, I realized how much weight he’s lost in the last few months. He says the driver who hit Parry must’ve been Matthew, or someone Matthew hired.”

“What if Edward hired someone to do it? We already know he hired a lawyer to try to buy the body out from under Richard Taybolt. Now we know why.”

And it wasn’t because James killed someone. It was because his brother did, and that is enough to derail a campaign.

“We’ll be looking into it. Sophie…” Cole pauses, his face tightening. “There’s more. Winchester said…Teresa Anders”—he sucks in a breath—“Fogerty didn’t kill her. Matthew did. I’m so sorry. I know that was your case and conviction and now your future brother-in-law?—”

I put a hand on Cole’s arm and squeeze. “I already know. Matthew told me.”

Cole’s eyes widen. “I mean…how are you…with that?”

I sigh. “It may take a minute to sink in.”

“I can’t believe it. That Matthew could do that…

” Cole shakes his head. “Winchester said that when Matthew told him he killed another woman so that we would stay focused on Fogerty—he panicked. Told Matthew he was done helping him, but Matthew threatened to expose Winchester’s part in the cover-up if he did anything to lead us to him.

So Winchester hung on, hoping it would all go away with Fogerty’s conviction, which it almost did. ”

I shiver at the thought, and Cole’s brows narrow. “Let’s get you home. You can run through all this”—he gestures at the house—“with the sheriff later. Get some sleep and come in after?—”

“No. I’m good. I have to go in. There’s a lot I need to explain.”

And still a lot more I need to understand.