Page 174 of Secrets Along the Shore

“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 couldcome 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 killedanotherwoman 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.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-TWO

The worldalways seems a bit more right when I’m tucked under a blanket on the couch with a hot mug of coffee in my hand and my dog curled up at my feet, like I am now.

Bilbo is a snoring mound of gray fur, tucked into a tight circle. James is in the kitchen whipping up chicken enchiladas for dinner. The kitchen’s his safe space, and he’s needed it this past week. It’s good to see him absorbed in something he enjoys, grateful he’s getting a reprieve from thinking about the tough things, even if only for a little while.

We have spent the last several days drowning in tough things.

I went straight from the river house to meet with Sheriff Vickers. It wasn’t pleasant. He gave me the dressing-down I deserved for going to confront Edward Calder on my own, and for not giving him a heads-up about the developments in the case related to the Calders as I learned them. I apologized and tried to say all the right things about doing it differently next time—though we both know, even if I improve my communication, there's not much I can do about my tendency to leap first and look later. If I were anyone else, it might have meant the end of my working relationship with the sheriff's department. Fortunately, I have enough of a solid track record that I think I'll get a pass. This time.

James had it harder. Not only was his brother responsible for thedeath of two women, but his father’s since been questioned too, and the degree of his involvement still isn’t fully fleshed out. Edward is denying he knew anything about the murders, the attempted murder of Parry, the cover-up…but the circumstantial evidence points to him knowinga lot,and the offer to purchase the land Kamden Avery’s body was buried on will be difficult to overcome.

James glances up and catches me watching him. He shoots me a half-hearted smile, then returns to his pots and pans. I wish I knew how to help him. I haven’t got the first clue how to process that kind of betrayal. It isn’t my family—not my blood family, anyway—and I’m really struggling. I can’t imagine what it’s like inside his head right now.

And then there’s the thing I can’t say. The thing I can’t share with him.

That I thought he was the one who killed Kamden Avery.

He’s got enough to deal with. He doesn’t need to know that, on top of everything else, I doubted him.