But if his contact was right and Sam and Jo and Tyler had been a part of something that wasn’t on the up and up, then he didn’t want to be an insider in their little club. It was his duty to expose that, right?
Something sharp unfurled in his chest, obliterating his earlier cozy feelings of inclusion. He wasn’t really sure who wanted that information. The large sum of money he’d been offered had been enough for him to accept with no questions asked. But he had to wonder if the sheriff’s department or state police would be paying him so much money. Did they even pay officers on the side like that? Heck, he hadn’t even really given them much information yet at all, and they still kept sending money.
The redhead’s sorrowful sniffle caught his attention, and he looked in the rearview mirror again. According to what he’d heard in Sam’s office, the girl had screwed over her friends. And now she looked miserable. She’d lost her friends and her freedom. Kevin just hoped what he’d done wouldn’t end with similar consequences.
After Kevin hauled Tara away, the campers sat in Sam’s office in disbelief. None of them had wanted to believe they had a killer in their midst. Sam wasn’t surprised—you never knew what was lurking around underneath the surface when it came to people. When they finally left, they said they were planning to pack up and head home. None of them had any enthusiasm for camping.
Reese had just taken Lucy out for a walk when Kevin came back. The three of them leaned against Jo’s desk, coffee mugs in hand. Jo passed around the donut bag.
"So I was wondering. How did finding the bra in the river help you figure things out?" Kevin asked.
Sam thought he saw something flicker in the officer’s eyes that he hadn’t seen before. Interest. Sam realized that was one of the reasons he’d never really taken to Kevin. He’d never seemed interested in the cases. Until now. Maybe it was because Sam had never included him as he had in the office here. Might be a smart idea to include him more often.
"Actually, I should’ve figured it out earlier. When we were at the campsite after we discovered the body, Tara was making lunches for the campers. She only had six lunches," Sam said.
"So? They were going hiking, right? Makes sense they would be making lunches," Kevin said.
"Sure. Except there were seven campers. Why was Tara only making six lunches? Because she knew one of the campers wouldn’t be joining them."
"Why even make the lunches?" Jo asked. "She had to have known that Lynn would be discovered missing. Even if the body washed downriver and wasn’t found, they wouldn’t have gone hiking if she was missing."
Sam shrugged. "Keep up appearances, I guess. She couldn’t very well refuse to make the sandwiches. Then everyone would know something was up. She must have been not thinking straight and subconsciously not made one for Lynn since she knew Lynn wouldn’t be eating lunch that day."
Jo squeezed her donut in the middle, causing a blob of jelly to poke out of the hole. She swiped at it with her finger then licked it off. "Yeah, but there was no motive for Tara. At least not that we could figure, so why would we be scrutinizing everything she did? I wouldn’t beat myself up for not noticing that."
"The signs were there. Company doing badly. Tara was the CFO." Sam chewed his donut thoughtfully. "She was very clever, though. When her initial plan of making it look like an accident didn’t work, she adapted pretty quickly. Like how she told us that Lynn borrowed her bra. She knew she put it in the pile. Probably, no one would have noticed that if Lynn’s death had been ruled accidental, but with us asking questions, she was afraid it might come up, and telling us Lynn borrowed it was the perfect way to explain it being there."
"Not to mention it gave her extra ammunition to push her lie about Lynn and Noah," Jo said.
"Too bad she didn’t know we could get Lynn’s phone records." Kevin held up a sheet of paper that was on his desk. "Verizon finally came through, and Lynn had made calls to Roger Bannister. We would’ve tracked him down eventually and found out about the company’s troubles."
"Yeah, Reese really helped speed things up with that one." Jo looked at Sam pointedly. "She might be a little green, but I think she’s a great asset to the team."
"Agreed. Maybe we should give her more to do." Sam glanced at the piles of resumes that were still on the corner of Jo’s desk. "I suppose we still have to hire someone new, though."
He glanced at Kevin just in case the officer had changed his mind about coming on full time. Kevin looked away.
The door opened, and Dupont entered. Instead of his usual scowling face, he looked almost jovial.
"Congratulations on solving the Palmer case! This is wonderful news." He clapped Sam on the back, and Sam nodded and stepped away. He still didn’t trust Dupont and didn’t need his praise.
"I hope it brings some closure to her parents," Sam said.
"I’ve talked to them. They are relieved. Of course, they’re upset that it was a friend of Lynn’s but glad that justice will be done." Dupont glanced over at Tyler’s desk and back at Sam. "How are the new hires coming along?"
"We’ve been kind of too busy solving this case to interview people, but now that it’s over, I guess I’ll have to start weeding through the resumes." Sam put the donut down. Suddenly, he didn’t have an appetite.
"Good. I want to make sure this town is in tiptop shape. Show the citizens that I keep crime to a minimum here and that I’m the best man for the job of mayor," Dupont said.
Across from Sam, Kevin’s eyes widened. He was facing the door, and Sam turned around too late to see Reese coming in with Lucy. Lucy saw Dupont and growled, her hackles rising.
Dupont whirled around.
"Have you people been keeping this dog here?" He jerked his head back in Sam’s direction. "I thought I told you to get rid of her. It won’t do to have dogs in the police station. I’m running for reelection, and I can’t have any blemish on my reputation."
Sam didn’t give a crap about Dupont’s reputation and was about to say so when Reese cut in.
"Oh, don’t worry about that, Mayor Dupont," Reese said.
"Don’t give me any bullshit about bringing her to the shelter. You people have told me that twice already. Now, I want to tell you there are no—"
"It’s not that," Reese interrupted him, but in the nicest way possible. She went over to her computer and hit a few keys. The printer hummed to life and spit out a page. Reese grabbed it and held it up. "I thought you knew. We’ve been accepted for a K-9 LEAP grant. Lucy is an official K-9 dog now."
Dupont ripped the paper out of Reese’s hand and glowered at it. "K-9 program? That costs the town money. I don’t remember authorizing this."
"Actually, it’s a grant. It won’t cost any taxpayer money from the town. In fact, I’ve talked to a bunch of people in town, and they are very impressed with how you were able to get this extra resource for the town without having to raise taxes." Reese smiled at Dupont. "Very clever of you."
Dupont’s demeanor faltered. "They are?"
"Yes. Everyone knows that Lucy was instrumental in solving this last murder. Having her here as a resource will be a great asset to the town and help keep crime levels low."
Dupont cleared his throat. "Well, I see what you mean."
He looked down at Lucy and held a tentative hand out toward her. The dog eyed him suspiciously but gave his hand an obligatory sniff.
"Very well, then." Dupont tapped his lips with his finger. "Maybe this is something I should play out in my campaign. People like dogs, right?"