Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 108849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Norrs nodded. “I think it’s necessary, too. What time were you called out by the Martinellis?”
Huck scrubbed both hands down his face. When had he last shaved? “I think it was around midnight, but double-check the call logs for an exact time.”
“My assistant is going through all of the records right now,” Norrs said. “How long did it take for you to reach the farm?”
“It’s a thirty-minute drive from my place, but it was cloudless and very cold that night, which means the roads became iced over, so I might’ve taken more time. Then I spent at least an hour speaking with them, investigating the damage, and taking notes and pictures.” It had been freezing that night, and he’d fitted Aeneas with a heavy coat before taking him out to search.
Wright studied him, obviously looking for a question to ask.
Norrs ignored Huck’s boss. “How long did you search the vicinity?”
The guy knew what he was doing. “I searched for a couple of hours at least,” Huck said. “The Martinellis have about fifty acres that abut forest land, so it took a while.”
Wright frowned. “If they have fifty acres, why the hell would anybody shoot close to their house? Especially so late at night?”
Huck dug deep to keep his temper in check. “Because they were poaching, Deputy Chief. They must’ve followed a good-sized buck via the moonlight, since it was clear and freezing, and then decided to take a shot too close to the house. Since it was so late, maybe they figured nobody would bother getting out of bed to contact us.”
It irritated the hell out of him that anybody would shoot that close to a dwelling. Especially at night. There had been kids sleeping peacefully in their beds. He would keep looking for the poacher. Anybody dumb enough to make that mistake would make another.
Wright threw up both hands. “Did anybody see this huge-assed buck?”
“Just the poacher,” Huck said.
“Then why couldn’t you or your dog find the shooter?”
Huck shrugged. “Aeneas tracked a scent to a nearby logging road, and my guess is that the shooter had a vehicle there. Dogs can’t track vehicles.” Although he’d searched the entire area just to make sure.
Norrs nodded. “After you failed to find the poacher, what did you do?”
“I took my dog and headed home to sleep around three in the morning.”
Norrs focused on him. “Can anybody confirm your timeline? Exactly when you returned to your home?”
Huck didn’t like this at all. “Yes. Special Agent in Charge Laurel Snow can confirm what time I returned home.”
Wright’s beady eyes gleamed. “So you and the FBI agent are sleeping together. That’s a terrible conflict of interest.”
“Sometimes our cases cross, but there’s no conflict,” Huck retorted. “I understand that I need to recuse myself from this case, but you’re crazy if you take Laurel off it.”
“She’s that good?” Wright sneered.
Huck didn’t give a crap that the man was his boss. He was about to be punched in the face.
Norrs cocked his head. “As for Teri Bearing’s murder, you were out on a call that night across the river from the church where her body was found, right? We have your GPS, Captain.”
Huck remained stoic while his body flooded with adrenaline. “Yes. We received a call, an anonymous one, about an elderly man wandering in the snowy forest.”
“Did you find him?” Wright asked.
“No.” Huck drew in air. “Laurel was with me in bed when the call came in.”
Wright picked at a pimple on his chin. “You could’ve called Fish and Wildlife, gotten back in bed, and then received the call from the office.”
Huck didn’t have time for this. “I didn’t do that. Again, I’m off the case but Laurel should stay on if you want to find this killer.” Although he’d rather send her on a vacation somewhere warm, but he knew better. She was dedicated to the point of being obsessive.
Wright scoffed. “Nobody is that good. She can’t be.”
“You’re wrong,” Agent Norrs answered for Huck. “Laurel Snow is that good when it comes to catching serial killers. There’s a reason she heads the Pacific Northwest Violent Crimes Unit. I’ll go speak with her after this interview.”
Wright pivoted to face him. “You think she’ll tell the truth? That she wouldn’t lie for her boyfriend and provide an alibi for two murders?”
Norrs frowned. “I do think she’d tell the truth, and what is there to lie about? The captain just admitted he was searching the forest, alone with his dog, within the approximate time frame of Delta Rivers being murdered and to searching along the river, with his dog, within the time frame of Teri Bearing’s murder. GPS shows that both searches were within a stone’s throw of the murdered and scenes.”
Well, shit.
Chapter 16
After a frustrating day without her team, Laurel gratefully climbed up into Huck’s truck after work. Maybe they should take Sunday off. She turned on the seat warmer. “You know, I could drive once in a while. I did just buy a new Nissan Murano.” Her former SUV had been riddled with bullet holes she was fairly certain had been fired by Abigail after she’d stabbed Zeke Caine.