The Killer You Know. Kimberly Van Meter
one of shock.
“Rhia Daniels? Did I hear that correctly?”
“Yes.”
Gladys fluttered her hands like a bird trying to take flight and then pressed her hands to her chest as if she was going to faint. “What is this town coming to? The wickedness is overwhelming. I mean, just the other day I was at the grocery store and someone stole cash right out of my purse when I had my back turned. The nerve! And now a murder?” She shuddered, adding, “This brings up so many bad memories. Hasn’t this town suffered enough?”
Forrest nodded, knowing that Gladys was referencing the death of Spencer Kelly almost twenty years ago. He and Spencer had been in the same grade. His death had been a major blow to the community.
Then Gladys thought of something. “Oh goodness, that must be why I saw all those news vans milling around downtown. That means the restaurants are going to be full. Darn if I’m going to get a table tonight now.”
“Gladys,” he admonished and she was immediately contrite.
“Excuse me, Pastor. Where is my head? I don’t know what’s wrong with me. We should host a gathering so people can come and grieve for poor Rhia.”
Forrest knew that was the right thing to do. But he struggled to say the words. Rhia was, indeed, a special girl. He didn’t know if he was ready to face all the grieving friends and family.
But he also knew with everyone in a lather about a potential murderer in their midst, he had to tread cautiously.
“That’s a beautiful idea, Gladys,” he finally murmured with a faint smile. “Please make the necessary arrangements. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I feel the need to pray. My heart is heavy.”
“Yes, of course.” Gladys quickly left the room and Forrest exhaled a shaky breath.
Rhia.
No more flirty smiles from across the pew.
No more struggling with his guilt.
His hands were still shaking.
He just had to get through the next few weeks.
God would provide solace and understanding.
Please, forgive me.
* * *
Silas checked into the hotel and, after making quick work of hanging his clothes and setting up his toiletries, he loosened his tie and sank into the small chair by the window.
Condensation gathered between the window panes from the damp air. Silas could already feel the cold creeping into his bones.
You’re tired, he rationalized. He wasn’t about to let his imagination start messing with him.
There was still time to head out to the scene.
Doing something was preferable to staring at the peeling wallpaper while he waited for his brother’s case file.
Grabbing his coat, he scooped up his keys and headed for Seminole Creek.
The road was bumpy just as he remembered. Only the locals swam in Seminole. It was difficult to find and easy to miss.
But in the summer it was the best place to hole up, drink a few beers and make out with your girlfriend away from prying eyes.
Except Silas had never much cared for the place after Spencer had been found there.
None of the Kelly boys hung out at Seminole after that.
The fact that he could still remember the way was a testament to how it was burned into his memory for all the wrong reasons.
You had to climb down to the actual creek from a short embankment, which was something someone else had known, too.
A Jeep was parked on the shoulder.
Silas pulled up behind the vehicle and climbed out, his gaze sharp.
Woodland creatures skittered behind ferns and tall trees flanking the wide creek bed. His breath plumed in frosty clouds as he surveyed the area.
Nothing had changed.
But then nothing changed in Port Orion it seemed.
It was as if the town had been caught in a time loop. Nothing moved forward or behind—everything was static.
He climbed to the top and looked down.
A huge rock jutted out across the water, a popular jumping point above a deep spot on the creek bed.
Spencer’s voice echoed in his mind.
“Silas, watch me!”
Spencer, the precocious shit, had wanted to prove himself. He was going to jump from the high rock, like the rest of them.
Their oldest brother Sawyer didn’t approve. “It’s too high for him.”
“Stop babying him,” Silas had shot back. “You practically pushed me off this rock when I was his age.”
“I can do it,” Spencer boasted to Sawyer with a tiny amount of pleading. “C’mon, let me try.”
Silas wanted to see Spencer jump. Everyone babied Spencer and he was sick of it. Why were the rules always different for Spence? “Go on, I dare you, you little mama’s boy,” Silas had taunted with a grin. “You’re too chicken to do it.”
Before Sawyer could tell him not to, Spencer flipped Silas off and then leaped from the rock, screeching like a little girl the entire way down.
Silas had laughed until Sawyer had picked him up and tossed him off the rock to join Spencer, saying, “You made him jump. You can make sure he’s okay.”
Silas’s balls still ached from the awkward way he’d landed in the water.
Yeah, his brothers had thought that was hilarious.
The memory of that day faded and Silas returned to the present only to see that aggressive reporter, Quinn Jackson, nosing around the crime scene.
“Hey,” he called out. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? This is an active crime scene.”
Quinn looked up, caught, and tried blinding him with a bright smile as if that was going to work.
The young woman was nice to look at. In another time, another place, he might even be tempted to get her number, but in this current circumstance, he had zero interest so that pretty smile was wasted on him.
“You can’t be down here,” Silas told her sternly as he joined her. “Exactly what do you hope to accomplish aside from contaminating a crime scene?”
“Hold on, there, Mr. Grumpy Pants, I’m not stupid. I’m not touching anything on the other side of the tape, I’m just trying to get a feel for the scene. It helps for my story.”
Silas narrowed his gaze, seeing her for what she was—a soulless shell of a person who only cared about her story.
Much like the reporters who’d ruined Spencer’s case.
Over-eager, aggressive and completely disinterested in how their meddling affected the outcome of a case.
“Get out of here before I call your boss,” Silas growled. “Try to show some respect for the girl who died.”
Quinn stiffened, taking immediate offense. “Excuse me? I knew that girl. I took her picture plenty of times for the paper so don’t lecture me on something you have no moral ground to stand on. You are the trespasser here. Try to remember that.”
“Her family is grieving,” Silas returned, disgusted with all press. “The last thing they need is some nosey reporter digging around, contaminating the case. Now, get out of here.”
“This is public land,” Quinn said, lifting her chin, her eyes flashing. “I can be here all I want as long as I don’t cross the tape. So deal