Page 34 of Mountain Man Officer

“Evening, ladies,” I said.

Ava smiled like she knew something but kept her mouth shut.

“I was wondering if we might have a word with you about the hair salon?”

Their faces fell when they realized this was not a social call.

“If you could come back to the station with me?” I asked Ava.

“Me?” she said.

“Yes.” I nodded.

The two girls looked at each other in confusion. “But we haven’t finished our dinner,” Ava protested.

“It’ll just take a few minutes,” I promised.

“Okay.” Ava slid out of the booth, smiling shyly at Ryan as she passed him.

Lindsey looked up at me with wounded eyes, and I wondered why. I was asking Ava back to the station to give a witness statement, not to have dinner. Hell, I was interrupting their dinner—it should have been obvious that this wasn’t a date. Still, I couldn’t shake Lindsey’s disappointed gaze. It followed me all the way back to the station.

“Do you want a coffee?” I asked Ava when we reached my office.

“No, thank you,” she said stiffly.

We were alone in the building. Cheryl and the chief had gone home for the night. Ryan was at the diner with Lindsey. The other policeman on duty was out patrolling. The night dispatcher worked from home, so we barely ever saw her.

I turned all the lights on to avoid a romantic setting and pointed to the chair beside my desk. “Have a seat.”

Ava sat.

“Did you know Carrie Fishburn?” I opened, intending to shock her.

Ava nodded. She was clearly uncomfortable but determined to see this through.

“What about Barbara Clydesdale?”

“Yes, I knew them both,” Ava said.

I listed the other two victims, and she admitted to knowing all four of them.

“What is this about?” Ava interrupted me. “Do you think we had something to do with their deaths? They all died of drug overdoses.”

“Don’t you think it’s odd that all four victims were clients of yours?” I put it to her bluntly.

“I didn’t think about it.” Ava gulped. “Everyone’s a client. There isn’t another hair salon in town.”

“Have you noticed anything strange at work recently?” I asked.

Ava shook her head.

“Any large purchases like a new floor or any renovations?”

She shook her head again.

“Any regular deliveries?” I tried my last indicator.

“We get restocked with product every two weeks,” Ava said. “Does that help?”

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