Page 298 of Heart So Hollow

“And Tyler, well, don’t get me started on Tyler…” Moreau sounds a little more than annoyed.

“What about Tyler?” I ask with amusement.

“Look,” Moreau says sharply, “I don’t know what her story is…but I’m going to find out.”

Now I’m beaming, “Good luck with that,” I snicker.

“Colson, how do you…” she trails off for a few moments, still trying to make it make sense, “how do you know this many people associated with the Garrisons?”

“Come on, Tammy, we’re from a small town,” I brush her off, “you know how it is, everybody knows everybody else…everybody’s always up in each other’s business…secrets don’t stay secrets forever.”

“It just seems really…coincidental…” she’s not buying it, “some might say, convenient?”

“I got a shotgun, a rifle, and a four-wheel drive…” I give her my best Hank Jr.

“Colson…” she says in a warning tone.

“And a country boy can survive…” I croon into the speaker.

“Colson.” She’s going to fucking strangle me if we ever meet in person.

“Listen, all that matters is whether everything is admissible in a court of law,” I reply, not giving up anything else. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, my dog and I are in the middle of tracking a large predator that’s been sleazing around my property.”

Moreau’s had enough of my bullshit, so she decides to leave it alone for now because she also knows she shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds her. Or in this case, delivers her a dump truck worth of evidence with a big bow on top.

“Wait,” she gives an exasperated sigh, “all this to say that there’s now a warrant out for Bowen’s arrest. We’ve already contacted Gunnison, but you should be careful and stay vigilant until we locate him.”

“Of course,” I assure her, “I’ll let Brett know.”

Once all of this is over…

What I won’t tell Moreau is that I’ve had eyes on Bowen for nearly two years. I never stopped. The feeds inside his house eventually died, their batteries drained. The cameras are too small to matter, so they’ll remain in place as long as the house still stands. But I—or my associates—have maintained the exterior cameras. I know when Bowen comes and goes, I know when other people come and go, and I make sure to know who those other people are.

Enter Valerie Marston—the “current girlfriend.”

I recognized her immediately, in my home, talking to my girl like she’s a perfect stranger, as if she wasn’t following Bowen’s orders to come here, find Brett, and lead him right to her. But when she set foot in my house, she didn’t know that I’d been acquainted with her since Bowen brought her home with him a few months ago. Since then, she’s made a pretty pet for him and I’ve watched their relationship blossom from 1,400 miles away.

“Oh,” Moreau pipes up, “and you also might be interested in knowing they took cadaver dogs out to Bowen’s property.”

“And?”

“No hits,” she replies. It stings, but I’m not surprised. “However, the dogs got really excited about the concrete slab in Jay and Hildy Rhinehardt’s barn…”

I laugh to myself, “I would’ve loved to see Hildy’s face when they started drilling into her floor.”

“The hits just keep coming, Colson,” Moreau doesn’t miss a beat, “Hildy Rhinehardt disappeared sometime last night after their property was searched.”

“Hell, I’d get out of Dodge, too, if I were her,” I snort, “I don’t suppose her husband’s out looking for her…”

She ignores my snipe at Jay and how the universe just delivered him the ultimate Fatality move, “I suppose not,” she replies, knowing she won’t gain any sympathy from me, “but we were able to get another warrant and search Jay and Hildy’s house this morning.”

“Find anything interesting?” I ask, lifting my rifle and taking another look through the scope.

“Maybe. Remember that box that Brett said she found in Bowen’s ceiling?”

???

It’s bittersweet when secrets come out into the open and everyone realizes the truth you’ve known for years. Nothing compares to that moment of validation, but the downside is that you have to relive the agony all over again just so everyone else can process it for the first time. I wish I could call Brett and tell her everything Moreau just told me, but I’m not allowed. I’m busy hunting for polar bears.

---