Page 124 of Obsession

“What about Trey?” Gordon’s voice was cautious.

“He’s dead.”

A sharp gasp sounded through the phone. “What? How?”

“That’s what I’d like to discuss with you.”

There was silence on the line, and then the front gate swung open and Sam drove through. Gordon met him at the front steps dressed in sweats and athletic shoes.

“Come inside,” Gordon said. Sam followed him inside and down the hall to what looked like a TV room. “What happened to Trey? Was he killed in the line of duty?”

“No. Someone shot him at his cabin. Do you have any idea why?”

The doctor blanched. “I need a drink.”

He walked to a bar on the far side of the room and poured a good two inches of amber liquid into a glass that he tossed down in one gulp. Judging from his reaction, Gordon hadn’t known about Trey’s death ... or he was a good actor.

He turned to Sam. “Tell me what happened.”

“Not much to tell, yet. Nate and I drove out to talk to Trey about Mary Jo Selby and Ryan Winters’s deaths.”

He swallowed hard. “Y-you found Ryan’s body? Where?”

Sam watched his expression. “We found where he’d been buried.”

Gordon leaned against the bar and closed his eyes.

“You want to tell me about it?”

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“Really? I think I’ll go see what Sheriff Carter has to say when he discovers his son is dead.”

“You can’t pay any attention to that old man.”

“He was pretty clear the other night when he told me Trey didn’t murder Mary Jo. Was it you who killed her?”

“No!” His face flushed.

“Well ... since Ryan is dead, and now Trey, that just leaves you ...”

“None of us killed her! There was someone else there that night.”

“Who?”

The doctor shook his head. “I don’t know. But there had to have been because I didn’t kill them and I never thought Trey did.”

Sam tapped his hand on his leg. “Can you drive a backhoe?”

Confusion clouded his eyes, and then he turned and poured another drink, downing it as quickly as he had the other. A picture emerged in Sam’s mind. No wonder it’d been hard to figure out. The shooting at Mount Locust was not connected to Emma’s stalker. “You and Trey buried Ryan’s body the night Mary Jo died ... but why?”

Gordon wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “You’re crazy.”

“I don’t think so.” Sam hesitated, pulling his thoughts together. “If you aren’t the killer, then you’re next.”

“What?”

“Think about it. There were four of you at Loess Bluff that night. Mary Jo. Ryan. Trey. All dead. You’re the only one left who knows what happened, except for Sheriff Carter, and I doubt the murderer is worried about him. But you, that’s a different matter.”

---