Page 65 of Counter Attack

“Right.”

They approached the boys, who barely looked up from their phones as Alexis and Nathan neared. She dismissed the officers for the time being and turned to the boys. “I hope you’re not putting what happened here on social media.”

All motion ceased. Ethan Kennedy was the first to speak. “Give us some credit.”

“Yeah,” Cole and Mason echoed.

“Good. Because I will be looking at your TikTok pages.” Alexis took out her notepad. “I understand you boys found the victim. Are you friends with him?”

Again, Ethan took the lead. “No way.”

“Why not?” Nathan asked. In spite of their bravado, there were signs of anxiety—Cole flipped his phone front to back, and Mason tapped his fingers against his pant leg. Only Ethan gave no outward sign of unease.

The teen wrinkled his nose. “He’s like, old.”

Nathan wondered how the teen classified him and Alexis.

“So you three weren’t meeting Trevor Martin? You just happened by the gravel pit and found him dead?” He kept his gaze on Ethan. If he hadn’t, he would have missed the twitch in his left eye.

“Yeah, that’s right.” This time Cole spoke up. The way his pitch rose, he would’ve been better off keeping his mouth shut.

Alexis tapped her pen against the notepad. “How’d you get here?”

For a second none of them spoke, then Mason pointed toward the east side of the property. “Our car is on the other side of the quarry.”

“I see.” She nodded slowly, then tilted her head. “So, why were you here?”

“We, uh, hang out here sometimes when the trucks aren’t rolling in and out—you know, like on Sundays,” Ethan said.

“Why?” Alexis seemed genuinely perplexed.

All three boys stiffened. Mason and Cole shifted their gaze to Ethan, who lifted his chin. “No law against it, is there?” he asked.

“It would depend,” Nathan said. “If anything went missing while you three were here, alone, you could be people of interest in the case.”

Ethan shook his head. “We just come here to shoot my dad’s rifle. He got permission from the owner.”

“I don’t see a gun,” Nathan said.

“I don’t like your questions,” Ethan replied. “Are we under arrest or something?”

Nathan widened his eyes. “Should you be?”

“No.” Ethan folded his arms across his chest. “And we’re not answering any more questions until I talk to my dad. He’s an attorney.”

“I know who your dad is,” Nathan replied. “And we’re not accusing you of anything. So, do you have something to hide?”

“No!” Then Ethan froze as Gem trotted toward them, her head going from side to side, sniffing the air. Mark and another officer followed behind.

The boys shared uneasy glances as the dog neared. Ethan backed up. “Get the dog away from me. I don’t like attack dogs.”

“You don’t have to worry. Gem is a drug dog,” Alexis said as the dog sat down in front of the boys and barked. While Mark rewarded Gem with a tug toy, Alexis turned to the officer who accompanied Mark. “Search them for drugs.”

“You can’t do that!” Ethan yanked out his phone. “I’m calling my dad.”

“Tell him to meet you down at the jail complex.” Nathan would gladly give the county jurisdiction on this case. He touched Alexis’s arm and pointed toward the white van that had just entered the quarry. “I think the ME has arrived.”

Alexis nodded and closed her notepad. “Mark, could I have a word with you when you finish here? In private.”

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