Page 11 of Her Wild Coast Promise

“Do me the honor, Seth, of accepting my nomination as acting sheriff.”

My already tight stomach tenses into a painful knot. “Excuse me?”

Hunter shoots me a proud grin. “I think you heard him just fine.”

I refocus on the chief. “I’m honored, sir, but—”

The chief’s eyes flash. “But nothing. You’re wise beyond your years, with the investigative skills this department is going to need.”

“I don’t know what to say, sir.”

“Say yes.”

Shit, shit, shit. “Of course, sir. I accept.”

He stands and offers his hand. I clasp it with both of mine.

“Thank you, sir.”

He beams. “You’ve earned it. I’m proud of you.” To my surprise, he pulls me into a firm man-hug, slapping me on the back.

After releasing me, he gives Hunter a stern glance. “Your job is to keep him in line, got that? And when the election is announced, get him to run.”

Wait, what did he just say?

“Yes, sir,” Hunter says, his steady gaze unwavering.

Kayla gives her husband a quick kiss on the cheek and smiles at us. “Stay for awhile. I can put the football game on.”

“Sounds great,” I say with a nod.

* * *

“Homicide, no doubt about it,”Dr. Caldwell says with a sigh into the phone. “But there’s something else you should know.”

I sit up in my chair and rub my eyes. “Go ahead.”

“Ligature marks. Manual.”

“So someone strangled her, then drowned her too?”

“The strangulation isn’t what killed her.”

I have no clue what he’s getting at. “Okay.”

“She recently had intercourse. Based on the time of death, the choking occurred then.”

I coax a deep breath into my lungs. “Damn.”

“I think the drowning serves two purposes. Besides causing death, it can expel trace DNA.”

Yeah, I’d had that same thought. Terrilynn’s killers had tried to drown her, too. “Was this girl pregnant?”

“Negative,” Dr. Caldwell replies. “Drug use, yes. Toxicology was clean, but I found marks between her toes.”

Shit. “Trying to hide her addiction.”

“She was also severely underweight, with signs of malnutrition.”

---