Page 75 of GAF Factor

Her eyes flicked to mine and a shadow of doubt crossed her face. “But it’s what you would do.”

“What I would do is not in question right now.”

Gravel crunched as two cop cars pulled down the long driveway. I tensed, knowing this was not going to go how she planned. If anything, we were about to be hauled in for questioning.

19

ISLA

I waited outsidewhile the police chief was inside going over the scene. I had been ordered to wait out here and not go anywhere. Like that would happen. Why would we have called the police if we were planning on fleeing the scene?

IKE was talking with IRIS, no doubt planning out their next move, but all I could think about were my in-laws. How long had they been lying on the floor? It looked like it had been days. Who could do such a thing to them?

My eyes flicked back to IKE, and I wondered if he could. He’d told me once that he’d done things that would turn my stomach. Things that I didn’t want to know about. But he wouldn’t go after innocent people, would he?

“Ma’am?”

I startled as the police chief approached, so caught up in my musings over whether or not IKE could ever perform such a heinous act, that I hadn’t seen him approach.

“Isla,” I corrected.

He tipped his hat at me. “You were related to the victims?”

“Yes, they’re my in-laws.”

“And your husband…”

“I was looking for him, actually. I was hoping they would know where he is.”

He nodded, jotting down a few notes. “Has he done this before? Disappear?”

“No.”

“Did you report him missing?”

I thought that was an odd question, considering that there were two people dead inside, but I guess they assumed that maybe he lost it and killed his parents. “No, we’re separated.”

“Uh-huh. Uh…would you mind coming back to the station with me to answer some more questions? They’ve got to finish up here and someone has to cover the station.”

“Sure, that’s no problem,” I smiled.

As the officer walked away, he tipped his hat at IKE, who was walking toward me.

“What was that about?”

“He wants me to come to the station and answer some questions.”

“And you agreed?” he snapped.

I was taken aback by the anger in his voice. “Yes, why wouldn’t I? These were my in-laws, IKE. I won’t stand by and let their killers walk free.”

“I can guarantee they won’t find the men responsible for what you saw in there,” he said, pointing to the house. “And the longer we waste talking to them, the more likely it is that they’ll find you and try to do the same to you.”

“That’s what you’re here for, right?” I challenged.

He gritted his teeth, irritated with me. Yes, I was being a pain in the ass. Things like law and order might not matter to a man like him, but I wasn’t from the same world as IKE. I couldn’t brush aside the murder of two people I knew and had spent holidays with. I couldn’t run out without at least trying to help the police.

“Fine. Get in the truck.”

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