Page 43 of Wild Justice

They didn’t have to come here. They could refuse to be interviewed. Right now, she thought the odds were about sixty-forty and not in her favor.

If they didn’t show, she’d take the opportunity to go talk to Glen Foster about that night in the sports bar.

“Did you look at it?”

“Nope, it just arrived a few minutes ago,” Steve said. “Now I’m headed to the coffee shop to pick up some donuts. Do you have a preference?”

Chase always had a box of pastries and donuts for the sheriff’s station ready for pick up every morning. Their mom had started the tradition years ago for their dad, and Chase had taken it up when he took over.

“Cinnamon roll or chocolate frosted donut. Chase knows what I like. I’m not picky.”

They didn’t need to order coffee, too. Lulu’s mom had put a fancy coffee machine in the sheriff’s station practically the first week she’d started working here, and it had been upgraded a few times. It was far superior to the old drip machine Lulu had in the apartment upstairs. She’d finish her first cup of the day and then get a good one from the machine.

Steve closed the door behind him, leaving Lulu alone with the file. She settled at her desk and flipped it open, perusing the report. It mostly confirmed what Lulu had observed at the scene.

Dana had died from blunt force trauma to the head, possibly from a thin pipe. There hadn’t been any alcohol or drugs in her system.

Lulu had to read the next line on the report twice. She read it a third time just to make sure. Now…this was a surprise. She hadn’t expected this at all.

Dana Cartwright had been eight weeks pregnant.Pregnant.

That meant there certainly was a man in her life.

A man that their little town of Harper didn’t seem to know about which was strange. She’d already admitted to herself that everyone would find out about her and Kai, probably within days if not a few weeks.

Yet somehow, Dana and her lover had kept their relationship under wraps for at least two months. That was determination in action. With her home being so remote, perhaps it hadn’t been all that difficult? Did they never go anywhere? Perhaps they’d driven out of the county to spend time together?

It was more important than ever to find out whom Dana had been seeing. Did he know about the baby? Had he been happy or upset?

An even better question was why they had to keep their relationship so quiet? Had Dana been the side chick? An unexpected pregnancy could have messed up the man’s whole life.

A knock on the door interrupted Lulu’s reverie, and Steve stuck his head in.

“Your nine o’clock appointments are here. And they brought their lawyers.”

“Put Jay Bradford and his attorney in the interview room. Offer Allie and her lawyer coffee and donuts. I’ll get to her second.”

Was Dana’s pregnancy what she’d been discussing with Jay the other night at the sports bar? Had he known about the baby? Was he the father?

There was only one way to know, and that was to ask him. She stood, ready to gather her things for the interview when Steve stuck his head in again, but this time he was wearing a worried frown.

“Sheriff Dare Turner is here to see you. I told him I wasn’t sure you had time to talk to him. He looks like he wants to kill me.”

“That’s Dare’s normal expression. Show him in. It’s all fine. Just offer everyone coffee and pastries, okay? I won’t be long.”

Sheriff Dare Turner was a mountain of a man, tall and broad-shouldered. He was still in excellent shape despite nearing retirement age, and Lulu was sure he could whip up on any criminal who might make the mistake of wandering into Dare’s town. He was known for running a tight ship, and his town adored him.

He was also known for wearing the most sour and grouchy expression on his face. As if he was truly pissed off pretty much twenty-four-seven. He wasn’t, of course, but Lulu and some of the other kids her age had said that his face had probably molded into that shape, and it was painful for him to smile.

She had seen him smile many times over the years, but it was rather a rare occurrence - when his daughters Faith and Cherish graduated high school, things like that. He would have taken a bullet for his wife and daughters without a second thought. He was absolutely crazy about his family, and his wife Rayne swore up and down that he smiled more at home.

But his grouchy demeanor could still shake even an experienced deputy like Steve. It was amusing really, since all Lulu had known from Uncle Dare was his teddy bear side.

“Lulu, looks like you’re getting all settled here,” Dare said when he walked in.

He’d almost smiled, too, which meant he was happy about her taking this job. He’d sent her a lovely text the morning her job had been announced. Several of the uncles and aunts had.

“I am. What brings you to Harper?”

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