Page 168 of Gunner

“Please sit down, Miss Walker.”

“Who the fuck did she supposedly kill? Look at her for Christ’s sake?”

I didn’t take offense to Gunner suggesting I was weak. He knew the truth. He knew I was capable of more than I appeared. The truth was, everyone was capable of murder under the right circumstances. Whether it was to protect someone else, or self-defense. Every person on the planet would kill if they needed to.

“Someone killed Penny, Gunner.”

“What?” He looked down at me, confused. Then his gaze trailed to the sheriff. “I thought you wanted to question me? Why is she here?”

“I did want to question you. After what happened at the bar last night, you are a person of interest. Technically, Miss Walker is also; however, given the state of the body, we assumed it was a man who beat her.”

Matlock’s phone pinged, and he spoke, “I believe I can clear them both right now. What was the TOD?”

“Coroner estimated the time of death at one a.m.”

He slid his phone across the table to the sheriff. “There is a time-stamped surveillance video of the hallway at the clubhouse. You will notice the time they both entered the room. And thetime they both exited the room this morning. They were together all night.”

“Maybe she went out the fucking window,” Reed sneered from the doorway.

“It’s on the third fucking floor. There is no way out the fucking window. Maybe you killed Penny and are trying to frame Haizley.”

“Why the fuck would I do that?”

“Because you think she’s the reason your rapist brother disappeared,” Gunner clapped back.

“What?” I gasped, looking at Gunner.

“Baby, meet BenjaminfuckingWilliams. Older brother to Greg Williams,” Gunner explained.

I didn’t know when they figured it out and I didn’t really care, but it made sense why Deputy Reed was so concerned about Greg’s whereabouts.

Looking at him now, I could see the resemblance. Without knowing all the information, it was easy to avoid the obvious.

I had spoken with Beck a little about her guilt at not recognizing Micah right away. I had to remind her that he was much bigger than the fifteen-year-old boy she knew. Combined with the beard that hid half his face, it made sense. But the most important thing was she believed Micah was dead. Her brain would not have made the connection on its own.

Then I told her not to feel bad. There was an entire universe who couldn’t tell that Clark Kent was Superman due to a simple pair of glasses. We laughed at that. But that one sentiment seemed to relieve her guilt the most.

“She did something to my brother!”

It was clear now that we knew, he wasn’t afraid to admit it. Gunner’s accusation made more sense than I cared to think about.

Poor Penny!

Standing from the table, Sheriff O’Rourke said, “You are both free to go. Matlock, please email me a copy of that video for the file.”

“You can’t let her go! She killed my brother!”

Corbin pushed Reed away from the doorway, and Gunner shielded me as we walked back out to the main room.

“Deputy, I want to see you in my office. RIGHT FUCKING NOW!”

We walked toward the front door, stopping only so Martha could hug me. I could hear the sheriff and Deputy Reed yelling back and forth before a door slammed.

“You won’t get away with this, bitch!”

We turned at the hateful words, and Deputy Reed pulled his gun, aiming at me and Gunner. Martha pulled me to the floor, and I heard the bullet leave the gun. The sound was deafening in the concrete building. It echoed as it bounced around, searching for a way out.

“GUNNER!” I screamed, then closed my eyes. I couldn’t look. I didn’t want to see him on the floor. Blood leaving his body the way it had left Greg’s. I didn’t want that vision to haunt my nightmares.

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