Page 123 of Montana Manhunt

“What about the chief? Do you know if he’s only involved with Rosalie, or does he have someone on the side?”

“Oh, he is loyal to Rosalie. No question about that. It’s a point of pride for him since his wife was a cheater. He dotes on Rosalie, you know.”

“Can you think of anything else that might help us, Mrs. White?”

“Like what, dear?”

“We learned Cami was looking into the disappearances and deaths of several women, especially those who were under her care as a social worker.”

Mrs. White grimaced. “I was afraid of that. She asked me questions much like you and your friends have. She never told me why she wanted to know. I should have insisted she tell me.”

“What could you have done?” Violet squeezed her hand. “Cami was stubborn and strong willed. Once she connected the dots and realized her girls were under attack, my sister would have done everything she could think of to prevent more loss of life.”

“Mrs. White, since Violet was out of the country, is there anyone Camilla would have trusted to help her with this?” Noah asked.

“Bradley Melton would be my first guess. If not him, then you might consider one of her coworkers, especially her supervisor, Melanie Raines. She knows this town and its citizens. If she couldn’t help Camilla, Melanie would know someone who might be of assistance.”

Violet hugged the older woman. “You’ve been a big help.”

“I’m glad, my dear. Now, you only have a few hours before the visitation begins. You should rest until then. You have quite an ordeal ahead of you.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Noah helped Violet to her feet. “Thank you for the help, Mrs. White. Please, for your own safety, don’t mention it to anyone. Violet needs you to be safe. We all want you to be safe.”

Rayne bent and kissed the woman’s cheek. “Noah’s right. You matter to all of us. Please take care of yourself.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

“This guy is tying up loose ends,” Grant said. “I don’t want him to think of you as one.”

“I’ll be careful. I know how to keep my mouth shut.”

Minutes later, the operatives were back in the SUV. “Where to now, Noah?” Grant asked.

“Hotel. Violet needs to decompress before she faces the crowd at the funeral home.”

“What about Melanie Raines?” Violet protested. “We need to talk to her. Cami might have confided in her boss.”

“I think Ms. Raines will show up for the visitation and funeral. If she doesn’t, we’ll track her down and have a chat with her.” Noah wrapped his hand around Violet’s. “We aren’t leaving until your sister’s killer is behind bars or six feet under.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

VIOLET TOOK ONElast look in the mirror, then turned away and crossed the room to the door. If her aunt bothered to come to the visitation or funeral, she wouldn’t be happy with Violet’s choice of clothing.

Too bad. With a killer on the loose and likely to show his face today or tomorrow, Violet wouldn’t sacrifice safety for the sake of her aunt’s sense of fashion for formal occasions. While the black dresses she’d tried on at the boutique were beautiful, Violet wouldn’t have been able to hide the stash of weapons she wanted at hand. She wasn’t taking a chance with her own life or those of her friends.

She opened the door and walked into the sitting room, where Noah and the others were waiting.

Noah held out his hand. “You look beautiful, sweetheart.” He bent and brushed his mouth over hers.

“Thanks.”

“We should go, since we have one stop to make on the way to Morrison.”

A stop? “Do you have new information?”

Noah threaded his fingers through hers and led her into the hallway. “This is something I wanted to do. We’ll contact Z after we return to the hotel tonight.”

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