Page 40 of Whispers Left Behind

“You can confirm my alibi, though! I was with that woman all night. Just ask her, and—”

“You aren’t being arrested for Rachel Hanson’s murder, Joe.”

“I’m not?” Joe leaned his head back and let out a moan of relief. “Oh, my God! Thank you. Thank you so—”

“You’re under arrest for assaulting a police officer.” Alex motioned for the officer standing not ten feet away in the hallway to enter the room. “Take Mr. Cider to booking.”

Chapter Eighteen

Kinsley Aspen

October

Tuesday — 3:51 pm

“I’m walking into thehospital now.” Kinsley turned her head as another gust of wind whipped through the parking lot. “The security footage from Halliday’s lone traffic cam confirms that Louise Baird was following her daughter that night. The angle made it too difficult to see if someone was in the passenger seat.”

“Do you have someone with you?” Alex asked over the drone of several conversations. He had shared with her the details of hismorning. He was still at the Mott County Courthouse finishing some paperwork at the sheriff’s station. “I think there has been enough excitement for the day, don’t you?”

“Blake and Hendricks,” Kinsley replied as she stepped up on the curb. The two officers were right behind her. “And speak for yourself. It took me two hours to get a judge to sign off on our warrants.”

There was the slimmest of possibilities that Louise and Douglas were guilty of murder, but Kinsley was having difficulty connecting the dots. Tobias’ will confirmed that he had included his daughter and grandchildren. Kinsley had also taken the time to comb through Rachel’s phone records. Per their statements, Sebastian and Jack Hanson had given accurate timelines for their discussions with Rachel.

That wasn’t the case with two other individuals—Louise and Gage Baird.

“Are you driving back to Fallbrook?”

“In about an hour or two. Call me if I need to head back sooner.”

Kinsley disconnected the call as she entered the hospital. She would have turned to address both Officers Blake and Hendricks, but the sight of a familiar male subject standing at the information desk brought her to a halt.

Beck Serra was in a conversation with a volunteer behind the counter, having no sense of his surroundings. For having short black hair, it was nowhere near as perfectly trimmed as Alex kept his. Beck also sported an uneven five o’clock shadow, proof that he didn’t have a nine-to-five job.

“I’ll meet you both at the elevator,” Kinsley informed Blake and Kendricks without glancing in their direction. “I won’t be long.”

Beck turned around from the information desk. His gaze collided with hers, and she got the immediate sense that hehadn’t planned this encounter. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of the two officers veering toward the elevator banks.

Kinsley waited for Beck to close the distance between them. She wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of it being the other way around. There was a confidence in his stride, yet the way he shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat gave way to his discomfort at being caught at the hospital.

“Detective Aspen,” Beck greeted, his voice casual despite the tightness in his jaw. “I don’t know if you remember, but we met last year during—”

“Save it, Serra.” Kinsley cut him off, her words clipped, leaving no room for misunderstanding. “In case you missed last week’s press release, this investigation has nothing to do with Calvin Gantz.”

“I’m not here about Gantz.”

Beck’s response had Kinsley refraining from stating aloud her preplanned response. She switched gears, fully aware that she was being lured into a conversation full of potholes.

“I didn’t realize you took up residency in Fallbrook.”

“I didn’t,” Beck replied, seemingly more comfortable with their conversation than before. His gaze swept over her face as if attempting to read her thoughts. “I’m still freelance. I drove into town last week when the rumors about Gantz started to surface.”

Kinsley remained silent, not wanting to lead this discussion to a topic she would rather avoid. It would stand to reason that Beck hadn’t left town due to curiosity about the case. Either that or her father had agreed to another interview. She wouldn’t put it past him to try and use the findings of the investigation to his advantage.

“I’m due home tomorrow, but I thought…why not write a piece about the Hanson murder while I’m here? I mean, it would be foolish to waste a trip.” Beck gestured over his shoulder towardthe information desk. “I was just checking to see if Gage Baird was still in ICU.”

“Is that so?” Kinsley asked, mindful not to give out any information about the case. She had caught his interest in the two officers near the elevator. “Well, I don’t want to keep you. Good luck with your article, and have a safe trip home, Mr. Serra.”

“Is there any update on Gantz’s whereabouts?”

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