Page 37 of Silent Road

"From making choices you can't take back."The words hung heavy in the air between them.Sheila thought about her own teenage years, imagining all the trouble she might've gotten into if she hadn't had someone to look out for her.But Natalie had always been there, helping her out of trouble when she got in over her head.

Star didn't have an older sister.But she did have Sheila.

Sheila's phone buzzed, and she pressed the button on her steering wheel to answer through the car's speakers."Sheriff Stone."

"Hey, boss."Tommy's voice filled the car."Just thought I'd check in, see how things are going."

Sheila paused.It was odd for a subordinate to call to check in with her as if she needed to give a report to him.Then again, he was a rookie—he was still figuring out how this all worked.

"Anything to report on Morton?"she asked.

"Not really," Tommy said."Still talking with his lawyer, no timetable for when they'll be ready to include us."

Sheila sighed, disappointed but not entirely surprised.This complicated things.Should they devote their resources to proving Morton's guilt or to investigating other potential suspects?If Morton was their guy, then they had less than forty-eight hours to make a solid case against him before he walked.But if he wasn't, spending all their time on him would give the real killer the freedom to act with impunity.

"There's something else you should know, though," Tommy said."The resort administrators have been talking about requesting FBI assistance."

Sheila's jaw tightened.The competitive part of her, the part that had compelled her through so many kickboxing matches, bristled at the suggestion.But the rational part of her mind whispered that fresh eyes might not be the worst thing.

"Has anyone spoken with you directly about it?"she asked.

"No, I just overheard them discussing it."

Something wasn't fitting."Wait," Sheila said."How'd you overhear that conversation if you're at the station?"

A pause.

"Did you go back to the resort?"Sheila asked.

"Yeah," Tommy said slowly."This is Ground Zero, figured I should look around, see if I can learn anything.Besides, I asked a friend at the station to text me if anything happens with Morton."

Sheila thought about this.He wasn't doing what she'd told him to do, but then again, perhaps his instincts were right.

"We'll meet you at the resort, then," she said."Sit tight."

"One last thing.I also overheard something else—something very interesting about an employee here."

"Seems like you've been doing a lot of eavesdropping," Sheila said, raising an eyebrow.Star sighed, exasperated by the conversation, and threw her head back against the cushion.

"I keep my ear to the ground," Tommy said."Anyway, one of the maintenance guys, Fred Whitaker, mentioned seeing some professional camera equipment in one of the employee lockers last week."

Sheila was silent, pondering whether this was important or not.

"Was it Greenwald's missing camera?"she asked.

"He doesn't know—he didn't look that closely.Doesn't remember which locker, either, so maybe it's nothing."

The road curved sharply, and Star grabbed the door handle, knuckles white.Sheila slowed down, remembering she had precious cargo beside her.

"Want me to start checking lockers?"Tommy asked.He sounded almost eager.

"No, wait for me to get there," she said."And Tommy?Let's keep the FBI discussion quiet for now.I want to see what shakes loose in the next twenty-four hours."

After she hung up, the silence crept back in.Through her peripheral vision, she could see Star picking at a loose thread on her jeans.She still looked tense, but not quite as tense as earlier.

"You really think that guy did it?"Star finally asked."The guy you arrested?"

Sheila considered the question carefully."I think we have evidence that points to him.But in this job, you learn that evidence can lie almost as easily as people can."

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