Page 12 of In Her Fears
The mayor sat behind her imposing oak desk, her tailored suit crisp as always.“Sheriff Graves.Deputy Hawkins Please, have a seat.”As they settled into the chairs offered, she continued.“I received a rather unpleasant call from Pinecrest a short while ago.Chief Morgan seems to think you’ve overstepped your bounds, Sheriff.Again.”
“I was responding to a direct request from Colonel Spelling of the Highway Patrol,” she replied evenly.“As a professional courtesy.”
“A professional courtesy,” Claire repeated, her tone making the phrase sound like an accusation.“And what exactly did this ‘courtesy’ entail?Undermining another department’s murder investigation?”
Jake noted the subtle ways her body language changed—shoulders squared imperceptibly, chin lifting slightly.He’d seen this transition before, Jenna shifting from sheriff to warrior without moving a muscle.
“Colonel Spelling had concerns about Chief Morgan’s handling of a witness, a teenager Morgan had prematurely classified as a suspect,” Jenna explained.“He requested my assessment of the situation.And he told me that the county prosecutor’s office also wanted my input.That’s all there was to it.”
“That’s all there was to it,” Claire echoed again, her skepticism evident.“And yet Chief Morgan feels you deliberately discredited his investigation.He’s considering filing a formal complaint.”
“That’s his prerogative,” Jenna replied, her voice level.“But I was acting within the parameters of inter-departmental cooperation.The suspect in question was a seventeen-year-old boy who found the body while trespassing in the cemetery.There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime beyond his presence at the scene.”
Claire’s gaze shifted to Jake, as if seeking a different response.“And you, Deputy?What was your … assessment of the situation?”
“I concur with the Sheriff’s evaluation,” Jake said simply.“The evidence didn’t support holding the boy.Colonel Spelling told Chief Morgan that he also agreed with that appraisal.Now the boy is being released to his parents.”
Claire leaned back in her chair, staring at them silently for a moment.Then she asked, “And why exactly did Colonel Spelling request yourspecificassistance, Sheriff?”
Jake watched Jenna’s face for any sign of discomfort at that question, but she remained composed.
“We’ve worked with Colonel Spelling before,” Jenna replied.“He values my perspective.”
“Yes, your ‘perspective,’” Claire said, emphasizing the word oddly.“Which seems remarkably insightful, particularly in unusual cases.”
But before Jenna could respond, Claire’s demeanor changed.The rigid set of her shoulders softened almost imperceptibly, and she leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk.
“I apologize, Sheriff,” she said, her voice taking on a quality Jake had seldom heard before—something almost vulnerable.“I didn’t call you here simply to berate you about jurisdiction.”
Jenna’s eyebrows rose slightly, clearly caught off guard by the shift.“Then why did you call us in, Mayor?”
Claire sighed.“Do you realize what’s been happening in our community recently?The scale of it?”
Of course they knew.They’d lived through a series of horrific cases during the last few weeks, seen the aftermath of each of them up close.But the mayor’s question seemed rhetorical, and both Jake and Jenna waited for her to continue.
“Beloved local citizens who turned out to be mass murderers,” Claire said.“Bodies found in the walls of a church.We’ve had drownings and deaths caused by sheer pain and terror.Victims strapped to radio towers and then the use of those ancient rituals ….”
Jake noticed something in the mayor’s eyes that he hadn’t expected to see—fear.Real, human fear, breaking through her polished political exterior.
“So many horrible cases in over such a short period of time,” Claire continued, her gaze intense as she looked back and forth between them.“This isn’t normal, Sheriff.”
“What are you suggesting, Mayor?”Jenna asked, her voice carefully neutral.
Claire’s hands spread in a gesture of uncertainty.“I don’t know.That’s what troubles me.I don’t know if these are simply isolated incidents or if there’s something...darker at work in our town.”
The word “darker” seemed to carry unspoken implications.
“And I find myself in a difficult position,” Claire added after a moment.“I’m deeply grateful for your work, Sheriff.You’ve solved every one of these cases.You saved lives.You found justice for my brother when—” Her voice caught briefly.“When Clyde was murdered.I haven’t forgotten that.”
Jake knew that solving that case had created a temporary alliance between Jenna and Claire, though it hadn’t lasted long.
“But I can’t help wondering...”Claire hesitated, seeming to choose her words carefully.“My family has lived here for a very long time and I know our town’s history.It seems that these horrors began shortly after you became sheriff …”
Jake felt his body tense.Beside him, Jenna went very still.He saw it then—the almost imperceptible flinch, so subtle that only someone watching closely would notice.The mayor’s words had struck a nerve, touching on what he suspected were Jenna’s own private doubts.
“Let’s not forget,” he interjected, “a lot of those murders happened way before Jenna even became sheriff.It was her hard work that finally brought the truth to light after everyone else came up short.”
Claire immediately backtracked.“I’m not accusing you of anything, Sheriff,” she said quickly.“That came out wrong.I just mean—perhaps whatever abilities you have that help you solve these cases might also be...I don’t know how to put it nicely … attracting them, somehow?”
