Page 59 of Never Stay Gone
Silence. Dakota took Shane’s hands and squeezed, and Shane squeezed back. Held him and didn’t let go. They were holding fucking hands, right in the goddamn sheriff’s office, and Shane was being questioned about Shelly’s murder.
“How was it between you two when you left? Is it true that she threw you out? Is it true you two shouted at each other?”
“No.” Shane’s eyes squeezed closed. “No, not at all. She asked me to move out, and I—I wasrelieved.” His voice choked off.
“Neighbors say there were raised voices.”
“We did fight, some. She had questions. I couldn’t answer them all.”
“What about this driveway meltdown?”
“I… was listening to a CD. I sang along. Loud, I guess.” Shane flushed. His nails dug into Dakota’s palm. “I was emotional. We’d just broken up. I was hurting.”
“Where did you go after you drove off?”
Silence. Shane looked into Dakota’s eyes.
“I need to know where you were last night,” Heath said again.
“I didn’t kill her,” Shane whispered. “Heath, I didn’t kill her. I would never hurt her.”
“Shane—”
“How could you possibly think Shane had somethin’ to do with this?” Dakota cried. “Hell, do you even know ’im?”
“There are defensive wounds,” Heath said. His fist came down on his desk, knuckles pounding the wood. “She’s got fibers from what looks like a sheriff’s department uniform under her nails. Doesn’t look like there’s DNA, though it’s too soon to be certain about that. Out of everyone here, Shane, you’ve got the most plausible motive. You two had a fight that other people witnessed. They heard shouting and saw you storm out of the house. Now you’re saying you two ended your engagement. You know as well as I do that the most likely perpetrator of violence is someone the victim knows well. I have to know: where were you last night?”
Jesus Christ. All those hopes and dreams, all that desperation, wanting to hold on to the night so the morning would never come. Dakota had known, he’d fucking known something was going to go wrong. How much more wrong could it get?
It felt like a bomb had gone off inside Dakota’s ribs. Like every one of his bones had been pried out and his heart was being ground down beneath some cosmic bootheel. The best night of Dakota’s life—maybe, possibly, Shane’s too—happened while Shane’s ex was being killed?
They were both on the ground, knees touching, hands grasping each other’s, fingers threaded together. Shane’s knuckles were white. Dakota’s hands were shaking. “I was with Dakota,” Shane whispered. “I drove straight from the house to Dakota’s room at the motel. And I stayed there. All night.”
Heath cleared his throat. “You two are best friends—”
“We’re more than that,” Shane said. His expression shattered. “I couldn’t marry Shelly. I couldn’t.”
“Thought you and Dakota lost touch.” Heath wouldn’t look at Shane.
“We did, but… That doesn’t mean anything went away.”
“And is this why Shelly asked you to leave?”
“It ain’t like that, Heath,” Dakota barked. “And I don’t like the way this is goin’, the kinds of questions you’re askin’ Shane. Are you interrogatin’ or questionin’ him officially? ’Cause if so, I ain’t heard any Miranda rights bein’ read. Maybe Shane should call his lawyer for this conversation.”
“Dakota, this is not an official interrogation. I’m trying my best to keep this off the record. I’m trying to establish Shane’s alibi so I can tell whoever asks that I know exactly where my chief deputy was last night, and that I can one hundred percent say he wasn’t at his former home, killing his fiancée. Ex-fiancée.”
“All you need to know is that Shane was with me,” Dakota said. “All night long. He never left.”
Heath closed his eyes. “Let me get the timeline straight: Shane and Shelly break up, and, Shane, you go to Dakota to spend the night there with him. Was this a ‘crash on the couch, drink beer and commiserate’ kind of thing, or—”
“Or a ‘mind your own damn business’ kind of thing,” Dakota spat.
Heath shot Dakota a glare. “Those defensive wounds on Shelly would have left marks on her attacker. Long fabric burns, or welts, over someone’s back and down their arms. So, Shane… I need you to take off your shirt.”
“Jesus Christ!” Dakota shouted. “Are you out of your fuckin’ mind? You askin’ everyone in this place to do the same thing?”
“As a matter of fact, I have.” Heath turned his attention to Shane. He softened. “I’m trying to clear you. Iwantto clear you. Jesus, telling you about Shelly, asking you these questions… This is one of the worst days of my life. I don’t want to be doing this, but Ihaveto. For the investigation, but more importantly, foryou. I want everyone to know you’re innocent.” Heath turned his attention to Dakota. “And I wanted you here for this because I thought you would be a comfort to Shane. But more than that, Dakota, I need your help on this.”
