Page 64 of Inside Silence
She claps her hands and jumps to her feet.
“Fantastic! I am thrilled. You know where to find us?”
“Still up at the farm?”
She nods. “You’ve got it.” Then starts moving toward the front door where she stops to add, “Nothing much changes here.”
Well, I don’t know about that.
Halfway to an SUV parked on the street she turns around.
“Five o’clock,” she yells.
I give her thumbs-up and get a wave in return.
Somehow, I’m not surprised when a few seconds later the vehicle is burning rubber down my street. I’m laughing as I head back inside.
How’s that for a welcome to the family?
Chapter 19
Savvy
* * *
I haven’t had a chance to even look at my messages until just now, when I got behind the wheel to go home.
My eyes immediately go to Nate’s response to my much earlier question.
* * *
Good. Great, actually. Call me when you have a chance? I was just invited to an event at your father’s house.
* * *
What? What the hell does that mean?
* * *
Bit of a surprise, right? Same here. We’ll talk when you can.
* * *
I’m already looking for his number when I spot the time. Shit, it’s almost eleven, a little late to be calling. He’s probably already in bed and I don’t want to risk waking him up, so I shoot off a message instead.
* * *
Surprise would be an understatement. Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. Crazy day. You’re probably sleeping. Call you in the morning.
* * *
Calling today a crazy day is a bit of an understatement as well.
After reading those witness statements from the couple in cabin five, I floated Sanchuk’s name to Tessa Androtti and briefed her on him. As expected, she wanted to have a chat with him, but that chat turned into a full interview that had us both tied up for the best part of four hours this afternoon.
Androtti turned out to be a skilled interviewer, and I learned a ton just from sitting in and observing. She never lost her cool, was very friendly and exceedingly patient in how she handled Sanchuk, who flung around his usual bluster. Nothing flustered Tessa, and the fact she could not be shaken seemed to frustrate and ultimately enrage my former deputy. He’s the one who lost his cool and went into defensive mode when her gentle suggestions and innuendos around his possible involvement with the victim got under his skin.
Under the constant gentle pressure, he finally started cracking, denying vehemently he had anything to do with the slaughter of Franklin Wyatt but admitting to more minor offenses. These included shaking down visitors to our town for trumped-up traffic offenses he forced them to pay for on the spot, using his badge to gain favors, neither of which I had any clue of. He even fessed up to the attack on Nate in his garage.
