Page 36 of The Girl in the River

They drove north about forty miles, passing more farmland, and Derrick called ahead to set up a meeting with the detective. Tourists and families flocked to Amicalola Falls in Dawnsonville for hiking and to enjoy the natural beauty of the area. As a kid, Ellie had visited the pumpkin farm here in the fall and spring was strawberry picking season.

The town square was crowded with people milling around and visiting the tourist hot spots. She parked in front of the sheriff’s office and, as she climbed out, the humidity made her hair stick to the back of her neck.

Derrick tugged at the collar of his shirt, too, as if he felt it as well, then the two of them entered the building. A deputy greeted them, and Derrick introduced them. “I called about seeing Detective Mathis.”

“Right,” the middle-aged brunette said. “He’s expecting you. I’ll buzz you on back.”

She pressed a button and the door to the right opened. Ellie led the way and a minute later they were seated inside the detective’s office.

Detective Mathis was a tall, broad-shouldered man who looked as if he might have been the town football hero once. Stark features, thick salt-and-pepper hair and tanned skin from being outdoors. Probably a hiker or fisherman.

He crossed his arms and leveled his gaze at them. “Regina said you had questions about the Pennington case.”

“Yes,” Ellie said. “Their names came up in one of our cases. We’re aware they were murdered. Can you tell us about the investigation?”

“Sure enough.” He opened his desk drawer, pulled out a file and spread it in front of him. “That one bugged the hell out of me. Ain’t never seen anything like it.”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “This is a little town where everyone’s friendly. Well, except when they dip into the moonshine too much. We have a domestic here and there, kids breaking and entering to steal electronics or jewelry they can sell at the pawn shop, but nothing like this murder.”

His jaw hardened as he removed crime scene photos. “Everyone who knew the couple said they were real nice. Church going. Helped out in the community and volunteered at the soup kitchen. No trouble financially or with their businesses. Coworkers liked them. Neighbors liked them. Darnedest thing I ever seen.”

Ellie sensed he was deeply troubled about the way he’d found this couple. “Tell us more about the crime scene.”

He turned the stack of photos to face them then spread them out. “It was brutal. Both of them were tied to the kitchen chairs, beaten to a pulp. No DNA.”

“This doesn’t look like the work of teenagers or a B&E,” Derrick added.

“Sure as hell don’t.” Mathis’ sigh rent the air, then he dragged his fingers toward another set of photographs. “House was ripped apart. They tore up the cushions on the couch, destroyed furniture, slashed open the damn mattresses and broke and burned pictures in the house.” Ellie’s pulse raced as she stared at the images. The destruction was similar to the scene at Mia’s.

“Did you find forensics?” Derrick asked.

“Not a damn thing. Which tells me this was premeditated.”

“And perhaps personal,” Ellie said. “A crime of rage against the couple. But why?”

“That’s what stumped me,” Detective Mathis said. “Never found a motive.”

“The killer was looking for something,” Ellie said, thinking out loud as she considered a possible connection. “Maybe information. That’s why he beat them, to make them talk.”

FORTY-FIVE

Detective Mathis’ chair rocked backward. “What’s your interest in this case?”

“Mia Norman disappeared from her wedding yesterday under suspicious circumstances,” Ellie said, retrieving a photo of Mia. “In the event anything happened to her, she left word that her daughter was to go to the Penningtons.”

“I see.” Mathis worked his mouth from side to side. “You looked for the Penningtons and that led you here.”

“Exactly.” Ellie tapped Mia’s picture. “Do you recognize her?”

Mathis leaned forward to study it, then shook his head. “No. But if the Penningtons were dead, why would she leave her daughter to them?”

Ellie raised a brow. “She was obviously unaware of their murders. But their deaths and the fact that her house was destroyed in a similar manner to the Penningtons makes me wonder if her disappearance is connected to this case.”

“Did either the wife or husband have family?” Derrick asked.

Mathis flipped back through the file. “The husband had a brother who lives abroad. I checked him out and he was in London at the time of the murders. He came back and handled the funeral arrangements.”

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