Page 25 of The Clearing Rain

“I have absolutely no idea.”Lacey turned the paper over in her hands as she considered the words.But that gut feeling of hers was yelling that this had everything to do with the serial killer case.What did Pacca want to show her?They’d searched the area where Danika was dumped with a fine-toothed comb.If there’d been something, the police would’ve found it.What did it mean?Unless he was more intimately linked to the case than Nico believed.

“You’re not thinking of going out there, are you?”Dawn’s dark-brown eyes went wide.“If this is related to the murder, you’re not allowed to—” Lacey held up her hand to stop the other woman.

“I know what I am and am not allowed to do.”Of course she knew the rules.But if Pacca had some new information, then surely they had to make an exception.“He did specifically ask for me, though, didn’t he?”

“Yes,” Dawn replied thoughtfully.

What to do?Nico would most likely caution her against this, but he wasn’t here to tell her not to do this.But she also knew she couldn’t go rogue and do this without the proper authority, because if she did uncover some vital evidence, then it might be rendered inadmissible later on if a court case ensued.

“I’m taking this to Pederson,” she said at last.Pederson would look at this with an unbiased eye.Unlike Nico, who’d veto her going anywhere near the old farmer because of personal fear for her safety; just in case Serge was using Pacca to get to her somehow.If the newly in charge detective deemed it important enough to bend the rules—and she knew he might well be hungry enough for glory that he may just do it—then it was a possibility she’d be able to go.Strictly speaking, it was Nico who had the conflict of interest on this case, not her.Technically, she could still work on the case.Technically Serge wasn’t her relative, either by blood or marriage.Yet.But Shadbolt had removed them both to appease Nico.And at the time, she hadn’t argued.But now…?

Fifteen minutes later, after a sometimes heated conversation with Pederson, she and Constable Lawson were on their way to the farm in a police cruiser.It hadn’t been that hard to convince the detective to let them go, his gung-ho attitude made him eager for an outcome, and if Lacey was the one the farmer wanted, then Pederson wasn’t going to argue.Neither of them mentioned Nico or how he would react to this news.By tacit agreement they both decided that the potential of gaining a break in this case was too important, and weathering the storm afterward was a price they were willing to pay.The whole farm had been searched from top to bottom and there was nothing whatsoever to point to Pacca being involved in the killings.Pederson had surmised Pacca was just a victim of circumstance and the killer had chosen his property at random to dump the body.But he warned her not to enter the house alone; Lawson was always to be by her side.

“Yeah?Whaddaya want?”The old man stared at them from behind the closed fly screen door.

“I thought you might tell us that,” Lacey said, straightening up to her full height, as she and Lawson presented a united front, standing side by side at the door.“You rang us.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”Pacca glowered at them belligerently.Lacey could smell the old guy from where she was standing; it was like he hadn’t washed in the few days since they’d last seen him.“I told you blokes everything I know.You’ve been hounding me forever since that girl was found dead.I’ve had enough of yous, I tells ya.”

“You rang the police station half an hour ago and asked to speak to me, and me alone,” Lacey repeated patiently, wondering why the old man was suddenly rambling.

“Not me.I never rang,” Pacca replied obstinately.

“Constable Carmichael, may I speak with you a moment?”Lawson tugged insistently on Lacey’s sleeve.Lacey allowed herself to be pulled down to the other end of the veranda, where Dawn leaned in and spoke softly into her ear.“That wasn’t the man on the phone.The guy I spoke to was younger.His voice was deep and…kind of confidant.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

Then if it wasn’t Pacca who’d rung… The alternative sent a quake of fear through Lacey.Could it possibly have been Serge?

Lawson gazed fixedly at Lacey, but she clearly had no more answers.Lacey needed to get to the bottom of this so she strode back down the old wooden floorboards, hoping this hadn’t been just a hoax call.

“Mr.Mcmillan,” Lacey started, hoping the use of his formal name might prompt him into action.“We received a call from someone stating they were you and specifically requesting me to come out to your farm.”

The old man stared at her through rheumy eyes, his mouth set in a pugnacious line.Suddenly, a noise erupted from the cruiser parked ten yards or so away at the bottom of the front steps.Both constables turned toward the interruption.It was the police radio; the dispatcher saying something in urgent tones, but they were too far away to hear the details.Lacey decided to ignore it for now; she needed to sort this out and then they could be on their way.But Dawn took a step toward the vehicle, trying to decipher what dispatch was saying.

“The caller said, and I quote,”—Lacey said holding up the slip of paper with Dawn’s scrawled message,—“You need to come out to the farm.I have something to show you.”She folded the piece of paper and glared at him, her patience running thin.She was staring directly at the old man and she saw the second that his face changed.He blanched, his lips pulling back in a rictus of fear.

Dawn had taken another step away as the radio continued its urgent calls, flicking Lacey a worried glance.“I’m just going to see what’s going on,” she said, pointing at the car.“I won’t be a sec.”

Lacey didn’t answer as the other constable went down the steps, keeping her gaze trained on Pacca.He knew something.

“He promised me I’d never see him again.”Pacca spoke as if he’d forgotten she was there, his voice a low whisper as he wrung his arthritic hands together, the dry skin rasping.

She lifted her chin sharply.“What do you mean?”Lacey asked.“Who promised you?Tell me what you know.Do you know who the killer is?”

Pacca looked at her, startled.“What?No.No.That’s not what I meant.I don’t know nothin’.”But Lacey didn’t believe him.

A quick glance behind told her that Dawn had opened the cruiser door and was leaning in to listen.She tried a different tack.She took a step closer and whispered conspiratorially, “What’s this all about?You’ve got about ten seconds before the other constable returns.It’s now or never.”

Pacca hesitated.“If I give it to you, will you leave me alone?For good this time?”

“I can’t promise that unless I know what you’ve got.”

He grumbled and shuffled his feet for a few seconds, then finally said, “Wait here.”

Lacey turned to watch Dawn, whose face was changing from puzzlement to concern.But before she could ask her what was going on, Pacca was back.

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