Page 9 of Silent Trail

"Would you mind showing me your hands, then?" Sheila asked.

"Absolutely not!" Roger interjected, his face turning red with anger. "Is she on trial now, or what? My daughter doesn't have to show anyone her hands!"

"Mr. Hutchinson, please," Officer Garner said. "Let them do their job."

Roger shook his head bitterly, but said nothing more.

Sheila met Claire's gaze again. "Claire, please show me your hands."

With a nervous glance at her father, Claire hesitated for a moment before finally holding out her hands for Sheila to see. They looked clean, not a trace of blood anywhere on them.

"There," Roger said triumphantly. "You believe her now?"

As Sheila scrutinized every inch of Claire's fingers, her gaze was drawn to the ring on the middle finger of Claire's right hand—a simple silver band adorned with a small blue stone that glinted under the fluorescent light.

"Could you remove your ring for me, please?" Sheila asked, her heart pounding in anticipation.

Claire's eyes widened, and she glanced down at the ring as if seeing it for the first time. She swallowed hard, then slowly slid it off her finger, revealing the piece of jewelry in its entirety.

Sheila took the ring from her, careful not to touch the inside of the band. As she turned it over in her hand, she noticed a faint reddish-brown stain on the inner surface. It was barely noticeable, but it was there.

Her palms suddenly felt clammy, and she had to force herself to maintain her composure as she handed the ring to Finn. She knew, without a doubt, that she was on the right track. The truth was within reach, and she was determined to uncover it.

Finn studied it in silence for a moment before nodding, his face giving away nothing.

"What?" Claire asked, as if unable to contain her curiosity any longer. "What's going on?"

Sheila held up the ring for Claire to see. "There's blood on the inside of this ring, Claire," she said, her voice steady despite the turmoil within her. "I know that you and Rita moved Kristen's body. What I want to understand is why."

Claire's eyes widened in denial, her lips parting as if to protest, but Rita interrupted, her voice barely more than a whisper. "We did move her." The relief in Rita's expression was palpable as she finally admitted the truth. "We thought maybe she was still alive. We wanted to get her to the hospital."

Sheila's gaze never left Claire's face, watching the nervous energy shift into something more vulnerable. She turned her attention back to Rita, noting the tremble in her hands.

"Why did you lie about it?" she asked.

Claire looked away, her lips pressed tightly together in an expression of stubborn defiance.

"We didn't want to get in trouble," Rita said. "As soon as we'd done it, we knew we should have just left her where she was. We...we panicked, you know?"

Sheila nodded, feeling a stirring of sympathy for what Rita had been through. "How long did it take to clean up after trying to move the body?" she asked.

"Maybe fifteen or twenty minutes," Rita replied, her eyes downcast.

Sheila's mind raced, piecing together the timeline. "That means you found Kristen at seven thirty, not seven forty-five as you originally claimed." She didn't know whether this difference would prove significant later on, but the more accurate a timetable they could get now, the better.

Rita nodded, tears glistening in her eyes. "We were scared. We didn't know what to do."

Claire shifted uncomfortably, biting her lip. Her expression of defiance was gone, replaced by something else—grief, maybe?

"I knew Kristen," she said softly. "We were on the volleyball team together."

Sheila felt a spark of understanding—as an athlete herself, she knew what it was like to form close bonds within a competitive environment. She leaned in, offering Claire a small nod. "I used to be a kickboxer," she said. "I know how intense those friendships can become."

Claire seemed to relax slightly, her shoulders easing from their tense hunch. She met Sheila's gaze and nodded. "Yeah, you get to know people pretty well when you're pushing yourselves to the limit together."

"Tell me more about your relationship with Kristen," Sheila said, sensing that Claire had more to share.

"Kristen was...she was amazing on the court," Claire began, her voice taking on a note of admiration. "She played like she had something to prove. And when we won, she made sure everyone knew we were the best."

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