He frowned at her tone. “At a motel. Was sleeping.”
“How about night before last?” she asked.
The hair on the back of his neck prickled. He knew what this was about. “Same,” he lied. Telling her he’d woken up in the woods wouldn’t look good for him. “You want the number?”
“Yes, I do,” she said.
He silently cursed. She wanted to check his alibi. “Last Chance Motel,” he said. “Room Nine. What’s up?”
“Are you aware a teenage girl disappeared from a neighborhood named Whispering Pines night before last?”
“Yeah, I heard it on the news.” Frustration knotted his gut. When something bad happened or a crime occurred, the first person police looked at were ex-cons, especially ones whose crimes were similar. And he wasn’t exactly anex-con since his conviction hadn’t been officially overturned. If he screwed up, he’d be right back in the pen.
“Were you anywhere near Whispering Pines Friday night?”Same question. Different wording. Didn’t she believe him?
Stick to as much truth as possible so you don’t have to remember your lies.“Like I said, I was here at the motel.”
“Okay, I had to ask. Apparently, the parents of the girl received a photograph of her posed on a bed, the scene similar to the way Anna Marie was found.”
“What?” Panic tightened his throat and he glanced at the scars on his hands, the ones he’d gotten in prison defending himself. “You think I got out of jail and was dumb enough to kill a girl and leave her like my sister? Lady, the last thing I want is to go back to that snake pit.”
A heartbeat passed, and Digger realized he’d come off too strong. Caitlin was the only person who’d been on his side. He couldn’t alienate her. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I… didn’t mean to snap at you.”
“I know,” she said. “And I realize this is difficult. If police start looking at you as a person of interest, it won’t help our case. But it was your half brother who called me.”
Heath?“He thinks I did it,” Digger said flatly.
“He’s a deputy in Crooked Creek,” Ms. O’Connor continued. “And he’s working the case. When he saw the photograph theparents received, a photo where the girl appears to be dead, he—”
“He instantly assumed it was me.” A sense of despair washed over Digger. If his own brother thought he was guilty, the rest of the police would bury him.
“He wants to talk to you,” Ms. O’Connor said. “I told him I didn’t think that was a good idea.”
Digger shoved the bed covers aside, stood and walked to the window and looked out at the sprawling mountains. The gloomy sky mirrored his mood.
Yesterday when he’d revisited his childhood house, he’d hoped he’d remember some detail to jumpstart his memory and help himself. Didn’t happen though. That night was still a blur.
What would happen if he talked to Heath? Would he be able to fill in some of the blanks?
FORTY-THREE
BALD EAGLE MOUNTAIN
The sky was dark and stormy as Cord parked at the base of Bald Eagle Mountain. He’d been benched for nearly a month now and it was driving him bone-ass crazy. He was not used to being weak or being taken care of, and Lola tended to smother him.
She was going to be a great mother though. The kid was damn lucky to have one sane, stable parent.
He, on the other hand, had no idea how to be a father.
Or… a partner to Lola. Should he offer to marry her?
Did she want that?
Hell, he did care about her. But… when he closed his eyes at night, he saw Ellie’s face in his mind instead.
Dammit, what was he going to do?
He knew what the hell it was like to grow up without a father. He couldn’t do that to his own kid.