Confessing to the Cowboy - By Carla Cassidy Page 0,33
no way he believed Kevin Naperson had the calculation and cunning that this killer had displayed. There was no way Cameron believed he was chasing a young adult who wasn’t that smart to begin with. Kevin was simply an unfortunate young man dating a woman at the wrong time.
Cameron also didn’t believe that this was the first time his killer had killed. He was simply too good at it and showed no signs of deteriorating or losing control.
He ate the cinnamon-covered donut, hoping for a sugar rush that would get him through another long day, then leaned back in his chair and took a sip of the strong brew, wishing it could magically infuse his brain with some answers.
They were still running background checks on some of the newer people in town, but that didn’t mean the killer wasn’t a native of Grady Gulch. Besides, no matter how many tools you had at your fingertips, thorough background checks took both time and manpower and ultimately the sanction of a friendly judge.
A knock on his door surprised him as he looked at his watch. Only six-thirty. The door opened and Ben Temple poked his head inside.
Cameron motioned him in. “A little early, isn’t it, Deputy Temple?”
“For you, too,” Ben replied. He eased down in the chair opposite Cameron and swiped a hand through his short, curly dark hair. “I’ve been having bad dreams. Sleep isn’t so pleasant right now.”
“I hear you,” Cameron agreed, thinking of the images that haunted his dreams when he closed his eyes at night. He reared back in his chair and shoved the files he’d been staring at to the side. “So, what did I miss yesterday?”
“We all worked on doing as many background checks as possible and reinterviewed some of the people that we initially talked to with the original two crimes. Nothing much came from those interviews, but I did find out something very interesting about one of our newer members in town.”
“Who?” Cameron leaned forward.
“Thomas Manning. Apparently seven years ago he lived in Oklahoma City and was married to a woman named Nancy.” Ben’s blue eyes gleamed with the first spark Cameron had seen there for a long time. “Guess what Mrs. Manning did for a living?”
“She was a waitress,” Cameron replied, his heart beating just a little bit faster.
Ben nodded. “She worked as a waitress at a truck stop on the north side of the city. Thomas was an English professor at one of the community colleges. Anyway, apparently serving up burgers wasn’t all Nancy was doing while she was at work in the evenings. One night she left a note for Thomas and told him she had fallen in love with a truck driver and was taking off over the road with him. Thomas and Nancy divorced soon after she left town.”
Cameron raised his elbows to the desk and steepled his fingers thoughtfully. “This definitely makes Thomas a person of interest.” He dropped his hands to the files he’d pushed aside moments before. “How do you feel about a road trip?”
Ben shrugged. “Footloose and fancy-free, you know that’s me. Just tell me where to go and what to do.”
“Why don’t you plan to spend the next couple of days in Oklahoma City? See if you can find any of Manning’s coworkers at the college, maybe talk to people who knew both him and Nancy. Also talk to local law enforcement and see if there were ever any domestic calls to their residence, find out if any women working as waitresses anywhere there have met untimely deaths. Also, see if you can find out what happened to Nancy after she left with her truck-driver lover.”
Ben nodded. “You mean find out if she’s still among the living.”
“Exactly,” Cameron replied.
“But this could be the break we’ve been looking for, right?”
Cameron hesitated a moment and stared at the wall just over Ben’s shoulder. “It could be. But it could also mean nothing, just one of those odd coincidences that sometimes haunt a case. I mean, why here? Why now? If his wife left him five or six years ago, then why would he move to a small town and start killing waitresses now?” He looked back at Ben. “Maybe you can find those answers in Oklahoma City.”
Ben rose, as if eager to get going. “I’ll find out everything I can and will check in with you by phone as soon as I get any answers.”
“You should be able to get it all done by Wednesday. That