A Cry in the Dark (Carly Moore #1) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,38
on the floor. My personal items were strewn everywhere.
Ruth walked into my back, making me stumble. She pushed around me. “Tell me you didn’t leave your clothes like that.”
“The suitcase was on the dresser, and while it wasn’t zipped up, I’m fairly certain I closed it.”
Ruth turned to the deputy and lifted her brows. “What the hell happened to her shit?”
His cheeks flushed. “They searched it, ma’am.”
“Searched it?” she shouted. “Why in the hell would they search her things? She was the only person to actually try to help that poor boy, and you reward her by throwing her shit all around? Are you fucking kidding me?”
He went from bewildered to pissed in a matter of seconds, and I worried he was going to kick us out, so I squatted by the suitcase and started tossing my things back in. “It’s fine.”
“The fucking hell it is!” she shouted. “Is this how we treat heroes in Hensen County? By destroying their shit?”
“Now settle down, ma’am,” the deputy said in a patronizing tone. “She’s a person of interest, so we’ve got every right.”
My heart stuttered at his pronouncement. I was a person of interest? I needed to get the hell out of Drum. After I talked to Seth’s grandfather, I’d catch the first bus from Greeneville to anywhere.
“Why in the Sam Hill would she be a person of interest?” Ruth shouted, her fists balled at her sides. “Any fool could see that there’s no way she did this.”
“It’s okay, Ruth,” I said, jamming the rest of my clothes into the bag. I started zipping the side.
“Is there a problem here?” I heard a familiar voice ask, but thankfully, it didn’t belong to one of the murderers.
I glanced up at Detective Daniels.
“It’s nothing,” I said, getting to my feet and tugging my suitcase upright as I stood. “I’m just getting my things.”
“Plannin’ on goin’ somewhere?” he asked in a dry tone.
“No, I’m staying with Ruth and her boyfriend, but I still need clothes.”
“I see,” he said, but it was obvious he didn’t trust me. He seemed even more sour this morning than he had last night. “Don’t forget you can’t be leavin’ town.”
“I’m takin’ her down to Greeneville,” Ruth said, her chin issuing a challenge.
He cocked his head to the side, his eyes lighting up. “Is that so?”
“I’m not leaving leaving,” I insisted. “I’m just riding down with Ruth to pick up some additional things since I hadn’t planned on staying here.”
“Is that so?” he repeated. It made the hairs on my arms stand on end.
Ruth looped her arm through mine. “That’s right. There’s nothin’ in this town other than the Dollar General, so we’re heading to Greeneville to get her supplies. We need to be back by noon so Carly can work the lunch shift, so the longer you keep us here, the longer it will take for her to get back to Drum.”
He narrowed his eyes, glancing back and forth between us. “You’re Ruth Bristol, aren’t you? You work at Max’s Tavern. That’s why you were there last night.”
I didn’t remember him asking for her name the night before, so the fact that he knew it set my nerves on edge.
“So?” she asked, looking unconcerned.
“If you take her out of the county and she doesn’t return, I will hold you personally responsible and arrest you for aiding and abetting her escape.”
My throat constricted. Could he do that? Now I was truly stuck in this nightmare.
Chapter Nine
“Fine,” Ruth said with a head toss. “You’ll look like a fool when I have her back for her lunch shift. So can we go now? We don’t want to be late gettin’ back.”
He stepped out of the doorway. “Safe travels.”
I snatched my purse and coat off the dresser, then grabbed the handle of my suitcase. I rolled it past him as I left the room, fighting the broken wheel while Ruth followed.
We hurried across the parking lot. Max must have already finished his conversation with Carson, because he was waiting just outside the crime scene tape, chatting with one of the deputies. They stopped talking as we approached, and the young deputy lifted the crime scene tape so Ruth and I could duck under it.
“See ya, Marco,” Max said as he took charge of my bag and rolled it across the street toward the front door of the tavern. I nearly told him to put it in Ruth’s car, but there was no way I could leave and risk Detective Daniels arresting Ruth. Which meant