A Broken Bone (Widow's Island #6) - Melinda Leigh Page 0,24

wanted to be inside. I walked out of the woods and found an empty house. There was a table and chairs in it. It was nice.” He exhaled, as if remembering how nice that was. “I stayed there for a few days. One day I heard a noise outside. A kid came in the back door. I hid in the closet. The door wasn’t all the way closed, so I could see into the room.” Carl went quiet. His eyes moved, as if he were watching the scene instead of sitting in the sheriff’s office. “No! Don’t!” He closed his eyes.

“What happened, Carl?” Tessa prompted gently.

Carl wiped his face with his sleeve. “The first kid had a bottle of vodka with him. He sat at the table and drank from it. I kept quiet and watched him. He looked like trouble. You could see it in his eyes. He was stewing.” Carl chewed on his dirty thumbnail. “A little while later, that boy came in.” Carl pointed to the picture of Gavin.

“Gavin?” Tessa clarified.

Carl nodded. “They argued. I couldn’t hear all the words, but Gavin was really mad. He told the other older kid he wasn’t putting up with his shit. He was going to report him. They shoved each other a few times. They were about the same size. Then the first kid pulled out a gun and shot Gavin in the head.” Carl’s face went white. “I didn’t know what to do.” He began to sob. “I never seen anything like that before. Blood went all over the wall.” He retched.

Logan handed him a trash can.

Carl held it in a white-knuckle grip and breathed until he regained control. He wiped his mouth. “The first kid dragged the body down the basement steps. As soon as he was out of sight, I ran. I went out the back door and headed for the woods. I didn’t even know where I was going. I just ran as far and as fast as I could go. I was a mile away before I realized I left all my stuff behind. But I didn’t go back for it.” He took a sip of water. “I’m not proud of it, but I stole a few things to get by. I wasn’t going back to that house for anything.”

Tessa absorbed his words. She had no evidence other than his statement, but she saw no sign that he was lying. Everything he said made sense. “Can you describe the first kid?”

Carl nodded. “Tall, thin, red hair.”

Tessa froze.

Ian?

She and Logan exchanged a look.

Logan propped a hand on his hip. “How old do you think the red-haired boy was?”

Carl’s mouth twisted. “Maybe seventeen or eighteen. Almost an adult.”

“Would you be able to identify him if you saw him again?” Logan asked.

Carl’s head bobbed in a slow nod. “I’ll never forget what I saw. I’ve dreamed about it every night since.”

“Did he have any distinguishing features, besides red hair?” Tessa asked.

Carl lifted a shoulder. He inclined his head toward the plastic bag. “I took a picture of him, but the phone needs charging.”

“You’re giving me permission to access your cell phone?” Tessa asked. Without permission, she would need a search warrant.

“Yes, ma’am,” Carl answered.

Tessa put on gloves and removed the phone from the bag. She checked the charging port. “This requires a mini-USB size.” She rummaged in her desk, then went to the second desk and found a charger. She plugged in the phone and waited. In ten minutes, the battery showed a 2 percent charge. She turned on the phone.

“The passcode is eight-six-seven-five-three-oh-nine,” Carl said.

Tessa entered the numbers. She opened the photo app. She recognized the inside of the house on Mimosa Street. The viewpoint of the photo was the living room, looking into the kitchen. She could see the trash on the floor and the folding table and chairs in the background. In the foreground, Ian was dragging Gavin’s body toward the basement steps. Gavin was limp, and blood matted his hair.

Ian had played them all. Regret hit Tessa hard. How had she not seen through Ian’s charade? He’d accused Frank to take suspicion off himself. But why had Ian killed Gavin? All questions for Ian, not Carl.

“When did it happen?” She handed Logan the phone. He swore softly.

“Two weeks ago?” Carl lifted a shoulder. “Maybe a little less. I’m not good at keeping track of the days.”

“Thank you, Carl.” Tessa rose. “I’m going to put you in the holding cell while we check out your