Peyton ground her molars to control her temper. This was not a chat. It was an interrogation. They kept asking the same questions over and over hoping to catch her in a lie.
The sheriff tapped the file. “But you denied making any statement indicating wrongdoing on the part of the staff.” He hesitated, the air tense with his scrutiny.
“That’s correct.”
The agent leaned back in his chair. “Why would he say that if it wasn’t true?”
“As I said before, he was distraught and in shock and desperate to blame someone.”
A skeptical look marred Sheriff Maverick’s face. “Then you stand by your original statement, that you don’t believe the hospital was responsible?”
She had her doubts. Ones she couldn’t share. “I do.” She heaved another breath, her body teeming with anxiety. “Now, can I go? I need to check on my mother. She gets disoriented if I don’t show up at certain times.”
The brothers traded looks again, then Liam stood and adjusted his holster. “Yes, for now. I’ll drive you back.”
She wanted to be anywhere but in the car with the intimidating, handsome federal agent. He made her want to talk, to help him. To make sure justice was served for all the people hurt five years ago.
But confiding in him was impossible, so she forced herself to remain calm, not confrontational.
She could fall apart later when she was alone.
* * *
LIAM AND JACOB left Peyton in the room alone to stew for a moment while they conferred outside the door.
“What do you think?” Liam asked Jacob.
Jacob muttered a sound of frustration. “I don’t know. Dad made a notation that he suspected she was holding back something. When I questioned her after the fire, she was a wreck. Seemed nervous and jumpy. But then again, everyone who worked at the hospital was upset and a wreck, too.”
“So were the family members who’d lost loved ones,” Liam added. “People were emotional and in shock and trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. She did say her mother almost died that night, too.”
“True. The staff was also defensive. Dodging blame. Some of the families wanted to point fingers at the hospital. Others at individuals who they thought had enemies,” Jacob added. “And then we became sidetracked thinking the fire was set as a diversion for the kidnapping of Cora’s baby.”
“That was a logical assumption,” Liam agreed, remembering the press descending. Their focus had been on the terrified mother who’d just delivered a little girl only to have her ripped away in the midst of the chaos.
Because he was the oldest, Jacob thought he had to take care of him and his brothers, and their mother, and stepped into his father’s shoes as sheriff.
The case of the missing baby had taken priority over Jacob’s own grief at the time. When the case had gone cold, he’d blamed himself.
“Stop beating yourself up over the past, Jacob. You found Cora’s little girl and her kidnapper is in prison where she belongs,” Liam said.
Jacob smiled. “But Cora suffered terribly until we did.”
“She’s happy now and she loves you, bro.” Liam patted his brother’s arm. “And now your family is growing.”
A real smile lit Jacob’s eyes. “I am a lucky man. Another month and my son will be here.” He gave Liam an odd look. “I hope you find someone someday, too. You deserve it, Liam.”
Did he? His last conversation with his father echoed in his head. His father suggested he take a deputy’s position in Whistler just as Jacob had. But Liam had argued, insisted he wanted more than to be a small-town deputy. He wanted to make a difference, work big cases, real investigations.
His father had looked hurt but said he understood. Liam had kicked himself every day since that conversation. He’d made his father feel his work wasn’t big enough, good enough. But his father had put his life on the line to protect the citizens in Whistler and the mountains they called home. He’d also been a good father and a devoted husband.
What could be more important than that?
Liam would give anything to turn back time. To take back the hurtful words. To tell his father how much he loved and admired him. That everything he’d aspired to do was because he wanted to make his father proud.
“Liam?” Jacob murmured. “You okay?”
Liam blinked to banish the painful images from his mind. “Yeah. Maybe once this case is solved and we get justice for Dad, I can think about it.” But not until