every year.
Ellie almost felt sorry for her.
But Vera’s words reverberated in Ellie’s mind like a bad horror movie. I had to protect you because you were my daughter. I had to protect Hiram because he was my blood.
Then the whispers in the town: How could Ellie not know her brother was killing all those girls?
Do you think she let her parents get away with covering for that monster?
It’s her fault those little girls died.
Is she stupid? Or evil like Hiram?
A shudder coursed through Ellie.
You can’t avoid the media forever, Angelica had said.
So far, she had. The pain cut too damn deep.
Hell yes, she wanted to quiet the talk in town. But opening up would only stoke the flames of suspicion.
Spring rain slashed the windshield, promising that the dead brown leaves scattering the ground would make way for green, but Ellie felt dead inside herself.
The sound of other cars around her and the presence of the news van made her stomach twist into a knot as she pulled into a parking spot in front of Town Hall.
Magically, as if Bryce had ordered the downpour to stop for his inauguration, the rain ceased. A commotion on the lawn jerked her back to the matter at hand, and she watched as locals flooded the square where Angelica and her cameraman had set up. Climbing from her Jeep, she inhaled the scent of rain and grass, which still remained brittle in the wake of the blizzard that had just raged along the east coast. The ground was slushy, the wind rolling off the mountain, a biting cold that had lingered as if the shadow of death hovered close by.
Pulling her ski hat over her ears, Ellie burrowed in her jacket and stood on the periphery of the crowd, hoping to go unnoticed. Voices and excited whispers floated in the wind as Bryce exited the building onto the steps of city hall.
Swallowing her bitterness over the fact that her father chose to endorse Bryce as his replacement instead of her, she quietly blended in with the spectators. Of course, Randall Reeves’ support could have backfired after the truth about Hiram was exposed, but Bryce managed, as always, to put a positive spin on the situation. As the new sheriff, he intended to clean up the town. Get justice. Protect the towns along the trail.
He was the hero.
Maybe her father had been right. If the sheriff’s job was about politics and publicity, Bryce had been the better choice. She wanted to concentrate on justice and the law.
Ever the charmer, Bryce saluted the people who’d gathered to watch him be sworn into office, sending cheers and applause across the lawn.
Ellie forced herself to breathe. As Bryce was now sheriff over the entire county which encompassed Crooked Creek’s police department as well as Stony Gap’s, technically she worked for him.
Shondra slipped up beside her, her scowl as disgusted as Ellie’s. “He’s always been a dick, but now he’ll lord that power over all of us.”
It didn’t take a therapist to diagnose Bryce. “Narcissist chauvinist,” Ellie muttered.
“You know during the investigation into the Ghost case, he had me working small details at the festival in town. Since then it’s gotten worse. Last week, he assigned me to cover the garden show. Apparently, Lily was afraid someone would steal the prize roses.” Shondra rolled her eyes. “Then I was assigned to the local nursing home, where one of the patients was stealing the other patients’ afternoon ice-cream treats and cookies. All the while Bryce is sending the other deputies out on domestic calls and to investigate a drug ring he thinks has cropped up on the outskirts of town.”
“That’s not fair,” Ellie said.
“Tell me about it,” Shondra replied with a sigh. “I threatened to file a complaint against him for gender bias if he didn’t start letting me work real cases.”
A smile tugged at Ellie’s mouth. “How did that go over?”
Shondra chuckled. “About like you’d expect. But hey, he finally sent me on a couple of domestic calls.”
Ellie admired Shondra. The woman had grown up in an abusive home, and she was passionate about cracking down on domestic violence.
Shondra nudged her arm, her smile fading. “How are you doing?”
Ellie dug her hands into her pockets and shrugged. “Think I’m going to hike the trail for a few days.”
Just then, Bryce’s gaze traveled across the crowd, settling on Ellie. Some emotion she couldn’t quite compute flickered across his face, replaced with a wicked smile before he stepped behind the microphone beside