Page 63 of Unraveled

He grabbed up his phone and called Mason, who answered on the first ring. No greeting, he launched right in. “Hey, I was just getting ready to call you. We found out that Lucy Raines was in a car accident a little over a year ago.”

“I had no idea.” Why hadn’t Edward said anything? That was right about the same time they’d separated. What kind of husband would leave his wife after that?

“Apparently she’d been drinking and slid off the road and sustained some pretty severe trauma when the driver side hit a tree.”

He winced. “That sucks.” Car versus tree was never a good outcome.

“Doesn’t stop there. Guess who was with Lucy at the time?”

His gut tightened, and he had a feeling he already knew the answer before he asked. “Who?”

“Dr. Elijah Kellerman.”

He drew in a sharp breath.

“He was treated for mild injuries and released, but hers were much more significant. According to the report, she was driving and lost control. The car hit a tree, did a lot of internal damage.”

He closed his eyes. “Well, that answers some questions.” He explained what Audrey had just shown him. “I’m going to the police station with Audrey, then I’ll be over.”

“Don’t bother,” he said. “Tomorrow’s the funeral. I’m gonna hit it up.”

So he could see who showed up. Lucy was being laid to rest tomorrow, and news of her death had finally begun to whisper its way through the office. He wanted to be there, too. “I’ll meet you there.”

He’d bet his last dollar that Kellerman and Lucy had been having an affair. What he didn’t know was how she was tied into everything, if at all. It seemed significant somehow, but it was just one more piece of the puzzle that didn’t fit. One thing he did know was, something strange was going on, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it before Audrey ended up hurt again.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-TWO

Audrey extended her hand to the detective in charge of Mr. Tripp’s case, and he offered her a kind smile. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Still a little sore,” she admitted. He released her hand, and she sank into the seat across from him, with Carter in the chair next to her.

Mayfield’s gaze bounced between the two of them before he spoke. “I don’t have any news yet, if that’s why you stopped in.”

She bit her lip. “It actually is, kind of.”

His head tipped slightly to one side in question, and she slanted a look at Carter before speaking. “I feel really stupid coming to you like this, but I don’t know what else to do.”

“I’ll do my best to help,” he said as he reclined back in his chair and folded his hands over his stomach.

She took a moment to gather her thoughts, then dived in. “Do you remember me telling you that I was the one who found the body out on Hartwell about a month ago?”

He dipped his chin. “I remember you saying as much.”

“So…” she dragged out the word, sure that he would laugh at her when she told him her suspicions. “You’ve found two other sets of remains so far, right?”

His dark eyes pierced hers. “We’re still investigating to see if they’re connected in any way.”

“I’m not fishing for details,” she assured him. “It’s been on my mind a lot lately, especially after the shooting at the coffee shop, and…”

She trailed off, and Carter draped an arm over her shoulders, lending comfort but allowing her to take the lead. She shot him a grateful smile for his unwavering support, then drew in a deep breath and turned back to the detective. “I honestly don’t know what this means, but I thought I would bring it to your attention.”

“What’s that?” Cool and controlled to the core, Detective Mayfield’s expression remained completely impassive.

“I work at the VA on the south side of town, and a couple of nurses were discussing everything that had happened. The news was on during our lunch break, and I saw that they had identified that first victim, the one I found in the field.”

“Mr. Tripp,” Mayfield confirmed with a tight nod.