Page 70 of Diamonds in the Mud

I returned to my task and scanned over every inch of the report from the coroner. He had taken into account her broken arm, cuts, and bruises from the previous attack and determined that Evelyn had been killed by a simple hit-and-run.

For the next few hours, I ran through every vehicle registered to any past or present Reaper member, including those associated with the gang, such as the countless women that hung around the male members.

By lunchtime, I was so frustrated I needed a walk to clear my head.

The police station sat next to a very nice large park. When I’d been in grade school, we’d had many class trips to explore the flora and fauna in the area.

I’d been more interested in pretending to find clues and trying to match the footprints of the school kids than paying attention to the names of the plants. Picking a park bench, I sat down for a while and replayed Evelyn’s last day in my head.

She’d been released from the hospital a few hours after she’d woken up and had some scans that cleared her. Her medical report showed that she’d had a blow to the back of the head along with the broken arm, which had been put in a bright blue cast. She also had some cuts and bruises which had been treated.

From what they could tell, she hadn’t been hit in the face, just the back of the head.

I replayed the scene of Declan hovering over Evelyn. He’d pulled back his arm as if preparing to hit her. Hadn’t he? Maybe I was biased? Maybe I’d seen what I had wanted to see?

In Declan’s interview, he’d stated over and over that he’d found her that way. When he’d shown up to hang out with her while she opened up the bar and she hadn’t opened the back door for him, he’d busted through it. Which could have accounted for the banging I’d heard. The back door had been broken off its hinges. If Declan had shouted after finding Evelyn unconscious, that would also match the timeline.

But then, who had Evelyn argued z with? The officers had initially been called out to the scene because of shouting and screaming. Maybe she’d been arguing with the real perp? The one who, possibly, ran her down.

Could Declan be innocent?

Did Evelyn’s death have anything to do with the mayor’s murder?

The lines just weren’t crossing. I couldn’t see any connection. Still, when Jameson had told me about the Reapers dropping money off at the Taylor residence in the middle of the night, something had felt off.

I had to try and connect the two deaths and the place to start was by looking fully into Henry Taylor.

But first, I needed food. Real food. I locked up my office and headed down the street to the sandwich shop. I downed an entire Italian sub along with their largest chocolate chip cookie

When I stepped back into my office, I could tell someone had been through my things. This time, I was sure of who it was.

When I stormed into Randy’s office, he was on the phone and the stack of files, my files, sat in front of him.

“What in the hell?” I said, not caring who he was talking to.

“I’ll call you back,” Randy said and hung up the phone. “Problem?”

“Those are mine.” I pointed to the files.

“You are supposed to have the day off,” Randy returned.

“Well, I’m here.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Can I have my files back?”

He nodded but then put his hand over them. “If you agree that you’ll take tomorrow off.”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“You need time to rest. I can tell when you’re burning the candle at both ends. Go spend time with your mother or, better yet, hang out with Aria and Charlotte. Go out for a movie, to a bar. Do something to relax.”

I deflated and sat across from him. “This is relaxing to me.”

He smiled. “I never imagined when I found you all those years ago just how determined you’d become. I should have known. I mean, no kid survives what you did without being stubborn.” He chuckled. “Take your files. Just promise me that you’ll get some rest tonight.”

I nodded and smiled, then picked up the stack of files and returned to my office. I was riding on the high of the win as I sat back down and dove into exploring the new angle.

Every day that week, I stayed late, hoping to find something, any clue connecting the two cases.

They had buried Evelyn days after her death. It was sad to see how few people showed up for her funeral. Besides her family, members of her mother’s church were the only guests. Not a single member of the Reapers had been in attendance.