Read Missing with Bonus Material: The Secrets of Crittenden County, Book One for Free Online Page B

to read . . . and harder and harder to please. She’d thought he’d only been that way with her.
    Perhaps not.
    And just like that, her anxiety rose. She really didn’t want to have to talk about Perry with anyone else. He was dead. What could she do?
    Dead. Not passed away. Not lifted into heaven. Dead.
    It sounded so harsh. Disrespectful.
    Though her blood felt like it was turning cold, she shrugged. No way did she want Walker to guess how affected she was by Perry’s death. His murder was shocking. Never had anyone been killed in their community. The violence stained them all, changing what they knew into something dirty and foreign.
    But so were her feelings about him. She should be only mourning his loss, not thinking about how he’d made her feel the last time she saw him. She shook her head, refusing to allow herself to go there.
    Walker cleared his throat. “I came over here, thinking we should talk about Perry. You know, see what each other remembers about him.”
    “I don’t see why we need to share stories.”
    “You know, the sheriff asked some city detective to help him investigate. I think maybe they’re thinking someone who knew Perry killed him. Someone like . . . us.”
    She’d gotten that feeling as well. The detective had raised all sorts of suspicions in her head and made her feel uneasy. “I know about Mr. Reynolds. He came over and asked me questions. When I told him I knew nothing, he left. So now I doubt he will contact me again.”
    “Oh, no, Lydia. He didn’t leave. He’s still here, and he’s still asking a lot of questions. After he talked to you, he went to the store and asked me about a hundred questions about Perry. I didn’t think he would ever leave . . .”
    “And did you have much to tell him?”
    For the first time, he looked disturbed. “I don’t know. I answered him as best I could. I didn’t really have a choice. He’s with the police, you know?” After glancing toward the kitchen door, he lowered his voice. “The detective wanted to know about the people Perry started hanging around. He kept asking me about what I knew about Perry’s private life. About the things Perry didn’t want anyone to know.”
    “What did you tell him?” she asked, flushing as they both realized she hadn’t asked what he knew.
    What he’d told and what he knew were two very different things.
    “I said I didn’t know much,” he said after a moment. “And that’s true. I don’t know much.”
    “Did he believe you?”
    “Honestly? I doubt it.” His eyes darted away, as if he was reluctant to meet her gaze. When he faced her again, he asked the inevitable. “You know, Detective Reynolds asked about you, too, Lydia. I think he’s starting to get the idea that there was a whole lot more to Perry than most people realized. And a heck of a lot more than we want to admit.”
    Lydia knew that to be true. But even if it was, it didn’t mean she had to get involved. “I bet the detective will go away soon. He’s from Ohio, right?”
    “Yeah, but I don’t think he’s going back there until he solves this,” Walker said slowly. “Actually . . . I think he might come back here and talk to you some more.”
    “He shouldn’t. I told him I didn’t know anything.”
    With a grunt, Walker stood up. “Listen, I don’t know how much you knew about Perry’s secrets. But if you knew even half as much as I do, you need to listen to me. If we don’t keep our stories straight, we’re going to get burned.”
    Even though she knew what he meant, she played dumb, if only to gain a few precious seconds to process everything. “Burned?”
    His voice turned kind. Almost patient. “You know . . . caught. We’re going to become real suspects.”
    Perhaps they should keep their stories straight, especially about that evening in December. But if they did, it might mean that Walker had something to hide. And what if what he was hiding was dangerous? What if he had something to do