Torched
you with?”
    Officer Grayson looked him in the eye.
    “In case you didn’t realize, that wasn’t a question. We’ll check things out and let you know whether we find anything.” Officer Grayson glanced at Officer Jessup and nodded, proceeding to step through the doorway, past Kevin.
    “Excuse me, but you can’t just barge in here like this,” Kevin argued.
    “Actually, we can,” Officer Jessup informed him. She held up a piece of paper and Kevin stared at it. “Here’s the search warrant, young man. There’s a dangerous predator out on the loose, and we’re going to find him, so you’d best let us get to it.”
    Kevin slowly stepped back, allowing them to enter. “I told you at the station, I don’t know anything about where Jake might be.”
    “If that’s true, then you have nothing to worry about. Other than the little lie about Jake being with you that night,” Officer Grayson stated.
    They walked through the hallway and headed to the living room.
    “Ah, Ms. Matthews...” He tipped his hat in her direction and they immediately began opening up drawers and going through personal items.
    Kevin walked over to Tara, who was frozen in place.
    “Do they really have the right?” she whispered.
    “Unfortunately, yes. They have a warrant.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. They both continued to gawk at the mess the officers were making.
    “What’s this?” he heard Officer Jessup ask. He looked in her direction to find she had a pamphlet in her latex-gloved hand. “There are several brochures pointing to the same place...Iron Horse State Park.”
    “That’s where we went as kids. Tara and I went there not too long ago.” He hesitated. “Those pamphlets are ours.”
    “Hey, Grayson. Didn’t someone get murdered at that park recently?”
    “Yeah,” he answered. “That tourist was set on fire.”
    Kevin groaned. If they hadn’t made a connection before, they would now. This added to the mounting evidence against Jake, and could implicate Kevin and Tara. Officer Jessup may have noticed his discomfort, because she began to watch him intently.
    “Hold on,” she started. “Were you or Jake Crawford at Iron Horse when the murders took place?”
    “All I’m willing to say is that those flyers and maps are mine. It’s not going to lead you to my brother.”
    “Do you mind if I take a couple with me?”
    As if he had a choice. “Whatever,” he mumbled.
    She placed a few of them in an evidence bag and continued to paw through some more items.
    “I can’t believe this is happening,” Tara whispered.
    “I’d understand if you prefer to wait outside,” Kevin said, turning to Tara.
    She glanced at him and shook her head. “No. I’m not leaving you.”
    He forced a smile.
    “I think we have this room covered. Let’s go upstairs,” Officer Grayson said.
    “I don’t feel comfortable having them upstairs alone,” Kevin admitted, after the officers disappeared up the steps.
    They were about to head up after them when he heard the front door open. He turned around found his parents at the door.
    “Mom, Dad...what are you doing here?”
    “We live here.” His father’s reply was laced with sarcasm.
    “Yes, I know, but I didn’t think you were coming home until tomorrow.”
    His mother pushed her way in, her eyes wide with trepidation. “Why are the police here?”
    He could hear the shakiness in her voice, and paused for a moment. At any second the cops would come downstairs and explain their reasons for being there, but he didn’t want that to happen.
    “First off...why are you home a day early?”
    “Your brother left me a voice message. It was unusual, because we tried to call him back but we couldn’t reach him,” his dad stated. “And my meetings were already finished, so we decided to head back early to find out what Jake wanted. Why are the cops here?”
    His voice was stern, and Kevin didn’t want to prolong it, but he couldn’t believe Jake

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