Mercy Kill_ A Mystery - Lori Armstrong [110]
John-John threaded his fingers through mine and squeezed.
“That’s exactly the type of terror Saro evokes. He wanted to prove that he could get to any member of my family any time he wanted.”
“Did he warn you not to contact the cops before he knocked you out?”
I shook my head. “That’s where it gets complicated. Saro counted on me not calling the sheriff’s department last night, because how would it look? The other candidate for sheriff can’t handle her own issues? She has to summon help from Sheriff Dawson on the eve of the election? The very night I’d touted my qualifications to the entire community? He knew just where to strike and strike hard.
“And it doesn’t help it’d be my word against Saro’s. He’s supposedly holed up on the reservation, grieving Victor. I’m already on the feds’ shit list because they believe I screwed up their investigation by having direct contact with Victor and Saro. So even calling Agent Turnbull wasn’t an option.”
John-John’s brow wrinkled. “Agent Turnbull? The hot guy is a fed?”
“Yeah. Ain’t that a kick in the ass? Of course, no one told me anything about J-Hawk’s murder being a federal investigation, and I went ahead and jumped headfirst into the sheriff’s race, fucking up any chance of a relationship with Dawson, because in my wisdom I’ve repeatedly questioned his method of investigating on every fucking homicide case that’s crossed his desk since I’ve been home. But the ‘look who’s an idiot’ tag is taped to my back because I’m no closer to knowing who killed Jason Hawley than I was the night I found his body.
“That was my sole reason for getting involved in any of this. I owed him. Except now, in trying to pay back a debt I only imagined, I’ve garnered the interest of the biggest psychopath I’ve ever met. He’s looking at retaliating against my family because somebody retaliated against his.”
His jaw practically hung to the mattress when I finished.
“So see? Complicated.”
“Okay, I get it. But I really think the case solved itself.”
“What do you mean?”
“Rumor has it that Saro’s group is taking credit for killing Jason Hawley. They’re claiming he double-crossed them. The rumor has legs, since details on the murder are vague. Hawley is used as an example of what happens when people change the details of deals with Saro.”
My breath stalled. Saro had mentioned seeing a “business opportunity.”
“Where’d you hear this?”
“At Clementine’s. I’m surprised you didn’t know, but you haven’t been in much.” He cocked his head. “Didn’t Anna tell you?”
“No. We’ve each been doing our own thing. But how could she’ve forgotten to mention that?”
“I dunno. I thought it was kinda . . . strange that Cherelle called you to look for Victor, especially when she and Anna were chummy.”
Anna and Cherelle were chummy? I remembered Dawson questioning Anna about her friendship with Cherelle, and she’d blown him off. “When did that start?”
“Right after Anna got into town. She’d come into Clementine’s and hang out. I figured you had campaign stuff to do and she was bored. She and Cherelle played pool. Drank in the back room. But then Victor and Saro musta jerked a knot in Cherelle’s leash because she stopped coming in. Then Anna did, too.” John-John frowned. “Huh. Anna didn’t tell you none of this?”
I shook my head because I couldn’t speak. Shock expanded in my chest and cut off my air supply.
I knew who’d killed Victor. Beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Anna.
John-John squeezed my hand. “You all right?”
No. But I couldn’t get the word past my tight lips. I feared it’d come out as a scream.
“Doll, you’re scaring me.”
I managed to swallow. I even offered John-John a wan smile. “Sorry. Delayed reaction to remembering how scared I