Shattered (4 page)

“Let me know if you folks need anything else,” Bev said, stifling a yawn.

Landon nodded and lifted his cup. “Will do.”

Anxious to get the interview back on track, he looked at his notes. He decided to hold off on the questions about Masterson and review some details about the timeline. “So, let’s get back to the night’s events. Can you think of anything that seemed out of the ordinary?”

They looked at each other, shook their heads, and Ashley answered, “Not really. . . . I just can’t believe Reef actually killed her.”

“What do you mean
actually
?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “It’s just that the two of them . . . They could really get into some heated arguments.”

“Over?”

“Anything. Karli was an opinionated girl. Quite honestly, I’m not surprised she finally ticked off one person too many.”

Landon shifted in his chair and studied Tug, considered his earlier flippant, offhanded remarks and his abrasive demeanor. “Did you have a prior relationship with Karli Davis?”

“Me?” Tug straightened, distancing himself from Ashley. “No.”

Ashley stared at Tug, her questioning gaze raking over him.

“Are you two involved?” Landon asked, realizing the nerve he’d hit.

Ashley’s lips pursed. “Tell him, Tug.”

Tug cleared his throat, straightening like a chastised child. “We’re involved.”

“It’ll be a year next month,” Ashley added proudly.

“Congratulations.” No wonder Tug was so uncomfortable being questioned about another woman. Landon would have to find a time to speak with Tug in private, but for now he just needed the facts pertinent to Karli’s murder. Unless Tug had spent one-on-one time with Karli immediately prior to her death, any past relationship or dalliance the two had shared could wait to be revealed at a more discreet time. “Look, I won’t keep you two much longer. I just need the facts about last night.”

Some of the apprehension faded from Tug’s face, but none of the irritation. “Whatever, let’s just get this over with.”

Landon was liking Tug less and less by the second. “Very well. We were at you two finishing up your practice runs.”

“Right,” Ashley said. “So we finished practice, put our equipment away, went up to our rooms to shower, and then headed out to grab some dinner.”

“Around what time would you say?”

“Sevenish.”

Tug pinched the bridge of his nose. “Seriously, it’s four in the morning. We train with our coach at seven. We need to get some sleep.”

“I understand, and I apologize for keeping you.”

“Then don’t.” Tug perched forward, preparing for flight.

“I understand my questions may seem tedious or appear unwarranted, but I need the whole picture. I’ll go as quickly as I can.”

“Whatever, dude.” Tug sank back.

Ashley quickly continued, knowing her gem of a boyfriend was losing patience. “We ate, then headed up to my room maybe an hour later and watched a movie on pay-per-view.”

“Let me guess,” Tug said, “you want to know what movie?”

“It’ll help confirm the timeline.”

“
Invictus
, with Matt Damon.”

“You watch the whole thing?”

“Yep.” Tug kicked his feet up on the coffee table.

“Then we went to the hot tub,” Ashley said, resting her hand on Tug’s knee.

“Was anyone else up there?”

“Nope. Just us until Reef and Karli showed.”

“When was that? How long do you think you’d been there before they showed?”

Ashley looked at Tug and shrugged. “Maybe a half hour.”

“I’d say that’s about right.”

“What kind of mood would you say Karli and Reef were in?”

Ashley’s brows pinched together.

“Happy, tense . . . ?”

“Happy. Karli was sparked.”

“Sparked?” That was a new one.

“Tipsy,” Ashley clarified.

“Was she drunk?”

“Don’t know that I’d go that far, but they brought alcohol with them, so I imagine that’s where she was headed.”

“Was it unusual for Karli to be drinking?”

Tug laughed, and then quickly attempted to cover it with a cough at Ashley’s displeasure. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just Karli liked to drink.”

“Whenever she wasn’t racing,” Ashley said.

“Really?”

“Let’s just say, Karli liked to push the limits.”

“How else?”

“I don’t know . . .” Ashley hedged. “I mean she liked to party, moved around a lot, did her own thing.”

“She have many friends?”

Ashley looked at Tug, clearly uncomfortable. “She hung around a lot of different people.”

“But wasn’t close with any?”

“Depends on your definition of close.” Tug snorted.

Ashley rolled her eyes.

“You’re saying Karli slept around?”

“Oh yeah.”

Ashley swatted Tug—this time garnering a slight grunt of pain.

“What?” He rubbed his side with annoyance. “It’s the truth.”

“I know . . . It’s just . . .” Ashley bit her bottom lip. “She’s dead.”

“I understand you don’t want to speak ill of Karli considering the circumstances. But the kindest thing you can do for Karli is to tell it to me straight. Keeping secrets only slows the process. Trust me—in the end the truth always comes out.” Painful as it may be. “Best to just get it all out in the open from the start.”

Ashley sighed. “All right. Yes. Karli slept around.”

“I’m going to need names.” Landon pulled his notepad from his shirt pocket.

Tug chuckled. “You’re going to need a longer sheet of paper.”

Piper stilled in the silent entryway of her house. So much had happened in the past eight hours, it made her head spin. The joy and celebration of Cole and Bailey’s engagement party, the excitement of Reef’s surprise arrival, the tension between him and Cole when Cole realized Reef had come home for a competition and not for his family, being woken by Reef covered in blood, seeing her brother arrested . . . by
Landon
.

A wave of nausea rumbled over her, and she tossed her keys on the front table.
That’s odd.
She thought she’d remembered leaving the letter from Elma on the table beside the key bowl, but now it sat with the rest in the mail basket. Seemed like an odd time for Kayden to be cleaning up. Seemed odd for Kayden to be cleaning, period. For someone so health conscious, her sister was a borderline slob.

Even odder, Rori hadn’t come to greet her. It was late, but Rori
always
came.

Stretching the kinks from her neck, she moved toward the
kitchen. Something in the living room caught her eye. She squinted and stepped forward. Rori was sacked out in front of the garland-draped hearth.

She bent down and patted her. Other than the snores raising Rori’s chest rhythmically, the husky didn’t stir.
Bizarre.
Then again, it was the middle of the night.

Getting to her feet, she left Rori deep in sleep and continued on toward the kitchen. She passed the laundry room, splotches of blood still marring the pearly white of the washer. Landon had confiscated Reef’s clothing and collected samples, but the stain of blood remained. The cupboard door was open overhead, and she wondered if Landon had forgotten to close it when he grabbed the Ziploc bag.

She moved into the kitchen, got a glass of water, and sank against the countertop, her eyes scanning the room. The back door was cracked open. Had Kayden really gone to bed without checking the door? Fear tickled her spine.
Something isn’t right.

She went back into the living room, knelt once again by Rori, and tried harder to rouse the dog. Rori moaned but remained deep in slumber.

Piper climbed the stairs two at a time, flipped on the hall switch, and cracked Kayden’s bedroom door.

“What?” Kayden shielded her eyes with her hand against the bright hall light.

“Did you leave the back door unlocked?”

“What? No. I made sure it was locked before we headed to the station.”

“It’s unlocked now.”

“Okay.”

“So who unlocked it, and why is Rori so out of it?”

“What’s going on?”

“I’m trying to figure out why the back door’s unlocked and our dog’s knocked out.”

“What do you mean knocked out?”

“I mean Rori’s sacked out in the living room. She didn’t wake when I came home, didn’t even budge when I patted her.”

Kayden glanced at the clock. “Why are you just getting home? Where have you been?”

“That’s beside the point. What matters is I think someone’s been in our house.”

“If someone had been in our house, I highly doubt Rori would be sleeping so peacefully.”

“Unless they drugged her.”

Kayden sat up. “Why would someone drug our dog?”

“To be in our house without Rori tearing them apart.”

“Seriously, Piper, you’re upset. It’s late. You need some rest. We both do.” She lay back down.

“Kayden.” She flung the door open, switched on the ceiling light, and moved to sit at her sister’s side.

“Are you kidding me?” Kayden covered her face with the pillow.

“Aren’t you the least bit concerned that someone has been in our home?”

“I think you’re in overdrive. It’s understandable, but you’re overreacting.”

“Overreacting?”

“Is anything missing from the house?”

“Not that I can tell so far.”

“TV still there, the stereo?”

“Yes.” She’d seen both in the living room.

“In all the years we’ve lived here, in all the years our parents lived here, has our house been broken into once?”

“No, but I—”

“Need sleep. We both do. Morning is going to come before either of us is ready.”

The time in the house had been cut short. Par for the course tonight. Little had gone right from the beginning. The stubborn girl wouldn’t talk, and his time of prying it out of her had been interrupted by Reef McKenna. That interruption, however, would keep his involvement masked, so he couldn’t
complain too much. No one would trace anything back to him or
them—
not after fortune had smiled upon him with a scapegoat. At the end of the tumble he’d landed on his feet—except for one thing. And if he didn’t find it, everything might come crashing down around them.

What had the stupid broad done with it? Just like her mother—taking information that didn’t belong to her. The kid should have learned when doing so got her mother killed. Did she really think she’d be any different?

He’d tossed her room again, tossed Reef’s room, and ended up here. When things quieted down, he’d walk away, just as he had at the lodge. The small-town sheriff had actually left the crime scene unmanned long enough for him to escape. For him to blend right back in with the crowd.

He shifted in the cramped quarters of the closet, waiting. Perhaps he should drug the inquisitive one too, shut her up for a bit
.
No. That would draw far too much attention. He’d just slip out and return in the light of day.

They’d be at the station in the morning, no doubt, and he could take all the time he needed, meticulously searching the house room by room, drawer by drawer. Meticulous was the only way to get things done. That and a lot of patience—his had slipped tonight. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

Landon downed another cup of coffee at the station, knowing there was no time to rest. Not when so much was on the line. He needed to devote every minute until Reef’s arraignment looking for anything that might suggest they had the wrong man. After a day and a half of investigation, all he’d found were more reasons to lock Reef away.

“How’d it go?” Slidell asked from the doorway. “Got everything you need?”

Landon looked up from his paper work. “It’s a start.”

“It’s a start?” Slidell took the seat opposite Landon and tipped the metal-frame chair onto its back two pegs. “I spoke with the D.A., and he’s planning to bypass the grand jury. He’s on board with telling the judge there is overwhelming evidence for Reef to stand trial. You know what that means?”

Yeah—if Reef was innocent he’d just lost valuable time to prove it.

“It means no red tape,” Slidell said with a satisfied smile.

“And if he’s innocent?”

“Not this baloney again.” Slidell dropped the front legs of his chair to the floor with a clang. “He did it. The sooner you come to terms with the truth, the better.”

“Don’t you think that’s a bit premature?” Given the evidence thus far, it wasn’t. But they still needed the autopsy results, trace evidence, fingerprints off the murder weapon.

“Premature? He was caught in the act.”

“They didn’t actually witness him slit her throat.”

“Close enough.”

“I’m not willing to put someone behind bars for the rest of his life for ‘close enough.’” While it didn’t appear that Reef was innocent, Landon could legitimately fight for time—time to conduct a thorough investigation. Unfortunately, Slidell was fighting equally as hard to take that time away. Hungry for a conviction, he was trying to push Reef’s case through the express lane.

While Landon couldn’t in good conscience argue Reef’s innocence, he could argue the importance of a methodical investigation.

“I thought we agreed that this wasn’t going to be a problem. That you’re a professional and would not allow your friendship with Reef’s family to cloud your judgment.”

“It won’t cloud my judgment. Just as I hope your desire for reelection won’t cloud yours.”

Slidell rocked forward. “That’s the second time you’ve insinuated that I’d put an innocent man behind bars to better my chances in the election.”

“I’m simply stating that a thorough murder investigation cannot be rushed. It’s barely been twenty-four hours.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you will have plenty of time to conduct your investigation while Reef’s awaiting trial, but in the end I’m confident your efforts will show nothing but evidence of that boy’s guilt. The D.A.’s moving quickly on this. Arraignment’s only a couple hours away.” Slidell got to his feet. “I’m going to grab some breakfast. You want me to bring you anything?”

“No thanks.” He had no appetite.

Slidell studied him a moment, then tapped the doorway on his way out.

Landon sighed. Only a couple more hours to find something,
anything,
that might suggest Reef’s innocence.

Of course, Piper expected him to simply take Reef at his word, but he couldn’t. It would be one thing if it was Cole or Piper or any of the rest of them he’d spent nearly every day
with, but Reef was different. He’d barely seen Reef in close to a decade, and prior to that, they’d hardly been close. He couldn’t overlook hard evidence for the word of a man he hardly knew, let alone a man he didn’t trust.

Gage shook his head as the cameras flashed and reporters chattered. “Could this get any worse?”

“I don’t think so,” Cole said, coming to stand beside him.

Bailey clasped Cole’s hand in hers. “I’m worried about Piper.”

Gage followed Bailey’s gaze across the crowd to his sisters—Kayden, strong and stalwart; Piper, a mixture of fiery sadness. If Reef was found guilty, if he
was
—heaven forbid—guilty, Piper would never be the same. None of them would.

Reef had always been irresponsible; a risk taker with no concern for his bodily safety or, at times, the needs of others—but a killer . . . ? It’d been years since Reef left home, but Gage still knew his brother. Didn’t he?

“Thank you for coming,” Slidell said, cutting through the din of reporters.

With the Freeride Competition being in Yancey, the media exposure in town had grown from Jason with the
Tribune
to nearly a dozen reporters from across the country, and a handful from around the world. Now his brother’s name and picture would be broadcast to the world as the lead suspect in a murder investigation.

“I want, on behalf of all of us in Yancey, to express our deep sorrow over the malicious death of a young athlete with a bright and promising future ahead of her. I am pleased to announce that we have the suspect in custody and he will be arraigned shortly.”

A bevy of hands rose in the air as questions spewed from the reporters.

“What was his motive?”

“Did he know the victim?”

Slidell lifted his hand. “I am not able to comment on the specifics of the case at this time.”

“Rumor has it that it was a lovers’ spat. A revenge killing.”

“Rest assured we are conducting a thorough investigation. That is all for now.” Slidell stepped from the spotlight without a glance in the McKennas’ direction and retreated down the hall.

The reporters dispersed, moving into the courtroom to await Reef’s arrival. His arraignment hadn’t even taken place and they were already pronouncing him guilty.
Vultures.

“Do you want to go in?” Cole asked.

“And be surrounded by reporters? I’d rather wait out here. At least until it’s time for Reef to come in.”

“I have a feeling it’ll be a while yet,” Cole said, taking a seat with Bailey on one of the wooden benches lining the courthouse foyer. “The D.A. isn’t even here.”

“Or the defense attorney,” Piper said, pacing by.

“He’ll be here,” Gage assured her.

“He better be.”

“Sit down while we wait. You look exhausted.”

“Because she stays up at night playing Nancy Drew.” Kayden yawned, slumping down beside Cole on the bench.

“What?” Gage narrowed his eyes.

“Yeah,” Cole said, stretching out. “Landon told me about that.”

“Landon?” Kayden looked up at Piper. “You didn’t go to him with your break-in theory, did you?”

“Break-in?” Gage and Cole said in unison.

“There was no break-in,” Kayden assured them.

“How can you be certain?”

Kayden sighed. “Because nothing was stolen.”

“What if they couldn’t find what they were looking for?”

“What
who
was looking for?” Gage asked.

Cole leaned forward. “Landon didn’t say anything about a break-in.”

“Then what
did
he say?”

“Instead of heading home when we left the station after visiting Reef, Piper went to the lodge to get his things.”

“That’s where you were?” Kayden asked.

Piper shrugged. “I just wanted to get Reef’s stuff.”

“Okay, but what’s this about a break-in?” Gage asked. “You think someone broke into Reef’s room?”

“Reef’s room?” Piper cocked her head. “Hmm. I hadn’t considered that.”

“Great.” Kayden sighed. “Fuel her nonsense.”

“Why do you assume it’s nonsense?”

Gage clamped a hand on her slender shoulder. “Why don’t you start at the beginning. . . .”

Piper relayed her theory that something wasn’t right in the house, that numerous things appeared disturbed, and that she feared Rori had been drugged.

Gage rubbed his brow. It did sound like Piper was overreacting, but then again, Piper’s gut reactions had an alarming accuracy.
But why?
Why would someone break into the girls’ house and not take anything? “How was Rori the next morning?” he asked.

“Perfectly fine,” Kayden said.

“Actually, she was super thirsty,” Piper added.

“Because she’d slept in front of the fire all night,” Kayden countered.

“Look, I know it sounds a little out-there, but I have a really strong feeling about this.”

“Understood,” Gage said. “Let’s just try to figure out if there are any other plausible explanations.”

She linked her arms across her chest. “I’m all ears.”

Still unsatisfied with her family’s supposedly plausible explanations, Piper strode to Cole. “Where’s Reef’s lawyer? The arraignment was supposed to start five minutes ago.”

“He’ll be here. Besides, I wouldn’t worry too much—the D.A. isn’t even here yet.”

“What if he missed the ferry or doesn’t make it?”

“God will get him here,” Cole said, his steadfast gaze calming her.

What would she do without her big brother always there to protect her? Just as Landon had always been, until . . .

She exhaled.

Things hadn’t been right between them in months. Instead of drawing them closer, as tragedy often did, the events of last summer had pulled her and Landon apart. At first she’d attributed Landon’s distance to some kind of punishment for continuing to date Denny against his wishes, or even foolishly considered the possibility that maybe, just maybe, he’d finally realized she was an adult and the distance was his awkward attempt to show her he wouldn’t be meddling anymore. But he’d only grown more distant, and while she thought she’d be thrilled to not always have him in her business, the truth was she missed him. Missed his twisted, dry sense of humor . . . missed his annoying manner . . . missed
him,
period. Didn’t he realize how much she needed him now? Needed him to listen, to trust her enough to look beyond the obvious. Reef didn’t murder Karli. Someone else had. If Landon could only get beyond his black-and-white mentality, he’d see that.

She grimaced. Why did he have to be so muleheaded? So by the book?

The front door swung open, and a gust of frigid wind swirled in, ruffling the hem of her skirt. The cold bit at her cheeks, her fingers.

All heat was gone—dissipated in an instant by the stark reality of winter. The hope of the new arrival being Harland Reeves, the defense attorney they had hired, vanished, and shock stole its place as quickly as the wind had swallowed the warmth.
Meredith Blake.

“Mer?” Gage said, his voice cracking.