..
The shattered patio door let a breeze into the room. It cooled off their burning thoughts as Dray and Wells focused on cleaning up the house as best they could. Dray swept the broken glass into an outside garbage bin and Wells put the thrown furniture put back into place. The front door—well, the front door hung open with a broken lock, letting a sliver of light pass through.
Dray picked her nails, leaning over the kitchen island, when a beer appeared in front of her.
"Might as well." Wells cheersed her bottle and took a drink.
She grabbed the cold drink and took a hefty swig.
Heavy footsteps interrupted their silence and Nash ran into the room. "What the hell happened to the door?" He scanned the room. "And that door?"
Lucy pushed around him and ran straight to Dray. She pulled her in close and Dray smiled into her sister's shoulder.
"Sheriff Heron and Porter showed up wanting us to tell them what we know. Porter was trigger happy." Wells jabbed a thumb towards the missing glass door.
Nash rubbed his face and exhaled. A small grimace drew on his face.
"We told them we didn't know what they were talking about." Dray gently pulled away from Lucy, but stayed close.
"Doesn't sound like they took that for an answer." Nash crossed his arms, muscles bulging out, and rested against the wall.
A small shake of her head and Dray's hair fell in front of her face. She tucked it behind her ear. "No, but at the same time yes. The sheriff was extremely easy to sway. He said Porter claimed we were involved, but we just made him out to be a drama queen that can't handle rejection. The whole situation seemed off," she added as an after thought.
Lucy rubbed Dray's back and connected eyes with Nash.
He rolled his eyes. "Lucy has a theory that may make sense why," he shoved his hands in his jean pockets, "though I'm not exactly keen on it and I don't want you guys to be either."
"Whatever." Lucy waved a hand in his direction. "This encounter makes my theory make even more sense."
"Okay," Dray glanced between the two, "so what is it?"
"I think that Sheriff Tieg may be more like us than we think."
"Like us?" Wells pulled out a stool and sat at the counter.
"Yeah." Lucy clasped her hands and leaned on her forearms on the counter. "He's hesitant, quiet, and I don't know if you've ever seen him with his family, but he's a total family man."
Dray lifted her eyebrows. "I have actually. He was a different person with his family."
"Exactly." Lucy pointed at her. "And nothing he does seems genuine, which totally feels sketchy under the negative light of the situation."
Nash shook his head. "We can't jump to conclusions. He is involved and we can't dismiss all the bad that he has done."
"For once, I agree with Nash." Wells took another sip of beer. "We have to move forward expecting the worst."
The women glanced at the men and then each other.
"I agree too," Dray hugged Lucy from the side, "but I'm getting the same feeling," she whispered to Lucy.
"Sounds like the sheriff is making Porter pay for this damage, though." Wells continued.
Nash raised his eyebrows, but his girlfriend gave a stout nod.
"Damn right," she said.
An uneasy silence settled in the room. Dray realized that from now on they were walking on eggshells. Against her better judgment, she continued on the topic.
"How was the meeting?"
"A waste of time. The sheriff wasn't even there, clearly." Nash pushed off the wall and walked towards the island. "Now we know it was just to get us out of the house." He sighed. "I think we're all on the same page here. There's no getting out for you guys now. We need to move quickly."
"What?" Dray scrunched her forehead. "Where?"
Lucy stepped forward. "There is a leader, runs the whole ordeal. He'll be in town the next few days. You probably heard him the night Wells got shot," she turned towards him, "are you okay, by the way?"
Wells lightly huffed. "Yeah, it was just a graze, but we did." He looked towards Dray. "We might have a picture of him, too."
"Picture?" Lucy's eyes widened. "Where? We haven't even seen his face!"
Dray started to fidget with everything in sight. "It's not really of him." She twisted the rings on her fingers. "It's just a black figure in a picture of..." she hesitated and met Wells' gaze.
"Dray took a photo of the sheriff's brother failing from the tree he was hanging from," he finished matter of fact.
"Dray!" Lucy's shriek bounced around the room.
She winced. "It was an accident." Her head fell into her hands.
"Do you still have it or did it get destroyed?" Nash leaned forward.
Dray raised her head and her hands fell limp to her sides. "It's at my house. We were looking at it when you showed up."
He nodded his head a little too fast. "Good. Maybe it'll help something."
Lucy grabbed Dray's hand and stared into her eyes. Dray tilted her head and broke eye contact. Her sister's serious side made her nervous.
"The real leader, the guy in charge of everything," Nash paced the edge of the kitchen, "if we get him, it all falls apart. The mayor follows him like a lost puppy. Porter just joined and the sheriff," he shrugged, "well, they won't know what to do. They'll make a mistake."
"Wait, wait a second." Dray stepped away from the group. She tugged her hair over her shoulder and ran her fingers through it. "Get him?" Her neck stretched forward as the question left her lips. "Like..." The word caught in her throat.
A soft hand ran down her arm, landing at her wrist. Dray followed the path and looked up to see Lucy.
She nodded. "Yeah, that," she said softly.
Dray dropped her gaze and her eyes went out of focus, staring at nothing. "Okay," she stumbled back a few steps. "I just need to, um, go that way." She pointed towards the guest room and took off, nearly knocking into Wells on the way.
She bobbled her way into the room, tripping over carelessly scattered clothing already on the floor despite their short stay. Dray plopped onto the bed and kicked her legs under the covers.
Thoughts flooded in terror and uneasiness fought in her mind. She tugged a blanket over her head. Her breathing filled the small area with hot air; hot air that caused her hair to stick to her neck and face, but she didn't move.
The pit of her stomach threatened to cave in. She squeezed her eyes tight and curled into a ball. She tried multiple times to veer her mind into happy thoughts, but she kept coming back to the worst. Playing detective was one thing, but death—it wasn't something she wished on anyone.
The door creaked and the bed dipped behind her. A strong grip to her upper arm opened her eyes.
"I'm sorry," said Wells.
Dray turned over and pulled the blanket down, brushing her hair out of her face. "Don't apologize."
He looked at her with a worried brow. "I'm the reason you feel like this." He frowned.
"No, I'm the reason I feel like this." She pushed herself up and pecked him on the lips before hugging him. "Everyone wants to play detective," she mumbled into his shirt, "I guess I never thought it'd bring me to this. Besides, even if I wanted to, I can't bail now."
"It'll be okay, but you're right." Wells rubbed her back. "We need to follow this through. It's too dangerous not to."
His touch comforted her. His words did not. Dray nuzzled further into his chest. "I know."
Wells pulled back and lightly grabbed her face with one hand. His thumb grazed her cheek. "We lay low tomorrow and when he comes, we'll follow Nash and Lucy to the meeting. Cliff will meet us. You take pictures for proof. I will record their conversation. Cliff will have the gun."
A sharp shiver shot down her spine. She clenched her jaw and nodded.
..
[EDITED OCTOBER 9, 2021]
Bit of a filler, but I couldn't add more without making this chapter way too long. I'm sure it'll get better during the editing stage.
I'm almost there by the way! Get ready for some crazy chapters to come your way and a hopefully loose-end-tying ending!
Thank you for reading!