“I’m sorry.”
He stopped to frown. “Not your fault.”
“I’m expressing sympathy, not apologizing.”
Zach nodded. “Then, thank you.” The restlessness still drove him because he started another lap.
“All of his friends will have alibis, too. You know they will.”
“Probably, but we may be able to break them. How steadfast will the girlfriend be, for example, when it sinks in that being an accessory to a crime means she’ll be in deep shit, too?”
“At least one of the friends helping almost has to be another deputy, right?”
“The dead rabbit might have been a nasty gesture of support for Hayes from someone who wouldn’t consider committing an actual crime or threatening a woman who lives alone. Bran tells me a lot of people at work considered the dead rabbit a prank—and a pretty funny one.”
Appalled, she stared at him. “And these are your coworkers?”
He didn’t say anything, but she could tell he shared her opinion.
He left a few minutes later in his rental car, letting her know he still intended to buy the cameras today as well as to look at pickups even though he would wait until he got the check from the insurance company before buying. Part of his annoyance, she knew, was that he’d also planned to purchase plumbing fixtures today but now would have to pay for delivery if he went ahead.
Unless his brother had a pickup as well as the Camaro he’d driven to the roofing party.
Somehow Tess had a feeling Zach wouldn’t be willing to ask for a favor from Bran right now anyway. Their relationship was obviously an uneasy one.
She hadn’t much liked Zach’s brother, which she was honest enough to know wasn’t fair on such brief acquaintance. She’d definitely be keeping her opinions to herself.
Knowing she’d have thrown her housekeeping chores over in a minute if Zach had asked her to go with him, Tess sighed and went to start a load of laundry. Maybe she’d invite Dad to have a late lunch here today. He’d like that better than her taking the makings of a meal to his house. That would just give him an excuse to accuse her of treating him like an invalid, waiting on him hand-and-foot. Her accepting that he was driving fine would salvage his dignity.
* * *
IT MIGHT NOT be in his job description, but Bran spent one hell of a lot of time chasing down rumors. This time, though, nobody was paying him for the effort. Whether Zach would be appreciative was an open question.
At the moment Bran was leaning against his Camaro outside the sheriff’s department, going for “relaxed, not in any hurry.” It was mere chance he’d parked next to Dave Sager’s Explorer. He wasn’t going to interrogate anyone. Nope. Just ask a couple casual questions during an idle conversation.
“What are you doing here on a Sunday?” the uniformed deputy asked, pointing his remote at his Explorer. The SUV flashed lights and beeped. Dave made the mistake of hesitating, responding to Bran’s friendliness.
“Just thought I’d put in a few hours’ work.” It was a convincing excuse, since Bran often did come in on Sundays, taking advantage of the lack of distractions. Today, the goal was fictional.
In fact, pursuing overheard gossip about a rumor that might or might not be true, he had timed his arrival carefully to be sure he crossed paths with Sager, who he’d known would be exiting the building about now. Bran hadn’t even had to check schedules; he’d heard him grumbling about his recent reassignment to the night shift.
He was at least a couple of years older than Bran’s thirty-seven. Hard to tell for sure, with his thin, boyish face and wiry, strong body. He was getting a bald patch, though, that he tried to disguise by shaving his head. To the best of Bran’s knowledge, he wasn’t friends with Andy Hayes, but might be with some of Hayes’s friends.
A hint of aggression entering his voice, Dave Sager said, “I hear the new guy is your brother.”
“He is,” Bran agreed. He went for a tone of mild curiosity. “You see anything of Hayes since he went on leave?” The segue was certainly natural enough.
“Not me, but I hear he’s hopping mad.”
“Yeah? I guess I haven’t talked to any of his friends.”