Chapters (78)
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Acknowledgments
- Discover More
- About the Author
- Also by Owen Laukkanen
Nobody seemed to notice as they crossed the road and slunk between two houses into Shelby Walker’s backyard. Lucy followed, obedient, pausing to sniff at a clump of weeds, a corner wall, peeing once in the grass and then jogging to strain on her lead toward Burke. The ex-convict walked ahead of Jess and Lucy, his hand lingering near the pistol he’d stashed in his waistband, even though he had never shot a gun in his life and had no idea where he was supposed to be going.
Men, Jess thought.
She let Burke have his little moment, gave him directions, and soon enough they were crossing the Walker backyard, ducking under a sagging clothesline that seemed almost comical in this ceaseless rain, and climbing up the wooden steps to Shelby’s back door.
“Best if I take the lead from here, Burke,” Jess said, handing him Lucy’s leash. “That’s if you don’t mind.”
Burke stepped back, and Jess rapped on Shelby Walker’s screen door, a harsh, angry sound. She tried to push her hurt feelings down, tell herself this was about something bigger than Ty now, that whatever Ty and Shelby Walker had had going on, it didn’t matter anymore. And then the Walker door swung open, and Jess found herself face-to-face with the tramp who’d taken up with her husband, and all those nice thoughts went for nothing.
“Oh.” The girl’s eyes went wide as soon as she saw Jess, and she backed away from the door. She was a girl, Jess could see, with an uncertainty to her movements and a childish innocence of expression. Jess hated Ty more and more.
But then the girl’s eyes hardened, and she seemed to gather herself and chase that childishness away. She glared at Jess. “I guess you’re here about your husband.”
Jess guessed that Shelby Walker had been preparing for this moment ever since she’d met Ty, guessed the girl had a pretty good idea how she wanted things to go down.
“I’m not here because you were fucking him, if that’s what you mean,” she said, raising her hand as the Walker girl began to argue. “But I do expect you have some information as to why he wound up dead.”
The Walker girl only stared at her, and Jess figured that meant she’d knocked her off-balance. She tried a smile next.
“You want to invite us inside?” she asked. “It’s cold out here in this rain.”
The Walker girl looked at her. Looked at Burke, and the dog. Looked at Jess again, and Jess doubled down on that smile.
Finally the girl sighed.
“All right,” she said, stepping away from the door.