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Back Lost Hills Save as PDF
Chapters (49)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. DEDICATION
  4. Contents
  5. CHAPTER ONE
  6. CHAPTER TWO
  7. CHAPTER THREE
  8. CHAPTER FOUR
  9. CHAPTER FIVE
  10. CHAPTER SIX
  11. CHAPTER SEVEN
  12. CHAPTER EIGHT
  13. CHAPTER NINE
  14. CHAPTER TEN
  15. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  16. CHAPTER TWELVE
  17. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  19. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  21. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  22. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  23. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  44. CHAPTER FORTY
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  48. Author’s Note and Acknowledgments
  49. About the Author

Despite all the evidence pointing to Coyle, there was still a big hole in the narrative, something she hadn’t found, or couldn’t see in front of her, that would explain it all and prove him guilty. Unless she figured out fast what it was, Coyle could be bailed out on Monday and only face a burglary charge.

One thought occurred to her. She took out her phone and called Mr. Plunger. Brandy answered cheerfully, as usual. “This is Detective Ronin again. I have a quick question. Are your plumbers allowed to take the service vehicles home with them?”

“No, of course not,” Brandy said. “Why would they want to do that?”

Instead of answering the question, Eve asked another. “Were all of your trucks in service on Wednesday and Thursday?”

“Yes, they were,” she said.

“There weren’t any in the shop or sidelined for any reason?”

“Nope,” she said.

“Is your parking lot under video surveillance?”

“Twenty-four seven because of vandalism and people trying to steal tools and parts off the trucks,” she said. “It’s all recorded on DVR that recycles every sixty days.”

“Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.” Eve disconnected the call and saw Nan studying her.

“You’re wondering how he got the bodies out of the house if he didn’t use his car or his plumbing truck,” Nan said.

The answer was obvious. “He had another car or an accomplice.”

“Or both,” Nan said.

The notion of a second killer had never occurred to Eve until now. Her entire focus for the last forty-eight-plus hours was finding a single individual. She didn’t know where to start looking for a second man or woman.

“Is there any evidence you’ve seen that points to a second person?” Eve asked.

Nan shrugged. “Sometimes it’s the lack of evidence that does the pointing.”

Like it did right now, though Eve wasn’t convinced that a second person was the missing piece, not that she had the slightest idea what the hell it was. There was just a big, gaping hole in the case.

Eve felt a tremble of panic in her chest for the first time since the investigation began. It was the fear of failure and what it would mean. Her promotion to homicide detective would be condemned as a disastrous and irresponsible publicity stunt, one that revealed her arrogance and incompetence and the sheriff’s frantic desperation to distract attention from the department’s scandals. Their careers would be over and their reputations irreparably destroyed. They would deserve it, too.

But the prospect of that shame and ridicule wasn’t what scared her the most. It was failing to get justice for Tanya, Caitlin, and Troy. She could not, she would not, let that happen.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN