Free The River Is Dark by Joe Hart Page B

bedrooms and closets for anything significant but found nothing. He kept his eyes averted from the pictures adorning the walls and bedside tables, and took comfort when he saw that Dani appeared to do the same. A file cabinet in Allen’s study looked the most promising, and they spent a half hour flipping through documents that yielded no link to the Shevlins other than a small certificate from the church where Eric had been baptized that held the four adults’ signatures at the bottom.
    When it appeared that Liam’s assumptions were correct, that robbery wasn’t on the killer’s list of motives, they made their way back to the kitchen. The afternoon looked darker than it had earlier, and rain still fell in silver lines outside the window, veiling the impressive view from atop the bluffs.
    “So what now?” Dani asked, leaning on the kitchen counter.
    “There’s not much else to look at here,” Liam said. “I suppose we can go back to town, maybe find something to eat.”
    “I don’t know if I’ll ever be hungry again,” Dani said, her eyes locked on the black spatters in the living room.
    “We’ll have to plan a funeral too. Everyone will expect one,” Liam said.
    Dani nodded. “I’m dreading that, but after this, it should be easy.”
    “I’m sorry I put you through this.”
    She turned toward him and shook her head. “You didn’t put me through anything. I came here because I wanted to.”
    “I know, it’s just rough, that’s all.”
    “Like I said, Suzie was basically a sister to me. I owe it to her if I can help figure out who did this, and you obviously have the skills to find them, so you’re stuck with me.”
    Liam smiled. “Okay.” He caught himself looking into her eyes for a second too long and turned his head. “Let me just grab a pen and paper here. Maybe on the ride back we can call the funeral home and try to schedule something.”
    Liam pulled open a random kitchen drawer and found stacks of silverware. The drawer next to it held measuring cups and spoons. The drawer on the end was full of odds and ends, and he pulled it out all the way, looking for a scratch pad and pen. As he shifted the contents around, he spotted a stack of Post-Its along with a pen in one corner. Liam grabbed the two items and was about to shut the drawer when something beneath a small calculator caught his eye.
    Pulling the set of keys free from the drawer, he straightened and flipped the plastic key fob over so that he could read the label marked by his brother’s hand.
    “What is it?” Dani asked when she noticed him staring at the keys.
    Liam turned the fob toward her so she could read the letters encased in the plastic: J & K’s house . Dani looked at Liam, who stepped around the counter and began to walk toward the door.
    “Wanna take another ride?”

    They found the Shevlins’ house after passing by the narrow driveway twice on the county road a mile outside of town. The storm doubled its effort as they drove, and more than once Liam had to flip the Chevy’s wipers onto high just to make out the centerline. Dani studied the driveway as they passed it by, reading off the address number to him.
    “Yeah, that’s it,” he said, and scanned the sides of the road. A hundred yards from the driveway he spotted a narrow turnaround on Dani’s side and pulled into it, dousing the headlights that attempted to light up the thick forest lining either side of the road. A stand of pine trees just tall enough to loom over the Chevy appeared on the left, and Liam swung the pickup behind them, effectively blocking the truck from being seen from the road.
    “What are you doing?” she asked as he shut off the truck.
    “We have to go in on foot from here. I don’t want to risk parking in the driveway and having someone see my truck there. That wouldn’t bode well for me. Could you open the glove compartment and grab the flashlight that’s inside?”
    Dani opened the compartment in front of her knees and