Free Burnt River by Karin Salvalaggio

weren’t related.”
    “That bad?”
    “She hasn’t made it easy for him.”
    “Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt John?”
    Dylan sat quietly for a few moments. “There’s the usual shit that goes on when we’re out. Maybe it’s been a little worse lately, but I can’t think of any particular time when John has caused offense. Compared to Tyler and me, he’s pretty tame.”
    “Could John have been seeing someone who was married or in a relationship?”
    “That would have been hard to pull off without Tyler and me finding out.”
    “You’d be surprised at what people keep hidden.”
    “That’s not the John I know.”
    “But John may have changed.”
    “I suppose so.”
    Macy put her notes aside. “Thank you for coming in. It may not seem like it, but you’ve been very helpful.”
    “I wish I could do more.”
    Macy shook Dylan’s hand. “Please contact myself or Police Chief Marsh if you think of anything else that may be helpful in our investigation.”
    *   *   *
    Tyler Locke rocked his chair on its back legs and stared at Macy. Jumbled with third-degree burns, ruined tattoos ran down his arms, and his scalp was pocked with shrapnel wounds. She fought the desire to look away. Unlike Dylan, Tyler challenged her with every word and gesture. Every time he moved, she flinched.
    Macy got up and went over to the window.
    “Do you mind if I open this? It’s a bit stuffy in here.”
    Tyler leveled his gaze at her. “Suit yourself. It’s your show.”
    “Well, it’s mine for now.”
    She pulled up the blinds and the room brightened, but the window was jammed shut. She tugged at the latch a couple of times and it didn’t budge. She didn’t hear Tyler get up from his chair. One second he was sitting and the next he was right next to her. She jumped and this time he noticed.
    “Here, let me try,” he said.
    Once she was seated Macy put her hands on her lap so he couldn’t see that they were shaking. She nodded her approval when he managed to force the window open.
    “Thank you, that’s better.”
    Tyler stayed where he was, his eyes fixed on something outside. “I hate air-conditioning. The hum drives me mad.”
    “I suspect there’s not much air-conditioning in Afghanistan.”
    “You’d be surprised.”
    “Maybe you should enlighten me.”
    He returned to the table. “Maybe another time.”
    “What can you tell me about John’s experience over there? I understand you were in the same unit.”
    “I suppose you want the Reader’s Digest version like everyone else?”
    “John was one of your best friends. You and Dylan were closer to him than anyone. I need to know if there might be a connection between his military service and his death here in Wilmington Creek. If he was struggling, I need to know it. It’s important to understand his state of mind. He may have been doing things he shouldn’t have been doing, putting himself in danger unnecessarily.”
    “I know what you mean, but I don’t think John had it in him. Don’t get me wrong, in the beginning John was as ready to mix it up as anyone.”
    “And in the end?”
    Tyler hesitated. “In the end, John lost his nerve. He’d been solid since day one and then he was scared shitless every time he left the compound. I guess we all have our tipping point.”
    “What do you suppose changed?”
    He rubbed a palm across his peppered scalp. “He saw what happened to me, and we lost a few other guys. I guess he decided his number was up. We’re all pretty superstitious but in that last month John took it to another level. There were all these little rituals he had to perform before he went out on patrol. He’d try to hide it, but I saw what was going on. And then one night, it wasn’t enough. I had to really push to get him in the Humvee.”
    “So he came home.”
    “No. I kept him going. Nothing was ever put in his record. There was never a mark against him. Last summer he had an option to continue on, but he