flat.
âYes.â Dredging up her conviction, she met his eyes. âEspecially when a boot fell out of the bottom of the tarp.â
Daisy desperately wished she could tell what he was thinking, but the sheriff had that impassive look down pat.
âWhat kind of boot?â
It was only after she sucked in air that she realized sheâd been holding her breath during the silence. âIt was black, or maybe just dark-colored.â She closed her eyes and tried to picture it lying on the packed snow that covered the road. âIâm pretty sure it was a manâs boot because of the size.â
âCan you show me where you were standing when you saw this?â
âSure.â She pushed away from the counter and led the way through the living room and up the stairs. It made her neck prickle to have a near stranger following her, even if he was the sheriff. She couldnât stop herself from glancing over her shoulder at him a few times. He looked around as they walked through the house, and his sharp gaze seemed to take in every detail.
When their silent train of two finally reached her bedroom, Coughlin moved around her and stepped toward the window. Daisy lowered her shoulders from where theyâd been hunched around her ears, relieved to have his focus on something other than her.
She stood next to him, keeping as much distance as she could without seeming weirdâor weird er . Despite his poker face, Daisy was pretty sure the sheriff thought she was an odd duck.
âThe squad was parked there,â she said, pointing at the spot on the street. âThe deputy walked between the empty house and the Storvicksâ, carrying the bodâuh, the large thing .â
âDeputy?â He turned his head to look at her. âI thought you couldnât see the personâs face. Do you suspect anyone in particular?â
âNo. I donât know any of the deputiesâjust Chris. He showed me a picture, and the only ones I could really rule out were the two women and a couple of skinny guys. Chris said one wasâ¦umâ¦â She tried to remember his name. âDeputy Lorenzo?â
âDeputy Lawrence?â
âThatâs it!â
âWhy do you think itâs a deputy, then?â
âBecause of the SUV?â It seemed so obvious to her, but just his asking the question made her doubt her logic. âChris said it could be anyone who had temporary access to a squad car, but it just made sense that someone driving a sheriffâs department vehicle would be a deputy. Oh, and Chris said the boot prints matched his.â
âDeputy Jennings is right about the squad.â The sheriff returned his gaze to the poorly lit scene in front of them. âIf we start making assumptions, we could miss the truth just because it doesnât fit into the too-small box weâve created.â
She felt slightly chastised, although she did like the âweâ heâd used. It made her feel included in the investigation. âI have a video of him on my phone. Itâs not very clear, but youâre welcome to take a look at it.â
He looked at her for a long, silent moment before repeating in a flat voice, âA video.â
âYes.â Relieved to have an excuse for avoiding his penetrating stare, she pulled out her cell and found the video footage. Holding her phone so the sheriff could see the screen, Daisy hit play. While he watched, she eyed his face nervously, looking for his reaction, but his expression was impassive.
As the clip ended, Daisy dropped the hand holding her phone to her side. âI know itâs dark, but maybe it could be enhanced and lightened with video-editing software?â
âMs. Little.â Once again, he was focused on her, and it was an effort to hold his gaze. âHow long has it been since youâve left this house?â
Although sheâd suspected that the questions would eventually come