Love Inspired Suspense April 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Laura Scott (free e reader .TXT) 📕

Liam didn’t expect anything more.

The next twenty minutes were spent being quizzed by the police. Uniforms did the initial questioning before a detective showed up.

A fireplug of a man, he stuck out a beefy hand. “Reineke.”

After shaking it, Liam introduced himself and Paige and submitted to yet more questions.

No, they didn’t know who had set the explosion.

No, they hadn’t seen anyone suspicious.

No, they hadn’t noticed anyone following them.

The interrogation continued until Liam had had enough. “Maybe if the police had paid attention when I told you about the so-called accidents, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“You should have come to us sooner.”

“I did.” Liam put some bite in his voice. “I went to the Atlanta police, and no one believed me.”

The detective’s expression edged toward apologetic. “That’s on all of us who wear blue, but the Willow Springs PD will take a long look at things.” His voice hardened. “We want you and Ms. Walker to come in and tell us what you know.”

“We’ll be there.”

“Now.” Any sign of contrition vanished as the detective folded his arms across a bulldog chest.

“First,” Liam said, “we need to see about getting some new wheels.”

“Make it today.” Reineke huffed out an impatient breath before stalking off.

“A real people pleaser,” Paige said.

“Yeah. He’s a charmer, all right.”

A rueful smile pulled at Paige’s mouth. “S&J isn’t going to be thrilled with me for totaling a car.”

Liam grimaced at the thought of reporting his own totaled vehicle. “I’m sure not making myself popular with my insurance agency, either.”

They arranged for another car at a rental place to be delivered there. Forty-five minutes later, they took delivery of the vehicle.

“Good choice with the full insurance package,” Paige said, tongue in cheek.

Liam gave a mock growl. “Seemed like a good idea at the time,” he said and drove to the police station.

The station house smelled of sweat, anxiety and bad coffee.

There, they asked for Detective Reineke and were ushered to his office.

The detective stood and pointed to two hard-backed metal chairs that were obviously not designed for long-winded visitors. “Tell me everything. From the beginning. Don’t leave anything out.”

His brusque manner and clipped voice were hardly inviting, but Liam complied and laid out what he knew, starting with the school bus accident fifteen years ago, then the first alleged accident that had taken place six weeks earlier. “His name was Bryce Mendenhall. He died in a fall from an apartment balcony. I didn’t think much about it except for regretting that I hadn’t stayed in touch better with someone who used to be a friend.”

“He was a player on the football team you mentioned, is that right?” Reineke asked.

“Right. Then the second accident happened, a diving accident. This time it was Angie Raul. She was a cheerleader. And then a third, Roger Newsom, who died in a house fire caused by an electrical short. By that time, I knew something was off and started paying attention. That’s when I went to the Atlanta police. Two days ago, my son and I were nearly run off the road. I took him to my parents’ in Savannah, then came back and contacted S&J Security/Protection.”

“Which is when you entered the picture,” the detective said with a brief nod in Paige’s direction. “I’m familiar with your firm. It’s got a good rep.”

“Thanks.” Her nod was equally crisp. “We’ve been interviewing families of the kids who died in the accident. So far we haven’t turned up anything, but there’s no doubt that someone is trying to stop us. Full disclosure—my brother was one of the kids who died in the accident.”

Reineke chewed on his lip as he digested that. “Do you have a list of families of the survivors?” the detective asked. “We’ll want to run our own investigation, but it may be that the bus accident had nothing to do with what’s going on now.”

Liam ground his teeth, letting his glare do the talking for him. When he finally trusted himself to speak, it was with undisguised disgust. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“There could be other reasons someone wants you dead. And we’ve yet to prove that those accidents that claimed the lives of your classmates were murder.” Impatience nipped at the detective’s voice. “We’ve got to check every angle.”

“And what happens while you’re checking those angles? Three people have died so far. And three attempts have been made on my life. Three for three. I’d say that covers all the important angles. Don’t you see?” Urgency roughened his voice. “Someone is killing everyone who survived that accident. Three people have died. How many more deaths do you have to have before you see the truth?”

“Look at it from my perspective,” the detective said. “You just brought this to us, and now you want us to jump on it when, in your own words, you have no proof.”

“Nothing else makes sense.”

“Accidents happen all the time. To all sorts of people. Why not to a few of the survivors of this accident you keep going on about? Statistically speaking, it’s unlikely to happen so close together, but it’s not out of reason.”

“Three in six weeks strains the law of averages, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t know. Does it?” The detective left the question standing. He gave a pointed glance toward the clock, then slid the thick folder back across his desk to Liam. “You’ve put together quite a file here. Three deaths. Three attempts on your life. What I don’t see is any similarity between the attacks. Murderers usually stick to a script once they find one that works. These killings, if that’s what they are, are all over the place.”

“The fact that they are made to look like accidents is the pattern,” Paige pointed out.

The detective made an impatient gesture. “I get that. Tell me why,” he said, directing a hard stare at first Paige and then Liam, “these accidents are occurring now.” He rubbed a hand over his jaw.

“That’s what we haven’t figured out,” Liam admitted. “The only thing that’s changed in the last