Chapter 27
Of Strange Moon Rising
Previously: Another attempt on Tristian’s life adds to Riley’s suspicion of Luke. Greg casually confirms he knows of Riley’s abilities.
The setting sun glinted off the reflective strips of Ross’s cruiser, resting in its usual spot in front of the station. When she reached the bullpen, he frowned at the kit, evidence bags, and camera she juggled. “There’s been another attempt on Tristian’s life—he’s okay,” Riley added quickly.
“How?” The blond stubble and dark circles suggested he’d come to the office before stopping home from his court stint.
“Punctured break lines under the wheel well. I’ve got photos if you’d like to take a look now.” Riley held out the camera.
“Not under the hood?” Ross pulled Greg’s chair over to sit in front of her desk while he scrolled through the camera roll. “Takes them longer to go via the wheel well.”
“That might’ve saved his life, considering the steep curve he passed before they failed.”
“That curve off Heron.”
“Yep. I checked with his neighbors. Those who answered the door haven’t seen anything suspicious. Just Woodrun PD, the firemen, the damage consultant, and Tristian himself. It might be a good idea to ask around this weekend, when more people are home. There was another arson as well, in an uninhabited structure.”
“Of course there was,” Ross muttered. He set the camera on her desk and slumped.
“Tony took care of it, and Kellen filed the report. Also, the mayor stopped by this morning looking for an update.”
With a weary sigh, he slid further down in his seat. By the time she was done, he’d be on the floor. “Anything else?”
Riley pulled up the image of the driver’s license and the headshot from John Doe’s autopsy on her monitor. “Meet Peter Chappell.”
Squinting at the screen, Ross nodded. “That’s him alright. From Bozeman, huh?” He clucked his tongue. “Nice work.”
After they hashed out the details of confirming his ID, Riley hesitated.
“Spit it out,” he ordered, not unkindly.
“We need to talk about Luke Singer.”
With a pinched expression, he motioned for her to go on.
“He pulled Chappell’s name from the train-hopper this morning—I thought the man had given his own name until Pritchard Rentals called. He wasn’t in town at the time of the murder, but he knew our victim, and knew Luke had asked after him. I’ve been tying myself in knots trying to make sense of it. Luke sent the train-hopper on his way before I could get anything more from him, so I can’t reinterview him. And Luke, well, he answered a few questions, but I hadn’t known Chappell was our Doe then.” Riley looked away. “I’m new. I get that I’m not going to be trusted right away. That’s fine, I’ll earn it, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m so far out of the loop on this case, I might as well be a hindrance. Would you rather pull me? Have me take the bulk of the patrols?”
He opened his mouth, then closed it, once, twice. “I—Jesus—no, I’m not pulling you from the case, I can’t afford to, but I understand. I’m trying.”
“You’re trying to understand, or trying to explain?”
With a few vague hand motions, he managed, “I’m… we’ll work it out. Just give me a little more time, and—”
That request—too close to what had set her off with Luke earlier in the morning—had Riley unclipping her badge from her lapel before she could think better of it. She set it on the edge of her desk in front of him. She liked Ross, as a person and as a boss, or at least she had, until it became clear he’d rather protect his and Luke’s personal interests over the people he’d sworn to protect. Riley almost snatched it back, loathe to give up on her conviction to see the investigation through, but she couldn’t imagine the case would ever close if things continued on as they were. “I don’t want to quit, but I can’t do my job like this, and I won’t stick my head in the sand. You won’t give me enough information or remove me from the case, so what is there left for me to do?”
With a sharp shake of his head, he pushed the badge back toward her. “I want you to stay on the force, and on the case. Just a little—“
“More time,” Riley finished for him. “Uh-huh, and how long has Kellen been in the dark?”
Rubbing his brow, Ross nodded. “He’s… that’s different.”
“Care to elaborate?” A bitter laugh escaped when Ross failed to respond. “This is what I’m talking about. It’s a simple question.”
“With a complicated answer that I can’t voice for reasons that will become clear once I beat some sense into Luke’s thick skull,” he muttered, more to himself than her.
Lifting her hands into the air, she cried, “Why the hell is he the last word on this?”
Ross straightened and placed his hands on his knees like he was sitting for a polygraph. “Ask me about my commitment to this job, to protecting this town. I’ll answer as much as I can. If I can’t convince you to stick it out a little longer…. I know it’s a hard ask, I understand this is bizarre and seems unethical, but I promise you, there is a reasonable answer for every one of your very valid issues.”
The earnestness in those hazel eyes tugged at her heart. Riley wanted to believe him. He’d spoken nothing but truth, yet she hesitated, puzzling over the context of his proposal. With a plummeting surety, she knew someone had fettered out her truth-seeking. Riley hadn’t wanted to admit Luke knew, but the unavoidable truth of it stared her in the face. Between them and Greg, she might as well take out an ad in Woodrun Weekly. It’d taken Dergby a year to catch on. Riley hadn’t been in Woodrun but ten days. The panic she’d smothered earlier reared it’s head. Greg, Luke, Ross—they all seemed to be taking it in stride, which scared her more than the expected doubt and hostility would’ve. If Riley questioned Ross as he expected, she’d be confirming his suspicion. She’d likely done enough damage earlier with Luke to make it a moot point. Rolling her shoulders, she asked, “Woodrun and Wolfrun. How do you handle the two as police chief—without,” she added when he grimaced, “describing the difference between the two.”
With a thoughtful nod, he said, “I serve the whole community, even if that means occasionally protecting one half from the other.”
“Do you break laws to that end?”
“We might stretch, but I believe we act in the best interest of our community while upholding justice.”
Riley tapped her foot against the edge of her desk, rattling her badge where it lay. “Which half usually requires more protecting?”
“Wolfrun.”
As expected. “And where do you fall between the two?”
“Oh, well, I suppose I’m in the middle. A part of both, really.”
Riley frowned. “When did this start? The separation of the two?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s always been this way, since the town’s founding.”
Any half-baked notions Riley’d been working on fizzled away. She couldn’t nail down a single category marking someone a Wolfrunner verses a Woodrunner. Her house was on ‘their side,’ but she’d determined it wasn’t geographical. Luke controlled who knew what about it and when. Ross belonged both. It’d always been this way? “The town’s been around for a couple hundred years?“
The chief winced. “Yeah.”
“Then what….” Ross shook his head as she trailed off. Just as well, because no question came to mind to finish the thought. Her brain started to hurt. For once, a distraction in the form of danger wouldn’t be amiss, but the pain didn’t have the prickling feel of a hit on her radar. It did remind her of the earlier one, however. “Yes or no, please. Is Luke capable of endangering someone’s life to prove a point?”
Shock stole across Ross face. “No. I can’t imagine—no, never. You think… Tristian?”
“He asked if I would know whether Tristian was in danger again. A hour or two later, his break lines are punctured.”
“He wouldn’t have even thought about it. It’s a horrible coincidence,” he assured.
Ross might’ve believed it for truth, but she’d have to ask Luke point blank to confirm. After their last go-round, Riley doubted he’d answer if she asked after the weather. “You want more time. What’s the time frame? Within the next week?” That’s about as long as she could imagine waiting before ripping her hair out.
“Yes, I think so.” He chuckled at Riley’s surprise. “You’ve got several people pulling for you.”
Several people pulling weight with Luke—not her boss—to let her in on information she needed to do her job, information she needed to solve a murder. Riley shook her head. Was she insane for considering it? Maybe, but wasn’t Ross as well, for playing into her psychic abilities? Riley reached out and picked up her badge. “Seven days.”
Obligatory Legal Stuff:
This chapter is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, and incidences are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, locals, and events are coincidental.
No generative AI used. No AI training or scraping allowed.
All rights reserved.
Chapter Title Image created in Canva. Background image from Canva Pro.