Deadly Setup. Annslee Urban

scot-free. The last thing the creep would want is for me to come back to town and start asking questions.”

      Good hypothesis—that was, if Seth thought Madison’s killer was still out there. But, as the investigator on Paige’s case, he’d hear her out. He tightened his arms over his chest. “Okay, Paige. Who knew you’d be in town today?” He asked the question, even though it struck at his heart that she hadn’t even bothered to contact him.

      “It was a last-minute trip. I only contacted my friend Tessa Riley.” Even as she kept her expression placid, red crept into her cheeks. She’d caught his vibe. And he knew an excuse when he heard one. “I called Tessa yesterday after my boss at the rehab center gave me the time off to come. We’re short staffed, but she knows about Trey’s situation and how difficult it’s been on me. However...” She sat up straighter. “After I arrived and dropped my bags off at Tessa’s, I went out to do some errands and ran into several old friends and acquaintances.”

      Seth scratched his cheek. “Did anyone act suspicious?”

      She thought a moment, then shook her head. “Everyone kept their distance. No one wanted to talk about Madison or discuss her murder. Although that’s probably not unusual. However—” Paige emphasized the word “—the way news travels around here, half of Boone probably knows I’m in town by now.”

      True, but... Seth drew in a deep breath. It still sounded like a TV crime drama to him. Not to mention the theory was difficult to substantiate, given the information they had. “Paige, we’ve exhausted every lead we received on Madison’s case. As much as I’d like to find something that would exonerate your brother, that just hasn’t happened.”

      Paige grabbed the side rail, pulling herself up straighter in the bed. “That, Detective, is what I’m here to do.”

      Like rubbing salt in a wound. “Do what, Paige? Try to convince yourself that Trey just might be guilty?” Seth’s tone was meant to be frank, but his frustration rang clearly.

      One of Paige’s brows soared upward, but she didn’t respond. Just stared back at him, a steady, indignant look in her deep emerald eyes.

      Instant regret knifed through him, not only for his blunt choice of words, but for everything that had gone wrong in their relationship. He’d made a vow early in his career to keep his personal life and detective work separate, but he should have worked harder to support Paige. Maybe then their relationship could have weathered this storm.

      The heavy rock in his gut swelled to a boulder, telling him probably not.

      He’d learned years ago that when someone was ready to bolt, there was no holding on to them. And after Trey’s trial was moved to Durham County because of all the negative pretrial publicity, there was no holding Paige back. She had nothing left in Boone.

      Including him.

      Seth shifted his stance, ignoring the sting of heartache in his chest. “Paige, there’s a lot of pent-up anger around this town. Coming back now and asking questions, especially on the brink of Trey’s trial, isn’t going to be easy on you.”

      Paige’s mouth flattened to a thin line. “Sitting in a six-by-eight jail cell hasn’t been easy on my brother, either.”

      Tension hung in the air, heavy and mounting. They were getting nowhere.

      Scrubbing a hand through his hair, Seth mentally tamped down his feelings, frustrated by the sudden whiplash of emotions and memories. Emotion that had no place on the job.

      Job. The reason he was there. He forced his focus back to the problem at hand—Paige’s accident. He took a deep breath and zipped up his jacket. Time to get out of there. He had everything he needed. “Paige, will you be staying with Tessa while you’re in town?”

      Paige hesitated, her scowl remaining. “I’ll be staying at her condo. She’s out of town on a cruise for the next week.”

      Seth made a mental note and stuffed his hands in his coat pockets. “Get some rest. I’ll touch base with you sometime tomorrow,” he said, then turned and headed out the door, focusing his thoughts on his investigation and stowing all sentimental nonsense that had nothing to do with this case.

       TWO

      The next morning, Seth slumped into the swivel desk chair in his office at the Watauga County Sheriff’s Department and picked up the police report detailing Paige’s accident. He flipped through it, stopping at the picture of her mangled car.

      Broken glass, deployed air bags, twisted metal.

      How could anyone survive something like that? He dropped the report on his desk, rocked back in his chair and scrubbed his face. The thick foliage and spruce trees had cushioned the impact, but still.

      He shook his head.

      If he were a man of faith, he would definitely say someone up there had been looking out for her. For Paige to walk away from a crash like that with only a few bumps and bruises was hard to comprehend.

      One thing he did comprehend, though, was that somebody had run her off the road. And that person hadn’t bothered to stop. Or even call for help. Purposeful or not, that tidbit hit him deep in the gut. And his only clue so far was that somebody was driving a long-bed extended-cab pickup. Which narrowed the suspect list to about two-thirds of Boone’s population.

      Meaning—he had nothing.

      Frustration banged around in his chest. He rocked forward in his chair and stood. He needed coffee.

      In the break room, Seth grabbed the glass pot and poured himself a cup. Strong and black. Something to jump-start his brain. Right now every synapse in his head was seriously misfiring.

      Seth took a sip of the steamy brew as he thought about how many hit-and-run accidents were never solved. A fact he hated to accept.

      “Seth, what are you doing here?” Detective Colton Walsh said, walking into the room. “I thought you were still out of town.”

      In some respects he wished he still was. Seth leaned against the cabinet, sipping his coffee. “I got back yesterday. I had the rest of the week off and had plans to get some things done around my place, but I got pulled into a case last night.”

      “Last night?” Colton picked up the coffeepot, tilting it over an empty mug.

      “The accident on Eagle’s Ridge. I saw the flashing lights at the scene as I was heading home, and I just couldn’t help myself,” he admitted with a tight grin.

      Pausing the pot midway, Colton glanced up, creasing his forehead. “I thought Brett Ralston was on that case. I think he just left to talk to the victim.”

      “What?” Seth snorted, almost choking on the sip he just took. “Ralston?”

      Colton nodded. “The chief assigned him to the case this morning.”

      This day just kept getting worse. Seth pitched his cup and slammed out of the room. He headed down the long corridor to the office at the far end—the office of the Watauga County chief of detectives.

      Seth’s old friend Detective Kevin Mullins looked up as he stalked into the room. “Kevin, could you please explain why you assigned Ralston to my case?”

      Dropping his ink pen, the chief leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers together, as if sizing up Seth’s vehemence. “You’re officially on vacation, Seth. I wasn’t even sure if you’d be in today.”

      “I was up half the night writing up the accident report and the victim’s statement, and it didn’t cross your mind to pick up the phone and call me before you handed my case to someone else?”

      The chief hesitated a moment and then swerved his chair around, getting to his feet. “Seth, I didn’t want to have to tell you this, but Paige requested another detective be put on her case.”