As he might have expected, everyone acted shocked to see him and eager to talk about his injuries and the accident. Though he wanted to deflect each inquiry—talking about himself had never been his favorite thing—he was compelled by the circumstances to sift through each conversation for any clues he might find pertinent to the investigation.
As far as he could tell, the concern of most of his deputies seemed genuine. The two exceptions were Ken Kramer, of course, and Curtis Wall. Though they, like everyone, expressed sympathy, the smirks they both wore and the insincerity of their tones indicated something else.
The most upset person in the office seemed to be Jackie Scott. His administrative assistant couldn’t even talk to him without her eyes welling up with tears.
“You’re just so brave about this,” she said, sniffling, as he tried to go over the agenda for the briefing with her.
“I wouldn’t say that. It was scary as hell and I won’t deny it. But I’m here and I’m fine, for the most part. The leg will heal.”
When it looked as if she would start crying again, he did his best to deflect her attention. “More important, how are you?” he asked. She really did look a wreck.
Though she was only in her early forties and was usually groomed to perfection, right now she looked much older, with dark circles under her eyes and her usual professional hairstyle looking ragged and unkempt.
“Fine,” she answered quickly. He didn’t need to be a detective to know she was lying.
“What’s going on? Is it Jeremy?”
Jackie had walked a tough road the last few years since her investment banker husband walked out on her and their teenage son to take up with a cocktail waitress from Coeur d’Alene.
Her son had taken his father’s defection hard and Jeremy had tangled with the law more than once over the past two years.
If circumstances had been different, he would have liked to confide in her about Christopher and ask her advice. With everything she had going on, he couldn’t do it.
“Everything’s fine,” she said, which he was smart enough to know was clearly a lie. “You don’t need to worry about me. You need to focus on getting better, that’s all.”
“And finding the bastard who did this.”
Her smile looked wobbly. “That, too. Are you...any closer to finding answers?”
He pondered what to tell her, then decided on the truth. She might be able to help more than he’d considered.
“Close the door, Jackie.”
Looking wary, she complied, then sat down in the visitor’s chair across from his desk.
“I need you to tell me the truth.”
Her mouth sagged for a moment. “About...about what?”
“What’s been going on around here the last few days?”
She looked somewhat surprised at the question. “Everyone’s worried about you, if that’s what you mean. And I’ve had a devil of a time keeping Ken out of this office. He seems to think because the county commission named him acting sheriff, he can completely take over, but I reminded him you will be back before he knows it. Other than that, everything seems to be normal. Why?”
“Have any of the other deputies been acting suspiciously?”
She stared. “You think it was someone from the department who did this to you?”
“I wish I could rule it out as a possibility.”
“I’m sure that can’t be true.” Her eyes were wide, her mouth slack. “Nobody here would hurt you. Why would they?”
“Maybe I’m in someone’s way. You said yourself Ken has been pushing to get into the office. It could be a power play.”
Her hands shook as she brushed them down her thighs. “Oh, I wish you hadn’t said that. I hate thinking someone I work with every day—someone I joke with in the break room—might be capable of something so...cold-blooded.”
“I don’t have anything concrete, only suspicions at this point. I would just ask you to keep an ear to the ground. Let me know if you hear any whispering in that break room that might point in a particular direction.”
“I will. I sure will, Sheriff Bailey.”
He hated adding another layer of stress to her already heavy burden. But if he wanted to figure out what was going on, he would have to gather those he trusted around him.
“Thank you. I don’t know what I would do without you, Jackie. Seriously. You keep the whole department running smoothly.”
She sniffled, her eyes suspiciously red. “Thank you,” she said, barely above a whisper. “I love my job. I don’t know where I would have been without it after...after Bobby left. This job and Jeremy are all I have.”