Sudden Second Chance by Carol Ericson Page A

outside.
    “I’m not going to be interviewing people who don’t want to talk to me.”
    “How do you know if they’re being honest?” He aimed the key fob at his car and the horn blipped. “They could pretend and then change their story when they get you alone.”
    “I’m only going to talk to the ones I gave cards to last night—Chloe the waitress and a few senior citizens. You don’t think I have anything to fear from them, do you?”
    “Be careful, Beth. If the same person who’s warning you is the same person who hit Binder, he’s just added murder to his résumé.”
    She rubbed her arms. “If someone did kill Gary, it’s because he knew something. I know nothing.”
    “Not yet and maybe you should keep it that way.”
    “I’ll be careful, Duke.” She got behind the wheel of her new rental and pressed her palm against the glass.
    He waved back. He had no choice but to leave her.
    When he drove past the accident scene, the ambulance had already left with its sad cargo and one cop car remained, directing traffic.
    Was Binder’s death really connected to his willingness to speak up about the Timberline drug trade twenty-five years ago? Deputy Unger had mentioned tweakers being responsible for the vandalism of Beth’s car. Did that mean the drug culture was alive and well in Timberline today?
    He hoped all Beth got today was half-baked stories of Wyatt Carson. She didn’t need to be involved in this case any more than she already was.
    He’d almost been relieved to hear about her ulterior motive for being in Timberline. Maybe once she found out she wasn’t Heather Brice, she’d give up on this story.
    And if she was Heather Brice? What could be the danger in that? She’d leave Timberline, reconnect with her long-lost family who now resided in Connecticut and live happily ever after...or not.
    Duke’s cop radar gave him an uneasy feeling about that scenario. What if the Brice family rejected her, too? She talked a tough game, but she had a vulnerable side she tried hard to mask.
    He could speed up the entire process by requesting DNA from the Brices as part of this investigation. They wouldn’t even have to know about Beth and her suspicions. Once Beth knew the truth—one way or the other—she could stop sleuthing around Timberline.
    He pulled up to the sheriff’s station and entered the building with a few file folders tucked under his arm. He hadn’t met the new sheriff yet, who was probably just getting up to speed.
    Deputy Unger greeted him at the desk.
    “I’m here to see Sheriff Musgrove.”
    “The sheriff’s expecting you. Go on back, first office on the right.”
    Duke thanked him and made his way to the sheriff’s office. He tapped on the open door and a big man rose from the desk dominating the office.
    “Agent Harper? I’m Sheriff Musgrove.”
    Duke leaned over the desk and shook the sheriff’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Sheriff. What do you think of the hit-and-run accident that killed Gary Binder?”
    “That’s what I like about you fibbies.” He smacked his hand against his desk. “Get right to the point. I think Gary Binder was a junkie who was probably riding his bike recklessly on the road, maybe even riding under the influence, if you know what I mean.”
    Duke studied the man’s red face with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Clearly he had a sheriff on his hands who didn’t have the ability to think out of the box. Too bad Sheriff Sloane wasn’t still in the position. He’d heard nothing but high praise of Sloane from Agent Maxfield, who’d worked the Wyatt Carson case.
    Duke took a deep breath. “You don’t find it coincidental that Binder had just given us some information about the Timberline drug trade during the initial kidnappings?”
    “The world is filled with coincidences, Harper. I don’t find a junkie getting hit by a car all that coincidental.”
    Duke shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders. “By all accounts,