Tracks of Her Tears by Melinda Leigh Page A

Seth shrugged. “I just thought it was a big coincidence that bad things happened to two girls after they left here.”
    Bob didn’t respond, but now that he was sweating, Seth changed the direction of his questioning. “There’s some time missing on the video from the hallway camera.”
    “I’ve been having trouble with that camera.” Bob picked up a napkin from his desktop and blotted his head. “I’ll have to replace it.”
    “That’s probably a good idea.” Seth stood and leaned on the desk. “You might miss something important.”
    Seth turned toward the door. Bob had edited that video, but Seth couldn’t prove it. He didn’t have enough evidence to get a search warrant for Bob’s computer. Amber Lynn and Bruce had left Fletcher’s before Bruce crashed the van.
    Phil followed him into the parking lot. “He’s lying.”
    “Through his teeth.”
    “Where to now?”
    “Now we drive past Bob’s house and see if his truck is there. Then would you mind driving me home?” Seth wanted to keep working, but he and Phil both needed sleep. “Tomorrow we’ll find Travis, and if we can discover one real piece of evidence against Bob, we can bring him in too.”
    “That is one slippery SOB.”
    When they reached Bob’s house, he proved to be even slipperier. There was no truck in front of his house, and the detached garage doors were down and locked.
    “Time to call it a night,” Seth said. “Maybe a few hours of sleep will help us make sense of this.”
    Murder cases were an addiction. If he didn’t force himself to take a break, he’d work nonstop until he discovered the truth. But he really hated returning to his happy family while Amber Lynn’s killer roamed free.

CHAPTER NINE
    Dark had long since fallen by the time Carly drove her mother home. Bruce might be an adult, but Patsy had refused to leave the hospital until she’d seen her youngest settled in a room and as comfortable as possible. Carly parked in front of the house. Her brother was alive and reasonably well, considering he’d been in a major accident and his girlfriend had been murdered. The combination of sadness and relief had left her spent. Exhaustion weighted her limbs.
    She looked back over her seat. Brianna and Charlotte were both sound asleep.
    Patsy’s head rested on the back of the passenger seat. “I should have stayed with Bruce.”
    “Visiting hours are over. Bruce needs rest,” Carly said, as if the end of visiting hours would have been able to keep a determined Patsy out if she had wanted to stay.
    “I’m not sure he should be alone right now.”
    “He’s not alone. He’s in the hospital. Someone will be watching him all night.”
    “We all grieved your father’s death together, but Bruce will feel isolated this time. This loss is his alone. I suspect he had deep feelings for that girl.” Patsy sighed. “When he comes home, we’re going to have to keep an eye on him. I’m worried about him.”
    “Me too.” Carly studied her mother’s profile in the dark. The strain of the past year was showing. “Are you sure you don’t want me to take Charlotte back to the cabin? I can put the portable crib in Brianna’s room.”
    “No. I volunteered to take care of that child, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
    “But . . .”
    “No buts.” Patsy turned to face her. “I raised four children. I can handle one toddler. You and Seth have enough to do. I won’t put that strain on your marriage, not when you two are doing so well.”
    “I’m just trying to help.” Even in the dark, Carly could see the approaching we-need-to-get-something-straight discussion on her mother’s face. People often confused Patsy’s gentle nature for weakness, but they didn’t make that mistake a second time. Even Carly sometimes forgot how tough her petite mother could be. Patsy had no trouble issuing firm reminders.
    “Honey, I appreciate that you all want to shelter me, but I’m fifty-five years old, not a