Devil in the Details

Chapter Twenty Two

Evelyn growled into her pillow and lifted her head. Her curly hair stuck out in all directions, tousled with sleep. She'd been sleeping well for once, until the phone started ringing. Slapping the screen, she dragged her cell phone across the bed so she could see who was calling. Since the attack, the reporters had been out of control. It was Floyd. She swiped to answer and rolled onto her side, pulling the thick comforter above her head.

"Hello?"

"Evvy," Floyd said, his voice hushed, "we found another body."

"The biker?" She asked. She cleared the sleep from her throat.

"Yeah." He replied, "his name was Carl Jenkins. We spoke with the wife-"

"The wife?" Evelyn sat up, making herself more comfortable. "Tell me the son didn't see him."

"No, no," Floyd replied, "Carl belonged to a bike club. One of the other members found him."

"A motorcycle gang?" Evelyn asked.

"No." He replied, "a bike club. It's Garret Falls, Evelyn, we don't have gangs. Though we might soon. They're very upset."

"If they wanna hunt this guy down, I'm honestly not going to stand in their way." She looked around the room. Diana's messenger bag was gone from its spot by the door and the clock on the wall said it was later than she thought. That meant Diana had gone to work. Evelyn tried to remember if she'd woken her before leaving like she normally did. She knew there was no way the killer could have known she would be the responding officer. They had multiple officers out nearly every night and they were splitting shifts to keep it covered. The town felt better seeing more of them. Not even Floyd knew where her cruiser was sitting that night either. It didn't stop Evelyn from worrying about Diana every step of the way. The attack felt so personal.

"If they could find him." He replied, "we're gonna have another press conference tonight. How are you feeling? How's your head?" He behaved as though he hadn't come to see her twice in as many days.

"Better." Evelyn replied. "Sore, but better."

"Good." He said, "I want you back on the clock tomorrow morning. Can you do that?"

"Yeah." Evelyn replied, "I'll be there." She cleared her throat and began dragging herself out of bed. "Is this press conference gonna get the vultures off of my lawn?"

She shuffled over to the window and pulled a singular blind down, looking through it at the reporters who'd parked below. They were waiting for an interview. Evelyn had never given one and didn't plan to start. There weren't many now, three vehicles when there had been six or seven before.

"Probably for a little while." He replied. "Maybe permanently. We're going to address your involvement again, let them know we don't believe he targeted you because of Katrina."

"Alright." Evelyn said. She stretched, wincing a bit as her sore muscles tugged and pulled. She frowned, watching Diana pull into the driveway. "Has James gotten any closer to figuring out who this is?" She asked. "Any more leads?"

"None." He replied. She could hear the annoyance in his tone. "I don't get it, Evvy. We're missing something. I know it's right in front of me."

"I know it." Evelyn replied, "I can feel it in my bones. We're looking at this the wrong way."

"Well, if you think of anything, let me know." He said, "trust your gut, Evelyn. I mean it."

She said her goodbyes and headed downstairs for some water and something to eat. Floyd had taught her to trust her instincts, insisted on it regularly. That made even more sense now, knowing what she was capable of.