Betrayal with Murder (A Rilynne Evans Mystery, Book Three) Read Free

the place of trees.
    “How long will it take you to get to Bodker after you land?” he asked. Other than coming up in conversation from time to time, he had never really asked her about her hometown. Part of her thought that he felt if he talked about it, it might make her want to return.
    “It’s only a forty-five minute drive to the station with no traffic,” she replied. “If I flew into Madison, it would have been a little over an hour.”
    Aside from going to college in Madison, Rilynne spent most of her life in Bodker, Wisconsin. Having moved so many times as a child, she had lived in nearly every part of the city before settling down in a small housing development on the north side. Like in Addison Valley, she had chosen a house close enough to the station for her to run to work whenever the weather permitted.
    She had never imagined living anywhere else until Christopher was offered a new position on the west coast. After he was killed, she was left with mixed feelings about the city she loved. It wasn’t until the Pirate Killer case became so publicized that she finally made the decision to leave.
    “You’re going to have to hurry when we get there, but you shouldn’t have any problem catching your flight,” he said as he took the next exit. “Do you want me to go in with you?”
    “You don’t have to do that,” she said, although everything inside of her was wishing he would. He pulled up to the doors and stepped out to help her with her bag.
    “Call me when you know when your return flight is and I’ll be here to pick you up,” he said as he sat the bag down at her feet and pulled her in for a hug. “Text me when you land.”
    She took a deep breath-quivering slightly when the sweet scent of peaches reached her nose-before pulling away and reaching for her bag. “Thank you,” she said warmly. “Thank you for helping me through this and being so understanding. I know it isn’t the easiest thing to have to deal with.”
    “If anyone’s going to understand what you’re going through, it’s me.” Ben had suffered his own loss several years before. His fiancé had been murdered and he was named the prime suspect before the forensic evidence cleared him. Because of this, he was in the unique position to actually know just how she was feeling. “Just let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”
    Rilynne rose up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek before turning and walking through the sliding doors. She turned back before rounding the corner and found him leaning against the car watching her, knuckles dragging along his chin.
    *
    Rilynne stepped off the plane and was met by tall, middle-aged man who looked like he had just been to hell and back. His normally warm and handsome face had been distorted with grief, and his short black hair, which had always been neatly combed, looked as if he had just rolled out of bed.
    “How was your flight?” he asked.
    “Uneventful, although the ticket that had been booked for me was in first class, which was interesting. Thanks for picking me up, Chief,” she said as she walked with him to baggage claim. “Have you learned anything else?”
    “I sent our forensic team out to take over the search of the area, but they probably won’t make it very far until the sun comes back up. The body-” He hesitated on the word, looking to Rilynne in almost an apologetic way. “-is being taken to our morgue. As of right now, all signs point to it being Christopher. Where are you staying?”
    “I…” With all of the events of the evening, she had completely forgotten to book a hotel room. “I have no idea. I’ll figure something out. I really wanted to go by the morgue and see everything myself.”
    Jimmy Wooldridge reached down and grabbed her bag from the belt. “The coroner won’t be in until the morning. Let’s get you settled in and I’ll take you down there first thing tomorrow. The place next to the station should have some rooms