If You See Her by Shiloh Walker Read Free Book Online Page A

something … and he would have already been here to talk to us.”
    Then he handed Remy another file. “There’s something else you should be aware of. I received this today. It’s … this is Jolene Hollister—or was.”
    The name hit Remy like a sucker punch. He knew that name—he’d carry it to his grave. He’d never met her, and he never would meet her—but he owed her. All of them did. She’d been found dead in their town. Dead, brutalized.
    No. He wouldn’t forget her name.
    Dread dragged at him and if he had had the option, he would have tossed the file back down, never looked at it. But he didn’t have that option, so he flipped it open. The sight of the woman there … it was a brutal, breath-stealing shock.
    “What the fuck …?” he muttered.
    Jerking his gaze up, he stared at the sheriff. “Is this some kind of sick joke?”
    “No. Relax. It’s not who you think it is. Look closer.” He nodded toward the picture and said softly, “That’s Jolene Hollister. I know it’s almost spooky, but look again. The shape of her chin is just a little softer. Her eyes are a different color. The hair, too. The color is similar, but the cut, the style is all wrong.”
    He was right, Remy realized.
    But still … the similarity, it was eerie.
    “Has King seen this yet?” Remy asked, forcing the words out. His throat was tight, tight and dry and raw.
    “No. But I suspect we need to tell him.” Then Nielson paused. “Shouldn’t we?”
    Remy nodded. Then he frowned, as the odd note in the sheriff’s voice penetrated the fog of shock. “Yes, we should. Why wouldn’t we?”
    “You have to admit, the similarity is eerie. And none of this trouble started until he showed up. Now … well,we have a dead woman on our hands, and the dead woman looks an awful lot like the woman he’s now living with. A lot like your former lover.”
    Remy closed his eyes and reached up, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Shit, shit, and double fuck. “It’s not King, and you know it. Your gut’s already telling you that.”
    “Can we afford to be wrong?” Nielson murmured.
    “No. We can’t.” Remy slid the picture back in the file and tossed it on the sheriff’s desk and then looked at him. “That’s why we need to tell him, because if we
don’t
 … what if this guy is out trolling for women who fit the profile? If we don’t tell him, how can he protect her?”
    Nielson nodded.
    “It’s not him.” Remy shook his head, remembering with no small amount of envy the way King had looked at Lena. The way Lena’s face had softened when she heard the other guy’s voice.
    She hadn’t ever once looked at him that way.
    He hadn’t ever once managed to put that soft glow on her face.
    He wasn’t jealous of King being with Lena, exactly. He had liked her a lot, had wanted her like hell, but he hadn’t been in love with her. Still, he was jealous of the way he saw them looking at each other—envious of what it looked like they had going.
    King was a decent guy—Lena, her instincts about people were solid. And that dog of hers, hell, even if Lena’s instincts about people weren’t dead-on, that dog could tell a bastard from a mile off.
    “It’s not him,” he murmured again.
    “Okay. So we tell him.” Then Nielson grimaced. “That was my gut instinct, too. I just want somebody else who can help me shoulder the guilt if I’m wrong.”
    Remy smirked. “Thanks.”
    The phone chose that particular moment to ring.
    Dwight reached down and pushed a button. “Yes?”
    The brisk, efficient voice of his assistant, Ms. Tuttle, came through the speakerphone. “Ezra King is here to speak with you. He doesn’t have an appointment.”
    Speak of the devil
, Remy thought as he listened to Ms. Tuttle. The disapproval in her voice came through loud and clear and he grinned, watched as Dwight fought not to do the same. If he so much as twitched an amused eyelash, the woman would know and he wouldn’t have any peace.