Chapter 20
Brynn wasn’t supposed to be looking at the computer screen or her phone, but she would be quick. She needed to research this young woman to see what was so special about her. She keyed in “Chelsea O’Connor” and a whole slew of things came up.
She was the captain of the cheerleaders. Of course.
On the homecoming court last year.
Honor roll student.
This girl’s life read like it was straight out of a book. All-American girl, who dated older men, a lot of boys, and was the captain of the cheerleading squad? How did she have time for all of it?
A picture of her with the boy who had dreadlocks popped onto the screen. The one who shot Wes. A tingle traveled up Brynn’s spine. The young woman actually did date the young man with the dreads. The young man who was on drugs and who shot Wes.
Could they be trying to set Wes up? If so, were the police following false leads about Wes? Was their questioning of him more than just because he’d discovered the body?
How would Brynn find out?
A knock sounded at her door. “Yoo-hoo, visitors!”
“Wes!” Brynn sat up in bed a little too quickly and became dizzy.
He rushed to her bedside. “Take it easy, Brynn!”
His dad, Nathaniel, came up beside him. “Hey, Brynn.” He looked serious, tired, and forlorn. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. I want to go home. I’d do much better there.”
“When are they going to spring you?” Wes asked.
“I have no idea,” she said, trying to will away the wave of weariness washing over her.
“Get better,” Wes said. “We’ve got everything under control. The farm. The cheese. Everything. I’m lucky the bullet only grazed me and I’ve a superficial wound. Doesn’t even bother me at this point.”
“Well, everything is not quite under control,” Nathaniel said. He had the same droopy puppy-dog eyes as his mother, Nancy. “Wes still appears to be under suspicion. I’ve hired a lawyer to deal with it.”
“Dad! Let’s not worry Brynn with all this. It’s going to be okay. I didn’t do it.”
“I’m glad your dad brought it up. I wondered how things were going. I’ve been trying to figure it all out from my bed. So frustrating.”
“You shouldn’t be doing that. Concussions are tricky. Try not to think too hard,” Nathaniel said.
“Don’t waste your breath, Dad,” Wes said in a joking tone. “Once Brynn latches on to something, she doesn’t let it go.”
A smile cracked onto Nathaniel’s face. “That’s right. I remember.”
An awkward pause continued as they were each into their own thoughts. Brynn wasn’t sure, but she thought they all might be remembering Nancy, Nathaniel’s mom and Wes’s grandmother. At the time, Brynn didn’t rest until she figured out that mess.
“How well do you know Chelsea?” Brynn asked Wes.
“I think I told you . . . maybe you don’t remember? I don’t know her well.”
“Who’s Chelsea?” Nathaniel asked.
“I’m certain this case revolves around her. She’s the one common denominator. She’s sixteen. The daughter of Josh. She was dating the man killed in the accident, and the man who was murdered.”
“I’m sure the police are looking into it,” Wes said with a note of discomfort in his voice.
“Are they? It seems to me they are focused on you,” his father said. “I’d like to know why it’s gotten to be more than the fact that you found a body, right?”
Wes shrugged, frustrated.
A nurse walked in the room with Brynn’s medication. The two men stepped aside while the nurse gave her the pills.
“When can I go home?” Brynn missed her girls, her cat, and her dog. She missed the view from her window. She missed her own bed. She missed the new cow. All of it.
“That’s up to the doctor,” the nurse replied. “He should be in shortly. You can ask him then. Do you need anything?”
My own bed.
“I guess not,” Brynn said.
“I’d like to know more about Chelsea,” Nathaniel said after the nurse left.
“She’s just a girl who’s a bit confused,” Wes said. “She’s not a killer.”
“Yes, but we suspect she dated the man who shot you,” Brynn said, pulling the photos up on her phone.
Wes reached for it. “Let me see that. Yes, yes, that’s him all right. He can rot in jail for the rest of his life, for all I care.” His jaw clenched. “I didn’t know they knew each other. But then again, in a place like this, everybody seems to know one another—or at least know someone in their family or a friend.” Wes tucked his thumbs into his jean pockets. “I’ve got to admit, now, that connection between Chelsea, everybody else, and me getting shot is intriguing. But I still don’t see her killing someone.”
Brynn tried to think, but her head hurt. She paused. “I don’t know her. But I do know that people surprise you. Young women have killed people.”
“Also, maybe some nutjob with a crush on her has something to do with it,” Nathaniel said, frowning,
Wes’s eyebrows shot up. “I know at least three guys who have a crush on her and she wants nothing to do with any of them.”
“Who are they, Wes?”
“I think the only one you know is Roy, the guy who stopped by the booth that night at the fair. The other two are guys who work at Mrs. Rowe’s. We’ve been trying to sell them cheese. They’re both high school seniors and wash dishes over there.”
“You get around,” Nathaniel said, lifting one eyebrow.
“It’s part of my job.”
Wes took his work seriously and Brynn was grateful for it. She was prepared to do it all herself. But she counted her blessings more than once when it came to Wes coming along and helping her out.
She reflected on Roy. Tall, skinny, bad complexion. She wished she’d paid more attention to him. But she didn’t remember picking up any bad vibes or anything. “Isn’t he the computer geek?”
“That’s right. A gamer. His new job in Richmond didn’t work out, so he came back here to finish working for the summer,” Wes said.
“How long was he gone?”
“I’m not sure. A week?”
“Doesn’t seem like enough time for him to judge if a job is going to work out,” Nathaniel said.
“I don’t know. He said it wasn’t anything like they’d advertised.”
Brynn mulled that over. Even though her brain was still fuzzy and thoughts weren’t forming as quickly as she’d have liked, her guts said Chelsea was involved in all this—and maybe one of these young men. As soon as she was out of this place, she’d start making more inquiries.
“Do you mind writing down the names of those young men for me?” She pulled over the tablet she and Schuyler had listed names on.
“Sure,” Wes said, glancing over the list. “Uh, Brynn. These guys are already on your list. Except for Roy.”
Brynn’s heart skipped a few beats. She was on to something here. Something that might help Wes out.