Just for a second.
Then forced a smile. “Sheriff.”
“Ryan.”
Silence stretched between them.
Daniel held up the phone.
“You left this.”
Ryan exhaled. “Yeah.”
Daniel didn’t give it back.
“I saw the messages.”
Ryan’s gaze flicked to me.
Then back to Daniel.
No guilt.
Just irritation.
“You went through my phone?”
“There was a message,” I said quietly.
He laughed, too fast. “So that makes it okay?”
“Don’t,” Michael snapped.
Ryan turned sharply. “I want a lawyer.”
Daniel’s expression hardened. “I haven’t even questioned you yet.”
Ryan realized too late what he’d done.
Then Daniel asked, “Who is Emily?”
Ryan looked at me.
For the first time—fear.
“There’s more than one—”
Michael lunged. Daniel stopped him.
“You told me my daughter was dead,” I said.
My voice was quiet—but it cut through everything.
Ryan didn’t answer.
Then—
two sharp honks outside.
Karen’s car.
Ryan panicked.
He ran.
Michael tackled him.
Daniel moved fast.
Outside, Karen tried to flee.
She dropped her purse.
Keys scattered across the ground.
Keys.
Everything shifted.
“Where is my daughter?” I demanded.
Ryan hesitated.
Michael shoved him.
“Talk.”
“…Maple Creek.”
My breath caught.
“In the basement.”
We moved immediately.