Page 76 of Won't Back Down
“Thank you. That means a lot.”
“Well, I won’t keep you. I’m sure you’ve got things to do. That new husband to get back to.”
“Miss Sutter.”
We both turned at the hail to see Chief Carson hustling across the street. I instantly tensed. Roy pressed closer, and I appreciated that Mr. O’Shea didn’t abandon me.
Carson nodded at him in acknowledgment, then focused back on me. “I wanted to let you know that the remains on your property have been identified.”
My stomach twisted. We’d already known it wasn’t Gwen, but what if it was someone else I knew? “And?”
“Chief!” Miles inserted himself into our little group. “Did I just hear you say the body’s been identified?”
He nodded. “I was coming to find you next. It’s Joe Anderson.”
I blinked, sifting back through my memories. The name meant nothing to me. “Who was he?”
“You don’t recognize the name?”
“Should I?”
Miles frowned. “Wasn’t he a fisherman or something?”
“Maybe a picture will help.” Carson pulled out his phone and swiped at the screen before handing the device over to me.
The man on the screen looked vaguely familiar. He was, perhaps, in his mid-twenties, with shaggy brown hair and a scraggly goatee. Nondescript brown eyes stared out of a narrow face. But still, nothing really pinged. Shaking my head, I handed back the phone. “I mean, he looks vaguely familiar, but if he’s a local, I don’t know him.”
“Miles is right. He was a fisherman, who probably worked with your husband, back in the day.”
“Back in the day? Sawyer hasn’t worked commercial fishing in more than ten years. Is this photo that old?”
“Older. According to his old boss, Anderson was a seasonal worker, and not all that reliable. So when he didn’t show for work, they didn’t think anything of it. They just thought he’d skipped town and blown things off. He had no family to speak of, so nobody reported him missing.”
“That’s so sad. How long ago was this?”
Carson’s gaze stayed steady on mine. “Twelve years. He was last seen a few days before Gwen disappeared.”
Chill bumps rose along my arms.
When Miles spoke, his voice was tight. “Do you think it’s connected?”
“We don’t know. We’re digging into Anderson’s life as much as we can, trying to piece together a better picture of who he was and what he was into.” The chief looked back at me. “Think back really hard. Can you ever remember seeing this guy around your grandparents’ place? Maybe he did odd jobs or something.”
Roland edged closer to me. “Are you suggesting that Henry or Vivian Sutter had something to do with this man’s murder?” He’d lost the easygoing, avuncular tone, and I could tell even the implication pissed him off.
“No. We’re just trying to come up with a reason he might’ve been on the property.”
“Chief Carson, the remains weren’t found anywhere near the house. The woods aren’t fenced off. And I don’t remember anything from back that far. Particularly around the time of Gwen’s disappearance. I never got those memories back after I drowned. Even before that, I never had anything to do with my grandparents’ or my parents’ business dealings. I have no clue how this guy might have known my family at all. But if he disappeared that close to when Gwen did, could his murder have something to do with her disappearance?”
“It has to,” Miles insisted. “What are the chances that something like a murder and a disappearance would happen at the same time in a place this small and not be connected?”
Carson grimaced. “We don’t know. At this point, there’s so little forensic evidence left. The only thing we know for sure was that he was shot. We don’t have the bullet. We don’t have anything. It’s possible that, after all this time, we may never know. But we’re going to keep looking. I just wanted you both to be aware of what’s going on, and to let you know that we’ll have a team out on your property doing a more thorough search for additional evidence.”
“Of course. Yes. Whatever y’all need to do, I’m happy to cooperate.”
“Good. I’ll be in touch.” He started to turn away.
“Chief Carson?”