CHAPTER TEN

“Jason,” Jenna began, her voice clear and devoid of judgment, “do you understand why you’re here?”

Jason Reeves had the disheveled look of someone who’d been on a bender—his hair unkempt, his clothes stained. He wobbled as he sat on the cot, as if trying to stay upright. The stench of alcohol lingered around him like a clingy fog. He blinked slowly, trying to focus on her face.

“Yeah, ‘cause I tried to take back what’s mine.” The defiance in his words didn’t quite mask his confusion about what was going on.

"People aren't property," Jake said firmly. "Amber gets to make her own choices. Anyhow, assaulting someone doesn’t get you anything good.”

“It was about justice, that’s all,” Jason spat out, as if the word left a bitter taste. “Liam stole my girl, Amber. Isn’t that a crime? It sure is wrong in my book.” There was a raw edge to his voice.

Jenna realized that Jason’s sense of betrayal seemed to reach beyond the current situation. He didn’t even understand Jake’s point about people and property.

She pulled up a metal chair and sat down facing the prisoner, who remained seated on the cot. “Tell us your side of what happened,” she prompted. She needed to hear his narrative, to weigh each word against her instincts.

Jason’s gaze shifted around the room before landing back on Jenna. “I went over to the college campus,” he started, his story unfolding in halting phrases. “Asked everyone I saw … about him … Liam Sweeney. It felt like a hundred people didn’t know who I was talking about until one guy admitted he knew him. I gave him a shake, and he pointed me to the student union.”

“And then?” Jenna prompted him. She observed Jason closely, her mind cataloging every micro-expression, every slight shift in his demeanor. She knew the importance of detail—the curve of a lip, the twitch of an eye could indicate deceit.

“Found him there, in the lounge, taking a break, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world,” Jason swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Called out his name. He looked up … stood up.

“Then what happened?” she pressed.

Jason’s fists clenched and unclenched. “Don’t you know that already?”

“We want to hear your version of the story,” Jenna said.

Jenna let the silence stretch for a moment longer than comfortable, observing as Jason wrestled with his own narrative. In his eyes, she sought the clues that might hint at guilt or innocence—a reflection of many past searches like this one.

Jason struggled to sit up, then groaned and leaned back against the cold concrete wall, his eyes hardening as he recounted the confrontation. “I walked up to Liam and hit him. Just like that,” he said, throwing a punch into the air for emphasis. “I didn’t even introduce myself. But why should I? He had to know what this was about.”

Jenna noted the bitterness expressed in his features. “And then?” she prompted again.

“Before I could land another blow, a couple of jocks grabbed me. Held me down like I was some kind of animal until the campus cops showed up.” Jason’s gaze met Jenna’s, defiant. “They arrested me before I could finish what I started.”

“What do you mean by ‘finish’ it?” Jake asked.

“Well, I wanted to put him in the hospital, at least. Hurt him bad enough to teach him a lesson.”

The room fell quiet, except for muffled sounds of the jailhouse around them.

“Violence isn’t the answer to heartbreak, Jason,” Jake told him.

His snort was dismissive. “What would you have done, huh?” Jason shot back. “Just sit back after getting played for a fool? Amber told me herself, said she’s engaged to him—Liam Sweeney, some guy I’ve never heard of, who she met only last year. It was like a damn sucker-punch.”

“So, you hit him because of what Amber had said to you?” Jenna asked.

“Look, maybe it wasn’t my finest moment,” Jason admitted, his voice dropping. “But I had to do something. You get that, right?”

“Where is Amber now, Jason?” she asked, watching him intently.

“Amber? How would I know? She’s probably at the shelter or at home, buried in her studies,” Jason muttered, his voice carrying a nonchalance that felt off-kilter to Jenna. “That’s all she seems interested in anymore.”

Jenna studied Jason, searching for any telltale signs that might betray his true knowledge of Amber’s whereabouts. Her intuition, usually razor-sharp, was muddied by the intricate web of emotions emanating from the man before her.

She leaned back against the cold metal chair, her gaze never wavering from his face as she probed for more. “Tell me about yesterday, Jason. What did you do, where did you go, after you got off work yesterday?”

Jason’s brow creased with surprise, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Didn’t think you’d care about my day, but sure. After I finished work at Otto’s, I hit up some bars. Needed to drown the hurt, you know?”

Jake chimed in again, “We heard you went home and threw a little tantrum.”

“Who’s been talking?” Jason shot back, the previous veil of indifference slipping. His hands clenched into fists.

“Focus on the question, Jason,” Jake pressed, unfazed by the rising agitation.

“Alright, yeah, I trashed my place a little bit—so what?” Jason spat out. “It’s my stuff. My right.”

Jenna’s gaze remained fixed on the man on the cot as she posed her next question. “What did you do after you destroyed your belongings?”

“Got in my truck,” he said, his voice flat. “Drove around the county, stopped off at some bars. More drinking.” He shrugged, a hollow gesture that failed to displace the weight in the room. “Guess I’m lucky no one nabbed me for DUI.”

“Then?” Jenna pressed, unimpressed by his attempt at nonchalance. She understood the patterns of questioning, how pressure and pause could play their parts in peeling back layers of bravado to reveal a vulnerable core.

“I made a late night decision,” he continued grudgingly. “Headed to Pinecrest. Planned to confront Liam, but it was late, nothing to be done. Grabbed more beer, checked into a motel. Slept it off—or tried to, anyway.”

“What motel?” Jake asked. When Jason just stared at him groggily he asked again, “The name of the motel where you stayed?”

“Uh, something Pines, or maybe Oaks,” he mumbled. “One of those. I was really out like a light when I hit the bed, slept till noon.”

Jason yawned, stretching his arms.

“Then I went out, hit another bar, then to the Ozark State campus looking for Liam. The rest is history.” He slouched back, eyeing the cot with a longing that suggested sleep as an escape from reality.

“Is that so?” Colonel Spelling put in, stepping forward. “I think you’re holding back, Jason. Where is Amber right now?”

Jason’s eyes narrowed, a flash of confusion—or was it annoyance?—passing over his features. “I told you where she could be,” he said, his tone defensive. “Like I said, probably at home or the shelter. Why?”

Jenna explained, “Amber hasn’t been seen since last night. Do you know where she might be right now? Perhaps somewhere she doesn’t usually go?”

She observed a flicker of confusion—or was it a well-rehearsed act?—cross his face. He straightened up a bit, still leaning against the wall. “What are you getting at? Are you saying Amber’s gone missing? Why?”

“That’s exactly what I want you to tell me,” Spelling replied, his tone firm and demanding. “You know something you’re not sharing.”

“Missing?” Jason said again, feigning surprise or perhaps revealing genuine ignorance. Jenna couldn’t be certain. She felt the familiar itch of intuition at the back of her mind, but the clarity she yearned for remained elusive. The man before her was volatile, hurt—a powder keg of emotions—but was he capable of abducting Amber?

“Maybe she just wandered off somewhere,” Jason scoffed in response to Spelling’s questions. His attempt to deflect only heightened Jenna’s suspicions; the nonchalance seemed out of place.

“Is it typical of Amber to not go home after a shift at the shelter without contacting anyone?” Spelling probed, relentless.

“No,” Jason conceded, his voice taking on a bitter edge. “But neither is throwing away all the years we’ve been together for another guy.”

“Where is Amber, Jason?” Spelling repeated, unyielding in his stance.

“Wouldn’t know,” he mumbled, with a dismissive wave of his hand.. “Amber... she’s not the girl I knew.” With an air of resignation, he stretched out on the cot again, eyes already closing, signaling an end to his coherence for the time being. His body language suggested surrender to the heavy weight of exhaustion.

“Let’s go,” Jenna murmured to her deputy, getting up from her chair and leaving the room with a last look at Jason.

Jake followed her, and after a moment’s hesitation, Spelling and Morgan did too. They all moved down the hallway and back to jail’s main office, where they settled into familiar surroundings with the crackle of radio chatter and the scent of old coffee gracing the air.

“Probably got our man,” Spelling ventured, folding his arms across his chest.

“I’m not so sure,” Jenna countered.

She stood still for a moment in the office, letting the adrenaline of the interrogation ebb away. Her hand found its way to her notepad, pulling it and flipping it open. “Chief Morgan,” she said, turning towards the Pinecrest police chief, “I guess you’ll keep him here tonight at least?”

“Sure,” Morgan replied. “But I’ll probably have to release him tomorrow.”

Colonel Spelling said, “I’ll keep the APB on Amber active. She’s still out there somewhere.”

“And Chief Morgan,” Jenna said, “I need Liam Sweeney’s contact information.”

“Sure thing, Sheriff,” Morgan replied, moving to the computer on his desk. After a moment, he read off a number.

She scribbled it down with a precision that spoke of her former life as a beat cop, where every detail could be the thread that unraveled a case. With a nod of thanks, Jenna motioned to Jake, and they made their way to the exit—the heavy door closing behind them with a clank that reverberated through the empty hallway. Outside, they saw that the sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. But the day’s work was far from over.

Jenna pulled out her phone as they walked, her thumb hovering over the keypad before she dialed the number that Morgan had given her. It rang twice before a voice on the other end answered.

“Mr. Sweeney? This is Sheriff Graves from Genesis county. My deputy and I are here in town because of the man who attacked you. He’s part of an investigation.”

“My fiancée’s old boyfriend, yeah,” Liam replied. “I’d never met him before. What a way to make his acquaintance.”

“We need to talk to you about Amber Stevens before we leave town. Can we meet with you now?”

“Uh, sure,” came the uncertain reply. “Trussler Hall, room 214.”

“Thank you. We’ll be there shortly.” She ended the call, sliding the phone back into her pocket.

The squad car felt like a sanctuary as Jenna slipped into the driver’s seat. Jake settled beside her, the silence between them a comfortable one born of shared purpose and understanding. She turned the ignition, and the engine purred to life, the dashboard lights casting a soft glow on their faces.

Jake asked as they rolled past the jail’s perimeter fence, “What do you make of Jason as a suspect?”

“His story... it’s got holes,” Jenna remarked, breaking the silence. “His alibi for last night doesn’t sit well with me.”

“Spelling seems convinced we’ve found our man,” Jake said. “What do you think?”

Jenna’s hands tightened slightly on the wheel. She drew in a breath, feeling the connection to her sister tugging at the edges of her consciousness—a reminder that not all answers were easily uncovered.

“I wish I knew,” she murmured, the car’s headlights cutting through the gathering dusk. There were too many questions unanswered, too many doubts lingering. And somewhere out there, possibly still alive, was Amber Stevens. Every detail they could uncover mattered now; it was the difference between finding Amber alive, or... Jenna pushed the thought aside, focusing on the present.

She maneuvered the car onto the main road leading toward Ozark State University. This case was a tangled web, and intuition alone wouldn’t cut through the knots—she needed concrete evidence, something to anchor her suspicions or dispel them entirely. At this point, Amber’s fiancée was simply an unknown factor.

Right now, she needed to see Liam Sweeney face-to-face to evaluate his part in this ugly puzzle.