Halsey stopped herself as her cheeks flushed bright red.
“Was the man as tall as your brother?” Audrey asked.
“Um, I’d say he was a couple inches taller,” Halsey stated. She glanced over at Duke. “Closer to his height and maybe a little smaller in build.”
“Dark hair or light?” Audrey asked.
“Seemed dark but it was nighttime and I was on my way home. The guy glanced over at me, handed something to my brother and then Jenson took off running. The guy disappeared around the corner.”
“You didn’t follow?”
“No, ma’am,” Halsey said with a headshake, as though punctuating her sentence. She bit down on her bottom lip. “What was my brother really doing at the lake?”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Audrey admitted. “It’s the reason we stopped by your house yesterday.”
“Drugs, right?” Halsey’s shoulders hunched forward, defeated. “Had to be. Why else would he run away when I caught him talking to the older guy?”
This wasn’t the time to explain the situation or what they believed the real reason to be. She didn’t need to be told their suspicions.
Audrey chose her next words carefully. “We’re interested in finding out the truth as much as you are.”
“The man gave my brother an envelope full of money,” Halsey blurted out. “I checked in his pocket when he was in the shower. I saw Jenson take something white from the guy, and it was money. A lot.”
A lot could be a wide range. There were teens who would think twenty bucks was a fortune while others wouldn’t bother to bend down and pick a twenty up if it was lying on the curb. It was all about perspective.
Halsey shook her head. “I heard the faucet turn off, so I didn’t have time to count but I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said there could be a thousand dollars inside. The envelope was thick with twenty-dollar bills and barely folded.”
It made sense why Halsey believed her brother was selling drugs with a bankroll like that. Jenson wasn’t popular but seemed to want to hang out with the so-called cool kids. Would dealing drugs make him look “cool” to the others? Little did he know how uncool those insecure kids actually were. Anyone who felt the need to belittle those around them or put someone down was a jerk. Hurting someone because you believed they were beneath you was the lowest form of low in Audrey’s opinion.
Audrey wished they could have access to Jenson’s room. She might just be able to find the missing puzzle pieces for this unauthorized investigation to blow wide open. However, she knew for a fact his parents wouldn’t give it to her, and she couldn’t ask Halsey to go behind their backs. She would just have to figure out another way.
With this new information, she needed to go to her boss to bring him up to date and open an investigation. Or at the very least ask permission to dig further into it. A warrant to search Jenson’s room would be helpful to get.
Halsey might be right about her brother being involved in drugs. Unfortunately, it was the path kids like him often went down when they were rejected by their peers or trying to appear cool. Once a kid started taking drugs, many didn’t stop. Drugs didn’t discriminate, either. They hooked rich kids and poor kids alike.
An envelope full of cash being handed to him rather than the other way around without any type of exchange was suspect. Could Jenson have started dealing? Become a middleman between dealer and the person who sold them on the street?
It didn’t scan.
So what had Jenson really been doing?
Chapter Sixteen
Duke had kept quiet up to this point. “Where is the money now?”
“I have no idea,” Halsey admitted. “Believe me, I turned his room upside down because I planned to take the money to my mom. But I couldn’t find it.”
Which meant Jenson had either hidden it or had it on him when he died. But why would the sheriff hide that? Duke casually glanced at Audrey, who’d picked up on the same thing he had. Wouldn’t the sheriff have checked the kid’s pockets?
Of course, the fact an older man was seen talking to Jenson and handing him an envelope full of cash could mean something else was going on besides a drug deal. Jenson might have picked up an odd job, except the amount was staggering if Halsey was correct. She also couldn’t put a finger on who the man was, which might mean he was from out of town.
Access to Jenson’s phone records could clear up any confusion. Would the sheriff agree?
Duke and Audrey needed to stop by his office. He’d insisted Audrey take a couple of days off to regroup after what happened yesterday. He’d said finding the boy would mess with her.
As far as Duke knew, Ackerman was a competent sheriff. Duke had a feeling they were about to find out if what he knew was true.
“I should get back home,” Halsey said, checking the door for the third time in a few seconds.
“Thank you for stopping by,” Audrey said. “I know you took a risk in coming here to your mom’s work to speak to us, and I speak for both of us when I say we appreciate your bravery.”
“This was the only place I knew I’d find you,” Halsey admitted. “I called first and disguised my voice to find out if you were here. Plus, my brother’s personality changed, but my parents are so blind.” She rolled her eyes. “They refused to see anything negative when it came to him even when his behavior was as plain as the noses on their faces.” She issued a frustrated sigh. “It’s the most ridiculous thing. Like, I love...loved him, too, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t see him treating us like we weren’t worth the dust on his tennis shoes.”
“I get it,” Audrey agreed, her voice a study in calm. She had a way of putting folks at ease. “Parents put blinders on sometimes. I see it all the time in my work.”
Duke didn’t like the sound of someone being able to find out where he and Audrey were with something as simple as a phone call. Although, small-town folks usually didn’t worry about giving out information in the way people in the big city did. Folks from places like Dallas and Houston protected their privacy like they were holding on to the last piece of gold in the world’s market. He didn’t blame them a bit, considering how easy it was to spy on someone using the internet.
“My brother was in big trouble, wasn’t he?” Halsey asked after chewing on her bottom lip. The teen looked ready to jump out of her skin if someone shouted boo.
“We’re not certain but this new information is going to be very helpful,” Audrey said, skillfully sidestepping the issue without lying. They weren’t a hundred percent sure about anything when it came to Jenson’s intentions.
Of course, there were easy answers. Jenson might have gotten mixed up in taking or selling drugs or both after being bullied or to prove he was cool. A surprising number of young people became addicted. And parents spent years trying to find their kid, or get him or her the help needed, or both. It always made Duke sad to come across those situations. Drug addiction hurt far more people than the addict themselves. It hurt everyone around them, everyone who loved them, especially the people who cared for them most.
“Okay, well, I better get home,” Halsey conceded.
“Be careful on your way out,” Audrey said.
In a surprise move, the teen hugged Audrey. She probably wouldn’t agree, but she would make an amazing parent someday.
