Chapter 3 - THE KEY BESIDE THE OLD BRIDGE.
The threatening flyer changed Sheriff Price’s tone, but not his loyalty.
He collected it without fingerprints and told Ethan the red mark was probably a cruel prank.
Maria demanded state police.
Price warned her that false accusations could cost the bakery its permits.
Ethan stepped between them.
“You are threatening a working mother because she saw what your donors hoped nobody would notice.”
Lucy remembered one more detail. The dark car had a white parking sticker shaped like a horse.
Maria searched old catering photographs and found the same sticker on vehicles at the Whitmore Motor Club.
Ethan drove toward the old bridge while Maria contacted state police herself.
Near the bridge, he found tire marks leading to a locked service road and one blue thread caught on a broken fence.
It matched Alice’s coat.
Beside it lay a brass locker key stamped 214.
When Ethan returned, Price was waiting beside his car.
The sheriff held out his hand.
“That key belongs to evidence in another case.”
Ethan refused.
May you like
Price lowered his voice.
“Then ask why Alice was investigating your late wife before she disappeared.”
