She could see him more clearly now. Tall and slender, he had brown hair and piercing blue eyes. About fifty, give or take five years. She guessed he’d had no trouble finding dates his entire life.
It was no surprise that he’d come over to chat. Small-town cops are always interested in strangers headed into their domain. He’d want to know who she was and why she was going to Carter’s Crossing. He already had her name and her cover story from the officer who took her statement. But he’d want to judge the situation for himself. The easiest way to do that was simply to ask.
She gave him a friendly smile. “Climb in. It’s too miserable to talk out there in the rain.”
She raised the window while he walked around the front of the SUV and climbed into the passenger seat. His long legs covered the ground quickly. He removed his hat, opened the door, and tucked in.
He smelled of cold, damp wool. His face was lined with fatigue. No matter how experienced a law enforcement officer he was, he had not lost human compassion. She liked him for that.
Once he was settled, he handed her a business card. She offered one from her pocket in exchange.
That dance completed, he said, “So you’re on the way to Carter’s Crossing to complete a background check on a former army major?”
“That’s right, Chief,” she replied.
“Who’s the subject of your inquiry?”
“Guy’s name is Jack Reacher.”
“When was he here?”
“About fifteen years ago, give or take.”
He nodded as if he was processing new information. Which he was. She hadn’t given Reacher’s name to the other officer.
“Did you know him? Reacher?” she asked.
He pursed his lips and shook his head. “I wasn’t in Carter’s Crossing back then. Arrived about twelve years ago, when I left the military.”
“You weren’t in the army? My experience is that most officers at a certain level know each other at least by reputation.”
“Sorry. No. Marines, actually.” he said easily, clearing his throat and moving on to a new topic. “Anyway, I understand you were a witness to this accident. We’ll have the dashcam footage from the truck and from your vehicle once we serve subpoenas. I know you’ve already given a statement, and I’ll read it later. But can you give me a quick rundown?”
“Is this your jurisdiction, Chief? I thought we were outside your limits here.” She was merely curious. Hunting Reacher being what it was, she wanted to be friendly with the local sheriff. It was likely she’d need his help soon enough.
“It’s close, but no, not my jurisdiction. We cover the whole county—about five hundred square miles. But the county line doesn’t come this far out,” he replied.
“I see. That’s a lot of land to cover. How big is your department?”
“Yeah, it’s a lot of ground, but basically what we have is Carter’s Crossing and Kelham, the army base. We’ve got eight of us in the department. Me and several deputies.” He paused, and almost as an afterthought, added, “We’ve also got Big River, a casino on the reservation southwest of town. But what happens out there isn’t my jurisdiction, either.”
Kim cocked her head, taking the information in through her law enforcement filter and putting it into perspective. “Both Kelham and the casino have their own law enforcement personnel. So how many people do you have to serve and protect in your county?”
“We’ve been growing for the past decade or so. New businesses moved to town. Draws new workers. And then the casino brings in tourists. New hotels have opened up. All in all, we’ve got about fifteen thousand civilians now living in the county. And we get another few thousand coming and going every month,” he said.
“You’ve got to be busy. Seems like you’re short-staffed, too.”
“What small municipality isn’t slammed these days?” he said good-naturedly.
“Just asking, but why are you out here for this traffic accident? I know it’s a fatality, but don’t you have enough on your plate already?” Kim asked.
He sighed, lifted his hat, and ran a hand over his hair. “I know both of the victims. Know the truck driver, too. Joe Watts is a good guy. I don’t want to see him unjustly jammed up over this. And I’ll also need to deal with the families. It’s better if I can give them some firsthand observations to soften the blow, usually.”
“Both drivers have been identified?” She didn’t ask the names of the victims. No reason to. And he shouldn’t tell her anyway.
“We found her purse and ran the plate on the sedan. We’re less sure about the cyclist, but we think we know who he is.” He wiped the rain from his face with a quick palm. “So if you’re inclined to help me out…”
“Of course. Sorry. Didn’t mean to hold you up. Trying to get familiar with how things are done around here.” She nodded and gave him a friendly smile. “In this case, I’m just a witness. Like you said, I gave a statement to one of the officers. Pretty straightforward.”
“Uh-huh,” he said, encouraging her to say more.
“The cyclist was in a hurry. He’d tried to pass me at least once before. When the truck slowed down for the crossing ahead, the cyclist pulled out to pass.”
“Okay.”
“My view of the collision was blocked by the big rig. But the sedan was traveling the wrong way, against traffic. The cyclist hit the sedan head-on and the sedan went off the road.” She wrapped it up and put a bow on it for him. “Looks like nothing more than confusion and bad judgment is to blame. The cyclist was in a hurry. Watts told me the woman might have been talking on her cell phone at the time. Maybe she was distracted. The weather was bad. Not much more to it unless one of them was impaired. You’ll need the medical examiner to make that call.”
Greyson chewed on the inside of his lower lip as if he was considering something. “Joe Watts says the cyclist could have avoided the crash. Says the guy had time to move in front of the truck and get clear before he hit the sedan. That so?”
She shrugged. “I couldn’t see well enough to say from back here. But Watts told me that. He thinks his dashcam video will confirm what he saw.”
“Yeah. He told me that, too.” Greyson nodded. “Anything else you can add?”
She shrugged. “Only that I’m shocked the cyclist is alive and the sedan driver is dead, honestly. While it was happening, I thought things were likely to go the other way.”
“The cyclist isn’t out of the woods yet.” He stopped for a deep breath. “Coroner says they might both have survived if she hadn’t hit that tree. Or if she’d been wearing her seatbelt.”
Kim nodded. They didn’t need the coroner to reach that conclusion.
After a few moments, he said, “Well, if you think of anything else that might be useful, I’d appreciate it if you’d let me know.”
Southern charm fairly oozed from the guy. He was both handsome and nice. That seemed like a lethal combination in a small Southern town. He’d probably had women lined up his whole life. And left a trail of broken hearts longer than Main Street in Carter’s Crossing.
She replied, “Of course. Glad to do what I can.”