In still waters - стр. 3

"Who did this to my little girl?" he cries out, his voice raw with anguish. "Why? She was so young… she had her whole life ahead of her!" His eyes, wild with grief, search the overcast sky as if demanding answers from a silent universe. His hands clench and unclench, trembling with a mix of sorrow and rage.

Larsen moves to help Jeffrey, who seems to have lost all sense of his surroundings in his grief. As he supports the distraught father, Nick can't help but reflect on his complicated feelings towards the sheriff. Like many in town, Nick had never particularly warmed to Jeffrey. At fifty-eight, Jeffrey Saltano cut a rather unsightly figure – short and stout, with swarthy skin, a round face dominated by a bulbous nose, and thinning dark hair peppered with gray at the temples. His personality was as rough as his appearance – ignorant and rude, selfish and stubborn, known for achieving his goals by any means necessary. Rumors of bribery and covering up petty crimes had dogged Jeffrey for years. He seemed to have no real friends, and even his relationship with his wife Mary was notoriously strained.

But in this moment, Nick pushes aside his personal feelings. Watching Jeffrey break down, he's struck by a wave of genuine sympathy. The loss of a child is a pain Nick can scarcely imagine, despite being a father himself to nine-year-old Gina and seven-year-old Edward. In this moment of raw grief, Jeffrey isn't the difficult sheriff – he's simply a devastated father.

"Jeffrey," Nick says gently, placing a steadying hand on the man's shoulder, "I know how hard this is, but we need you to try and pull yourself together. We have to take Rose's body for an autopsy. It's necessary for the investigation."

Jeffrey looks up at Nick, his face a mask of pain. The thought of his only child's body being further violated is almost too much to bear, but somewhere in the haze of his grief, he understands the grim necessity.

"Do what you have to," he growls, his voice hoarse. "Just find the bastard who did this. Whatever it takes." He pauses, running a shaking hand over his face as he stares up at the gray sky once more. "Last night… Rose didn't answer when Mary called. She didn't come home." A bitter laugh escapes him. "It wasn't the first time she'd spent the night away. We didn't think… who could have imagined…" His voice trails off before rising again in a heated shout, "Find them! You hear me? Find whoever did this!"

"We'll do everything in our power," Nick assures him, his voice steady despite the turmoil he feels. "Go home to Mary now. You need each other. I'll call as soon as we have the autopsy report."