It’s funny how two decades roll by—you work, you make a name for yourself, you’ve got your foot squarely in the present—and then one thing throws you forcibly into the past. Kids run away from home. It happens all the time, but as soon as we started investigating Gabby Greene’s disappearance, I knew something was wrong. It was the same feeling I had when Laura Fuentes was killed during my senior year of high school. Fear. Dread. That pervasive sense that evil lives among us.

But it wasn’t the case that had me reeling. I’ve been a law enforcement officer for more than 15 years, nearly a decade of those in plainclothes, and I’ve grown accustomed to the horror of human nature. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve known some truly generous and benevolent people in my life, but it never ceases to amaze me the violence that one human can do to another. It’s one of the reasons I became a cop. To do my part to prevent violence and punish those who use it as a weapon of terror.

So I’m sitting in my office, collecting reports from my team and everything is going about as I’d expected. Gabby was a good kid by all accounts, and so far there’s no evidence of foul play. Most of my guys have already stamped this case in their heads as just another runaway. I remind them to keep an open mind. To investigate without forming conclusions, but I understand the temptation. But then something brought me to a complete standstill.

I don’t believe in coincidences. Let me make that perfectly clear.

I’d assigned Turner to take statements from school personnel. I should have known Kate’s name would come up. She’s been back in town for years but I’ve done my damndest to avoid her—to pretend like she doesn’t exist. I knew she’d taken the position at the school. High psychologist. Ha. Definitely not the lofty goals she had for herself when she tore out of town without looking back. So Turner says her name and the usual flicker of anger and betrayal is there. It’s never really gone. But what really stops me in my tracks is the clear image in my mind of our last day at the creek.

Usually, when I allow that memory to gain traction—and believe me, I do my best not to think about that day at all—I focus on my own heartbreak. I fortify my anger and my resolve never to let myself be that vulnerable again. And for the most part, I’ve lived by that resolve. I’ve dated. I’ve even thought seriously about just asking Angie to marry me. To end all this stupid suffering and move on with my life. To let Kate go. Finally.

But today, I’m sitting at my desk thinking about the car in the creek. The interior burned out in an attempt to obscure evidence. The mangled body of that poor girl. And no matter what I do, even though twenty years have passed, I cannot separate that image from the picture of Gabby Greene staring up at me from my folder.

Complicit, A Legacy of Silence #1
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release: April 2021
Purchase Link

Kate Medina had been working as a forensic psychologist and loving every minute until a violent attack left her shaken to the core. Retreating to her hometown where it’s safe, she accepts a job where the prospect of violence is slim to none. As a high school psychologist, Kate tends to the emotional needs of the students. It’s not the career she envisioned for herself.

Five years later, a student disappears, leaving the school in crisis and Kate at the helm of another traumatic event. Roman Aguilar, the lead detective, reaches out to Kate for assistance. Kate’s position at the school and her training make her an ideal ally, but her complicated relationship with Roman puts them at odds.

When the girl’s body is found, changing the focus of the investigation to homicide, Kate finds herself in the middle of a situation she never anticipated. What started as her desire to help puts Kate directly in the crosshairs of an enemy who remains largely in shadows. As her past and present collide, Kate is dragged into the middle of a dangerous game where only one thing is clear-no one can be trusted.

Meet the Author
Amy Rivers writes novels, short stories and personal essays. She is the Director of Northern Colorado Writers. She was raised in New Mexico and now lives in Colorado with her husband and children. Her novel All The Broken People was recently selected as the Colorado Author Project winner in the adult fiction category.

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