The Edens, #1
Indigo Ridge
by Devney Perry
Contents
Chapter 18
Overview
Winn interviews Briggs about the purse and wallet he found on Indigo Ridge, learning he discovered both together on Sunday and mapping their locations. The items’ condition and Melina’s denial that the purse was Lily’s deepen doubts about suicide. Gossip erupts, Griffin confronts Winn, and their tense argument ends in mutual understanding and renewed commitment.
Summary
Winn brings Briggs Eden to her office to record how he found a woman’s purse and Lily Green’s wallet. Briggs says he discovered both together on Indigo Ridge the previous Sunday, the wallet on the trail and the purse in a nearby bush, and sketches a map showing his lesser-used route and the locations. Winn notes the items’ surprisingly good condition, conflicting timelines, and that few others hike his private property, leaving motive and opportunity questions but no clear alarm from her instincts.
Winn processes the items for fingerprints and documents their chain of custody. She visits Melina Green, who does not recognize the purse and says Lily would have shown it off if it were hers, undermining the assumption that both items belonged to Lily and intensifying Winn’s suspicion that something is off.
After returning home for a break, Winn is confronted by Griffin, angry that town gossip claims Briggs was arrested. Winn explains she handled the interview discreetly but must follow the evidence. Their argument escalates as Griffin insists on suicide while Winn refuses to ignore what-ifs, especially given the new inconsistencies.
The confrontation softens when Griffin acknowledges he’s wrong to demand exceptions, apologizes, and holds Winn. Exhausted by recent events, Winn accepts his support, and they reaffirm their relationship despite the unresolved investigation.
Who Appears
- Winslow (Winn) CovingtonPolice chief; interviews Briggs about the purse and wallet, processes evidence, confirms purse wasn’t Lily’s, argues with and reconciles with Griffin.
- Briggs EdenGriffin’s uncle; says he found the purse and wallet together on Indigo Ridge, sketches map, uncertain about his own culpability.
- Griffin EdenRancher and Winn’s partner; furious about town gossip and Briggs’s interview, confronts Winn, then apologizes and offers support.
- Melina GreenLily’s mother; states the purse is not Lily’s, adding a key inconsistency to the case.
- Officer SmithStationed at the door; likely source of gossip about Briggs’s visit to the station.