Dangerous Lies (Badge of Honor #2)

Chapter 2

TWO

Things were becoming complicated.

Jax twirled a pen between his fingers and studied the emails Megan had left behind. The initial messages were vague, but as time went on, the threats became more specific, as if the sender was spiraling into an obsession.

"I have to take these emails seriously,” Noah said, perching on the edge of Jax’s desk with his long legs stretched out in front of him.

“I know.” Jax leaned back in his chair. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t investigate, but keep an open mind. These messages could have come from anyone—a random guy holed up in his mom’s basement, bored and looking to scare someone, for example. And frankly, I wouldn’t put it past Megan to fake them. She’s a liar.”

Noah was quiet for a moment before he replied, “I find her explanation compelling. Assuming Megan’s version of events is true?—”

“Which version?” Jax interrupted, his tone laced with sarcasm. “The first or the second?”

Noah shot him a warning look. “The second. At the time of the accident, she was a terrified young woman who’d just been run off the road by an unknown assailant. Megan had a criminal history. She’d been arrested a few times for drug possession and those cases were pending. Her relationship with the police wasn’t a good one. I can see why she’d omit certain facts the first time she was questioned.”

“It’s just as likely she lied to protect herself,” Jax countered. “Megan initially told investigators she lost control of the vehicle. Once word got out about the accident, people started blaming her for Oliver’s death. Townsfolk figured Megan was high. Two days later, she fabricates this story about someone chasing them to avoid taking the blame.”

Jax considered this to be the most likely scenario. Addicts were notorious liars. Oliver had been using for nearly a year before their parents discovered the truth. He’d lied, manipulated, and dodged consequences over and over again. Megan had also been skilled at wriggling out of trouble. She’d been arrested on drug charges and shoplifting, but only received a slap on the wrist.

It’d been ten years since the accident, and from everything Jax had learned about Megan, she’d turned her life completely around. She worked as a therapist, ran the local Narcotics Anonymous meetings, took care of her elderly grandparents and regularly attended church. Deep down, he admired the changes she’d made. But getting sober and helping others didn’t erase the past. Some mistakes had lifelong repercussions.

“You said it yourself,” Jax continued. “There’s no physical evidence anyone was on the road with them that night. No skid marks other than Megan’s. No broken taillight fragments on the road or scrapes of paint on her bumper. Her story doesn’t check out.”

Noah frowned. “Her vehicle was damaged after going over the embankment. The crime scene photos are terrible, and there aren’t any pictures of her car after it was towed. I can’t say with certainty she wasn’t run off the road. As for the assumption she was high at the time of the crash… there’s no evidence of that either. She tested negative for drugs and alcohol at the hospital.”

“Those tests were done over twelve hours after the accident,” Jax pointed out. Megan’s car was found by a farmer heading to his fields the morning after the crash. “Depending on what she’d taken, it may not have shown up on a tox screen.”

“Come on, Jax. You know as well as I do that oxy and meth stay in the system for days. Oliver tested positive for both. If they’d been using together, like they’d done in the past, it would have shown up in her bloodwork.”

Noah was right, but Megan’s behavior didn’t fit the mold of someone who was innocent. “She left town a week after the accident. Packed up and ran.”

“A reasonable response if she feared retribution from the person who’d run her off the road.”

Frustration and anger simmered in Jax. His jaw tightened. “Seems to me you’ve already made up your mind about the investigation. You don’t believe she’s responsible, do you?”

He sighed. “The investigation was flawed from the beginning. There are missing reports, and the crime scene photographs are shoddy. The only witness statements are Megan’s. I’ve gone over everything more than once, but the result is the same. Based on the evidence we have, Megan hasn’t broken any laws. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth.”

Jax knew Noah was right. Mentally, he understood. But emotionally, he wasn’t ready to let it go. “I don’t believe there’s nothing else we can do. How about interviewing my brother’s friends again?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Or are you ready to end the investigation because of your friendship with Megan?”

Noah stiffened. “Careful, Jax. I understand how important this is to you, and I sympathize with what you’ve been through, but that accusation is insulting. I’d never look the other way if there was proof a crime had been committed.”

Jax took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “You’re right. I’m sorry. That was over the line.”

Wariness settled over him like a wet blanket. The police department was short on staff. He’d been working double shifts for days and then combing over his brother’s case in his free time. The stress and lack of sleep were making him short-tempered and unreasonable. Jax scraped a hand over his jaw. “I know this case puts you in a difficult position.”

“I follow the evidence wherever it leads. Nothing difficult about that.” Noah was quiet for a moment. “But I would like to make a personal observation. Something for you to think about. Drug users do lie, and most people have secrets, but in our line of work, it’s easy to become jaded and suspicious of everyone. Megan made mistakes in her youth, there’s no doubt about that, but the woman I’ve come to know is caring, empathetic, and responsible. I genuinely believe that if she’d caused Oliver’s death, she’d say so and accept the consequences of her actions.”

“Even if it meant prison time?” Jax couldn’t keep the note of disbelief out of his voice.

Noah met his gaze. “Even if it meant prison time.”

There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in Noah’s response. Jax had worked with him long enough to form a deep respect for his skills and ability. Noah wasn’t a fool, nor was he sloppy. If he believed Megan would take accountability for her mistakes, then Jax needed to at least consider his perspective.

“Why do you think that?” he asked.

“From the beginning of this investigation, she’s answered every one of my questions. She’s been forthright and consistent. Read the reports again. Yes, she wasn’t truthful in her initial explanation of the accident, but once she came forward to revise her statement, it remained the same. Honestly, Jax, I believe someone ran her and Oliver off the road that night. I think we need to reevaluate the case from the beginning and look at alternative suspects, starting with anyone who may have wanted your brother dead.”

This was opening a whole new avenue of investigation, one Jax wasn’t certain would lead anywhere, but it was worth thinking about. “Let’s talk about this more tomorrow. It’s been a long day.”

“Sure.” Noah clapped a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve got your back. Never doubt that.”

Jax nodded, but his heart felt heavy and worries crowded his mind. What if they never found the truth? Oliver’s death haunted him. It’d been easy to push back the grief when he was working undercover for the ATF in Atlanta, but moving back home last year had brought those buried feelings to the surface. Seeing the way Oliver’s death had affected his entire family made things worse.

Jax wanted to fix it. He wanted closure. Justice. The thought that he might not get it… well, that was a bitter pill to swallow.

He packed up his desk and headed for his truck. The cool night air felt good on his flushed skin, but it did little to clear his head. Megan’s parting words echoed in his mind. I pray you do. If she truly was responsible for Oliver’s death, would she really want him to find the truth? Or was this just another way to manipulate the case? Jax wanted to believe it was the latter, but something in her voice… he could’ve sworn in that moment, Megan was telling the truth. And she had seemed genuinely terrified by the emails.

Jax had accused Noah of letting his feelings impede the investigation, but maybe… maybe he was the one not seeing things clearly.

A dark shape on the side of the road caught his attention, pulling him abruptly from his thoughts. As he drew closer, his headlights flashed across a Toyota RAV4, parked half on, half off the narrow country road. The driver’s side door hung open. No one was inside the vehicle, at least from what he could see.

Weird. An uneasy prickle ran down his spine. Jax flipped on his turret lights and radioed Angie, their night dispatcher. “Can you run a plate number for me?” he asked, rattling off the letters and numbers as he scanned the tree line bordering both sides of the road. The lake glimmered faintly in the distance.

Angie’s voice crackled over the radio. “Got a name for you, Detective. Owner of the vehicle is Megan Ingles.”

Concern sank deep claws into him. “I’m going to investigate further. Stand by.”

“10-4.”

Jax grabbed his flashlight and portable radio before exiting the truck. His training took over, his mind cataloging every detail. No visible damage on the rear bumper. Tires intact. The Toyota was still running, headlights on, but the overhead light inside was off. Loose gravel crunched under his boots and his breath fogged in the cold air as Jax drew closer to the open driver’s side door. His flashlight picked up a dark stain on the panel.

Blood.

More speckled the steering wheel and the dash. He tightened his grip on the flashlight, angling it across the interior. “Megan?”

No response. Her purse lay on the floor, cell phone in the cup holder. No jacket. More blood peppered the floorboards and seat. Jax’s heart rate kicked into overdrive. He pressed the button on his portable radio. “Angie, I need a patrol car at my location.”

What on earth had happened here? The blood was concerning, but it wasn’t enough to indicate a violent assault. She could’ve hurt herself somehow. And then… what? Disappeared, leaving her car running and her door open? No. It seemed more likely she’d escaped from the vehicle. This area of the lake was a protected nature reserve. No houses, no stores. It was deserted at this hour.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

He scanned the area around the vehicle, searching for any sign of Megan. His mind clung stubbornly to the idea that she might have staged this, just like the emails. It was a horrible thought, but Jax didn’t want to believe someone had truly been after her. Because if they were, he might already be too late.

He swept the flashlight toward the lake, glimpsing a path through the tall grass. The flattened stalks suggested someone had run across in a hurry. Jax followed the trail.

A scream tore through the night.