Chapter 13 #2
Tanner swallowed, hard. He had been dragging his feet, but only because he hadn’t wanted to confront Blake and then Skyla.
But this, the murder of Baby, would’ve absolutely cleared her if she hadn’t already produced proof that she was innocent.
“It’s not my fault there was no evidence.
And with Baby’s murder, I’m thinking it could even be an inside job.
We’re not just looking at Arlo J’s enemies anymore.
We have to look at all the members, too. Individually, and as a group.”
Wilder nodded with a knowing smirk. “That’s probably why I’m here. To help speed things up a bit. And make sure you don’t go around hiding or protecting witnesses, or persons of interest.”
“I would never do that,” Tanner sneered, knowing full well that Wilder was referring to how Garrett and his friends had protected Reese when she was wanted for questioning in the murder of Molly Edgar.
But that was different. She was innocent and being framed by a rogue cop who happened to be her step brother.
“And since you seem to know everything, how about you decide where we go from here?” If Wilder was going to give him a hard time, Tanner was going to give it to him right back.
Nevermind the initial relief he felt seeing the man back on the job.
A bullet to the leg wasn’t an injury many could come back from unless they planned on riding a desk for the rest of their career.
“I think you’re right about it being an inside job,” Wilder said, surprising Tanner who’d been prepared to negate whatever he said.
“In both cases,” Wilder continued, “the bikers were drugged, stabbed, and alone. The location was deserted and both bodies were thrown into dumpsters like someone was trying to send a clear message. I mean what are the odds these are random kills? How would someone even go about knowing where a single biker would be at any given moment unless they were on the inside? Don’t they usually travel in packs or groups or whatever? ”
“Yeah,” Tanner said. “And if this is all one person’s doing, then they also went after Nico.”
“Unless he did that for our benefit to throw us off. Are you seriously convinced he isn’t behind all this?”
“No, I’m not.” Tanner didn’t even need to give it a second thought. “In fact, I think he’s probably got the most to gain.”
“Let’s talk to the club members again,” Wilder said. “Maybe they’ll take this a little more seriously in the presence of a Texas Ranger, especially if they know they’re being picked off one at a time.”
Tanner frowned. “I think it’s a mistake to tell them anything right now.
We have no idea what happened to Baby. For all we know his death had nothing to do with Arlo J’s murder.
” Tanner didn’t believe that for a second, but he also hated assuming things if he couldn’t back them up with cold hard facts and evidence.
While Baby’s murder sounded like it was connected to Arlo J’s, they didn’t actually have any proof yet, and his body was still with the medical examiner.
Wilder opened the file and pulled out a crime scene photo of Baby’s body.
“He was stabbed, just like Arlo J. And here’s the kicker, the perp used the same knife that’s got a chip near the hilt.
And before you ask, no, it wasn’t found at the crime scene.
Baby was also drugged and left in a dumpster. How much more evidence do you need?”
Tanner glanced at Baby’s crime scene photos. The eerie similarity to those of Arlo J was unnerving. There was something about these images that bugged him though. Then he saw it. “No strangulation marks,” Tanner said.
Wilder glanced at the photos again. “Damn, you’re right. What do you think it means?”
“It’s definitely the same killer. Either Arlo J was more personal, or -”
“Or the killer didn’t give him enough of the drug,” Wilder suggested.
“That’s what I was thinking too.” The longer Tanner stared at the images, the more he felt like there was more to these murders.
The positioning of the wounds. The way the bodies were dumped in places where they wouldn’t be found for hours.
It wasn’t just similar. It was exact. Practiced.
This guy had a plan, and he was sticking to it.
“He’s going to kill again.” Tanner was sure of it.
Wilder’s eyes grew wide as he took a closer look at the photos, clearly catching on to what Tanner had noticed. “We need to get those guys into protective custody.”
Tanner didn’t think the members would go for that. But more importantly, if they were right about the murderer being one of their own, putting them all together in protective custody would only escalate the situation, giving the killer ample access to his next victim.
“What if instead of putting them all into protective custody, we only offer it to those who have a solid alibi for Baby’s and Arlo J’s times of death?” Tanner suggested. “That way, we can protect the ones we know didn’t do it, while continuing to weed out the possible suspects.”
Wilder sighed. “You might be onto something there. We’ll need to find places for at least fifty members, and possibly their wives, ole ladies, and any minors.” Wilder’s cell phone dinged. He reached into his inside jacket pocket, pulled it out, and glanced at the screen.
“Great,” Tanner said. “You start working on that and I’ll -”
“Sorry, they need me downtown,” Wilder said, already on his feet. “Gotta run. Set it up. We’ll talk more later.”
Annoyance bloomed in Tanner’s gut as he watched Wilder rush out the door leaving him to do all the grunt work.
This was just one of the reasons why most law enforcement agencies didn’t like to work together.
***
Spending time outside with Violet always made April feel better.
There was something about the warmth of the Texas sun on her face, and inhaling the fresh air instead of the recycled air-conditioned air, that somehow put things into perspective for her.
April couldn’t put off telling Tanner the truth anymore.
They had grown so much closer over the last few weeks.
She didn’t just like the man. She was starting to want him.
To fall for him. It was killing her that he didn’t know about his own daughter.
And then there was Violet to consider. She was so mature for her age.
Would finding out about Tanner give Violet hope?
Would it upset her? Scar her for life? It didn’t matter how much April liked Tanner, or how much she loved spending time with him or kissing him.
If bringing Tanner into Violet’s life hurt her niece in any way, she’d never forgive herself.
But leaving Violet with Ned just wasn’t an option.
The man was cruel and unyielding. April didn’t even think he liked Violet, let alone loved her.
“Aunt April?” Violet asked, interrupting her thoughts as they walked the track in the courtyard later that afternoon.
It was a beautiful day and after Violet recovered from the gruesome exercises Ned had put her through that morning, she seemed eager to spend time outside.
And April would never deny her niece extra time out in the sunshine.
“Hmm?” April asked.
“Do you think we could run away from here like they do in the movies?”
April wished they could, but life was so much more complicated than that. “It wouldn’t be easy and -”
“I heard Echo and Ned talking last night after you went home, and they said some scary things.”
April tensed, wishing they’d be more careful knowing there was a six-year-old on the premises. “What kind of scary things?”
Violet seemed to shrink right before her eyes, which made April want to drop down to her knees to be eye level with her and insist she tell her.
But that would likely draw attention from whoever was watching them on the cameras all around the compound.
So, April kept her back straight, her eyes forward, and her hand firmly holding on to Violet’s as they proceeded to walk the track.
“You know you can tell me anything, Violet. What did they say?”
“I think Ned wants to build a bomb,” Violet whispered just loud enough for April to hear.
“That’s terrible,” April said, keeping all emotion out of her voice, not wanting to scare her niece. “Is that what he said?”
Violet nodded. “Echo told him I wasn’t ready to do that yet. That there were too many tiny parts and if I messed up, I’d kill us all.” Tears choked her last words, and April’s stomach lurched as she swallowed hard, desperate to keep her lunch down.
Vomiting would not go over well, and it would definitely attract attention, something she didn’t want at this moment.
She didn’t know what to say though. The idea of Violet helping these monsters build a bomb was inconceivable.
She had to get her out. “If we ran away, it would be dangerous,” April warned softly.
Violet didn’t seem fazed in the least. “I can stop the bullets.”
“I know,” April said, carefully considering her options.
Any bullets fired wouldn’t be aimed at Violet though.
They would be shooting at her. But if they did somehow manage to escape the heavily guarded gate, there would still be no end in sight.
Ned would never stop looking for them. And April would become a fugitive.
But even if she were injured or even killed, if it meant getting Violet out of here, April knew it would be worth it. “We could never come back.”
“I don’t want to come back,” Violet assured her.
“You’d never see Ned or Echo again,” April continued.
“I hate them,” Violet said in a small, sad voice. “If we run away, you could be my mommy, and you’ll meet a handsome prince just like in the movies, and we can all live happily ever after.”