Chapter Four
Cully sat in Owen’s office in the Outlaw Ridge police station and tried to make sense of everything that’d just happened. But it was too much for her mind to absorb.
It’d been a big enough shock learning that her father’s remains might be behind that wall, but now she had the added emotional jolt that Jessica might have been entombed there, too.
Which led her to the other two skeletal remains.
Was one of them Brandon? Possibly. And the other could be Savannah, her father’s lover.
She sipped some of the coffee that Owen had handed her before he’d told her to stay put in his office. Then, both Declan and he had headed out, no doubt to start tackling the many steps involved in an investigation like this.
Steps that Cully wished she could be doing, too.
If she had something, anything, to occupy her mind, she might tamp down this storm of emotions. Grief. Sadness. Confusion and the gut-tightening that came with knowing she would have to talk to her mother about all of this.
After her father had run off with Savannah, Alice had mentally shut down for a while, and Cully wasn’t sure she had ever fully recovered from the heartbreaking experience. They had gone from a financially comfortable life to having no money. They’d had to sell the house, move to a tiny apartment, and her mom had had to go to work, her first job in years since her father had always insisted that Alice be a stay-at-home mom.
Now, all of those old memories would have to be stirred up. And more. Her mom would have to be formally questioned. If she wasn’t already, Alice would become a person of interest in her husband’s death.
Because her mother had motive for that.
But she had no motive for murdering Jessica. So, maybe that would work in her mother’s favor, especially if Owen and his team could find someone who had reason to murder all four people behind that wall.
The door opened, and she gathered her breath, ready to hear what Owen had to say. But it wasn’t Owen. It was Declan. So, she had to do a different kind of breath gathering. Even now, after all these years, it was unsettling to see him. To be around him.
And that was all her fault.
She’d been the one to leave him. The one who’d dealt him yet another abandonment blow as his father and Jessica had done. She had only added to his old baggage. But at the time, she just hadn’t been able to cope. Their marriage had been too soon while she’d still been coping with Brandon and Jessica’s elopement.
And the miscarriage.
Of course, Declan didn’t know about that. About the pregnancy scare. About a baby that would have put all their career plans on hold. Cully had been terrified. But then she’d lost the baby, and that had launched her into the motherlode of guilt trips. Her heart had been crushed at losing the child she’d never hold. So she’d left and tried to heal.
She was still working on that.
“No news yet on the ID for the remains,” Declan let her know.
He walked closer, studying her. Probably checking for any signs she was about to crack. She tried to look as if she was at least partially steady.
“They didn’t find any other wallets or jewelry?” she asked.
He shook his head. “But the CSIs have photographed the teeth of all four, and they’re being taken to the three dentists here in town. We might know something soon.”
Declan went to the other visitor’s chair next to her, and he sat down. “Owen’s spoken to Jessica’s father, Roscoe, to ask him if he knows Jessica’s whereabouts, but her mom, Renee, is at a doctor’s appointment in San Antonio. Roscoe, though, says he hasn’t had any contact with Jessica since she eloped when she was nineteen. Apparently, they had words right before she left, and Jessica said she never wanted to see him again. That’s why he wasn’t surprised when he never heard from her.”
Cully had felt the same way about her father. After he’d slapped her and Alice had threatened him with that knife, she hadn’t expected him to ever get in touch. And he hadn’t. Maybe because he’d been killed shortly after that incident.
“Shaw’s trying to track down any next of kin for Brandon,” Declan went on. “Not sure who that would be since both of his parents are dead.” He stopped, cursed under his breath. “Are you all right?”
Cully considered her answer. “I think it’ll be a while before I get to the all right stage. What about you?”
“Same.”
She wondered if that was because his love for Jessica had never fully died. Cully had always suspected as much, especially during that handful of days when she’d been Declan’s wife.
Sighing, he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes for a couple of moments. “I keep going over that voicemail that Jessica left to say she was leaving town and marrying Brandon. I don’t think that was fake. I mean, it didn’t sound as if it’d been spliced together.”
Cully made a sound of agreement. Brandon’s voicemail had been playing around in her head, too. “I don’t suppose you kept the one Jessica left you?”
He shook his head. “You?”
She had to go with a headshake as well, and after all this time, there’d be no way to retrieve them from any phone records. “Maybe Jessica did a voicemail for her mom though. If so, Renee might have kept it.”
Declan took out his phone, and she saw he was texting Owen to have him ask Renee and Roscoe about any possible phone messages. If they managed to get one, it could be examined to see if it was fake. And if so, then it could mean the killer had been the one to leave those voicemails.
That chilled Cully all the way to the bone.
She looked up when movement caught her up, and Cully saw a familiar face step into the doorway. Again, not Owen. But the tall, lanky man, Harley Vance, the owner of the Outlaw’s Grill, the diner where her mother had worked.
It’d been a couple of years since she’d seen Harley, and there was now some gray hair sprinkled in with the thick black strands, but other than that, he looked the same.
Offering up a smile that was laced with worry and tension, Harley lifted two takeout bags that sported the Outlaw Grill’s logo. “Sandwiches and fries,” he said, setting the bags on the small table between them. “I spoke to Owen, asked him if there’s anything I could do, and he said y’all might be hungry.”
She wasn’t. In fact, Cully was reasonably sure she wouldn’t be able to hold anything down, but she appreciated the thought.
“Thanks,” Declan and she said in unison as they got to their feet.
He shook Harley’s hand, and Cully went for a hug. A genuine one. Without Harley’s help and support over the years, her mother would have had a much harder time after her dad left.
“How’d you know we were here?” Cully asked.
“It’s all over town about you being here at the police station,” Harley admitted. Then, he paused. “And your mom called me.”
Instant alarm shot through her. “Why? What did she want?” Cully blurted.
Harley sighed. “She was a little upset that you’d asked about your father.”
Cully figured he was playing down the upset part. “She was agitated?” she came out and asked.
“Some.” Again, that was no doubt downplayed as well. “But I think I finally got her settled down.”
Harley always had a way of doing that, and many times Cully had wondered why her mom and Harley hadn’t become more than friends. She was pretty sure that Harley was in love with Alice. But, like Cully, Alice had had a hard time trusting after life had delivered such a hard blow.
“I’m guessing there’s a reason why you needed to ask Alice about your dad?” Harley questioned. There was no blame in it. Just his usual calm, steady voice.
Since they couldn’t discuss the details of an active investigation, Cully went with the lie she’d told her mom. “It’s for a background check to update my security clearance.”
Harley studied her a moment, and even though it could be her guilty conscience over her lying to him, she thought he might be trying to suss out if that was the truth. He finally sighed.
“First of all, I don’t know where Derrick is,” Harley admitted. “I searched for him after he left, but I never did find him. My guess is that he went overseas somewhere.”
Yes, that’d been her guess as well. Her dad had loved vacationing in the beach resorts in Mexico.
Harley sighed again. “FYI, talk is all over town about the remains found at the house you bought. Four sets,” he spelled out. “And the timing of your question makes me think that for some reason you believe one of those sets could belong to your father.”
Cully squeezed her eyes shut a moment and dodged answering that. “We don’t have IDs on any of the remains yet.”
Harley nodded as if that were confirmation. “All right, I’ll play what if with this. If Derrick’s bones are there, Savannah’s might be, too. And if so, your mom will need to be questioned. It’s the same for me. Heck, others as well who weren’t fans of those two.”
“Care to give us names?” Declan asked.
Harley didn’t jump to respond, but he finally said, “Brandon. I recall him being very pissed off when your father left. Same with you, Declan.”
Declan made a sound to indicate that was true. “Anyone else?”
“Roscoe,” Harley added a moment later. “I’m not sure what happened, but things had soured between Derrick and him. I recall them having a heated argument in the diner. About what exactly, I couldn’t tell you, but that happened just a couple of days before Derrick left.”
Cully hadn’t known about this argument, but it didn’t surprise her that it’d taken place. Both Roscoe and her father had strong personalities and often crossed paths in their respective businesses, what with her dad being a real estate agent and Roscoe owning a construction company.
“Anyone else who might have it in for Derrick?” Declan pressed.
But before Harley could answer, they heard a woman shout, “Where the hell are they? Where are Declan and Cully?”
Cully knew that voice. Jessica’s mom, Renee. Harley obviously had no trouble recognizing it either because he said, “You can add Renee’s name to your list. She spent years badmouthing Derrick after he ran out on your mom.”
Renee had indeed done that because back then Renee and Alice had been good friends. Not these days though. Cully had no idea what’d happened between the two women, but they’d drifted apart.
“Cully? Declan?” Renee shouted.
Muttering some profanity under his breath, Declan went out of the office and into the hall. Cully was right behind him, and she soon saw Shaw trying to block Renee from coming straight toward them.
“There you are,” Renee called out when she saw them.
Renee was normally well put together, usually not a strand of her blonde hair out of place. Perfect makeup to go along with her perfect clothes. Not today though. It looked as if she’d run her hands through her hair more than a couple of times, and what was left of her makeup was smeared from where she’d obviously been crying. There were still tears in her eyes.
“Is it true?” Renee demanded. “Did you find Jessica’s body?”
Cully tried not to react, tried to plaster on a poker face and gave Renee the same response she’d given Harley. “None of the remains have been identified yet.”
“But they’re checking with her dentist,” Renee went on. Her voice trailed off into a hoarse sob. “Just tell me if it’s Jessica.”
“We don’t know,” Declan answered.
More tears spilled down Renee’s cheeks. “It’s her, isn’t it? Someone killed her.” She muttered something else under her breath before her head whipped up, and she speared Declan with her gaze. A gaze now filled with some intense fury to go along with the grief.
“Did you kill her because she was eloping with Brandon?” Renee snapped.
“No,” Declan replied in a murmur.
Renee obviously didn’t believe that. She made a feral sound and tried to launch herself at Declan. Shaw stopped it, and Harley moved in to help.
“Stop this now, Renee,” Harley said, still managing to sound calm. “You’re upset, and you’re not thinking straight. Declan loved Jessica. He wouldn’t have hurt her.”
Renee turned those rage-filled eyes now on Cully. “Then, you did it. You killed her.”
“No, she didn’t,” Harley responded before Cully could say anything. “Right now, Cully and Declan are just trying to do their jobs. Why don’t you come with me so they can get back to work to find some answers.”
Renee looked ready to stand her ground. And toss out some more accusations. Instead, she broke down, sobbing, and if Harley hadn’t taken hold of her, she likely would have dropped to her knees.
“Come with me,” Harley repeated, and he led her toward the side exit.
“Sorry about that,” Shaw said to Declan and her as they watched Harley and Renee leave. “I was coming back to talk to you just as Renee went through the metal detector. She saw me and started yelling for you two.”
Cully felt her hands shaking, and the full impact of Renee’s accusation hit her then. The woman believed that Declan or she could have murdered her daughter.
“I told Renee we didn’t have IDs on any of the bodies,” Cully let Shaw know. But she froze when she saw something go through his eyes.
“We do now,” Shaw spelled out. “We just got confirmation through dental records. The remains belong to Brandon, Jessica, Savannah, and your father.”