Chapter 14 #3
Two hours later, the photos and contract were all finished. The ham and cheese sandwiches had been eaten, and the kitchen was in order once more.
“It’s a pity you have to go back to work. We could have tried out that bed.”
“There’s always tomorrow,” Holly said and blew him a kiss from across the room. “I’m going to wash up before we leave.”
“Then how about I take you back in the Jeep, and you can see how the back exit works, too?”
“Yes! That would be awesome,” Holly said.
Gunner went to get the other set of keys.
Holly came back carrying her briefcase and the camera case.
Gunner was peeling off the wrapper of a Hershey’s Kiss when she reached the counter.
“Dessert,” he said. “Open wide,” then he popped the little chocolate candy in her mouth. “Off we go, darlin’. I’m right behind you. I need to set the alarm as we go.”
The chocolate was still melting on her tongue as he loaded her briefcase and camera bag in the back seat while she got inside and buckled up.
He tapped the remote as soon as he was behind the wheel, leaving Holly witness to both the garage door and the back gate at the fence opening in unison.
“This is genius, Gunner. Are you responsible for this?” she asked.
“No, it was here when I bought it, but it’s also part of what sold me on the house.”
He started the engine and drove straight out and through the gate. He pressed the remote again as he was clearing the gate, and Holly turned to watch both doors going shut.
“Oh, I can’t wait to start showing this house,” she said.
“And I can’t wait to get the both of us back to Crossroads.”
“I still keep pinching myself, that this is really happening. I guess we will be back in our parents’ houses while our house is being built?”
“Not the ideal situation, but we’ll figure it out as we go. Remember, we have all the time and the money we need to make it happen,” he said.
She leaned back into the seat as they exited the alley and onto a street. This time when he launched them onto the Loop, she was prepared. Sitting in a seat beside Gunner Kingston as he drove was a little like sitting in the passenger seat of a plane taking off.
“Do you ever get speeding tickets?” she asked.
He laughed and pointed at the traffic they were in. “You drive in this traffic every day. Do you ever see anyone getting pulled over for speeding?”
She grinned. “Now that you mention it…”
“Right. The only cops and cars stopped on the Loop are working wrecks, or part of one. You’re safe with me.
Trying to catch a killer running a roadblock is way worse.
I will never be sorry I stepped out of that job when I did.
You and me… We’re good. Not sure what your Daddy is going to think about this turn of events, having this all happen so fast.”
“A… I’m way past the age of consent. B… I make my own decisions about my life. He wasn’t crazy about me leaving Crossroads, but he got over it. He’s going to be so happy that I’m back in his world, he will be beside himself.”
“Good enough,” Gunner said.
A short while later, he pulled up into the parking lot at her work.
“You don’t have to get out,” she said.
“Oh, but I do. It’s bad manners not to walk your girl safely back inside.”
“Okay then, but if Gene starts turning the porch light on and off, that means no more kissing in his presence. I thought he was going to faint where he sat.”
Gunner’s eyes narrowed. “That was just a male reaction to seeing another man intruding in his territory. He is the only guy in the room, right?”
She laughed. “I never thought of it that way.”
“I’ll get your things for you. He’s already seen the light. He’ll be fine. You’ll see.”
And Gunner was right. Gene was the first to get up to welcome them back. “All went well, I assume.”
Gunner nodded. “Holly knows her business. It was a real lesson in organization just watching her work. I think the only thing she didn’t photograph was me.”
“Oh, I have a couple. You just weren’t looking,” she said.
He shook his head. “I should have known. Be safe going home later, darlin’. We’ll talk tonight, okay?”
“Definitely okay,” Holly said.
He brushed a quick kiss across her lips, then tipped his hat to the women. “Ladies… Mr. Morris… Pleasure to do business with you,” he said, and then he was gone.
Leigh sighed. “I hate you, Holly Dillon.”
Holly wiggled her eyebrows. “Jealousy is so high school, girl.”
“How did you guys meet?” Josie asked.
“We didn’t meet. We grew up in the same little town in West Texas, but with a five-year difference in age. When I was twelve, I was the bat girl for the boys’ high school baseball team. I had such a crush, and he was so sweet about it, tolerating a little girl’s fantasy.”
“Does he have a brother?” Leigh asked.
“He has two. They’re just as hunky as he is, and both married with children,” Holly said.
Leigh sighed. “Drat.”
Holly laughed. “Seriously, Leigh? You’re married.”
“Details, details,” Leigh said and got up to refill her coffee.
Holly was excited to be doing something besides digging through old deeds at courthouses as she sat down at her desk. The first thing she did was call their appraiser and an inspector and give them the address of Gunner’s house.
She told them both the same thing. “This one is kind of a rush. If you can move this appraisal up your agenda, it would be appreciated. The owner is moving back to West Texas to be closer to the elders in his family.” They responded in kind with moving it to the top of their lists.
After that was settled, she stretched the tense muscles in her shoulders, finger-combed the curls out of her face, then reached for the camera, pulled the SIM card, and began uploading the photos into her system.
* * *
Now that the FBI had taken over the evidence from the suicide scene, they were running two connected cases.
Rounding up the people on Dixon’s informant list was part of their ongoing connection to the murders of their agents and witness, and re-examining the facts of Burgess Dixon’s death played into it.
It was protocol to verify what they’d been given, and they were in the process of running their own set of labs for the collected evidence. Everything panned out except the video from the security system.
Colin Decker, the tech guru who was viewing the security footage, soon noticed something funky about the last visible images and decided to run it through a data recovery program.
It took him the better part of two days of cleanup, but by the time he was finished, what was revealed blew the suicide theory out of the water.
The hair was standing up on the back of his neck as he picked up the phone and buzzed his boss.
“This is Lavinsky. What’s up?”
“Sir, this is Decker. You need to see this. In the lab. Now.”
“On the way,” Lavinsky said, took the stairs down a floor to their tech lab, and went straight to where Decker was working. “What’s up?”
“This is the security footage from the Dixon property. You have to see this,” he said and got up. “Sit in my chair, sir. You need a front-row seat for this.” He hit Start.
Lavinsky had seen it all before but sat through the entire footage again of all five of the security cameras on the property, waiting for some big reveal.
When it got to the last few frames, where Dixon got out of the limo and went inside, and the chauffeur parked the limo and drove away, he frowned. “What am I supposed to be seeing?”
“Keep watching,” Decker said and pointed.
“What the hell?” he said. “This wasn’t on the original video.”
“Sir. This is the original video. Give it a few minutes. You’re going to see the chauffeur coming back to the estate on foot and climbing over the fence. There, right there.”
“Well, damn,” Lavinsky muttered, his eyes narrowing as the footage switched to another camera view showing the interior of the house, and there in plain sight was Beau Whistler going up the stairs and then into Dixon’s office with a gun.
“Can you turn up the audio?” Lavinsky asked.
Decker nodded and reached over Lavinsky’s shoulder.
At that point, there was nothing to do other than witness the ensuing murder and Whistler’s exit.
“I did not see that coming,” Lavinsky said. “Good work, Decker. Good work. Make a copy, then bring both to me ASAP. I’ll be in my office.”
“Yes, sir,” Decker said.
Lavinsky was already making mental notes of what he needed to do. They needed an arrest warrant. They had an address for Beau Whistler, but after seeing this, chances were that the man was already in the wind.
Within an hour, they had the warrant and sent a team to the address, only to discover that Whistler was gone—moved with no forwarding address. The hunt was on.
* * *
After a quick trip through Whole Foods and then home, Gunner put up the groceries, started a load of laundry, then sat down at his laptop and began searching for hydrogeologists in West Texas.
He needed someone to find him a water source near the place where he wanted to build his house, and after a brief search, he found a couple within a reasonable distance of Crossroads and sent both of them a message.
He was getting up to start a load of laundry when his cell phone rang.
It was Asher, and as soon as Gunner picked up, Asher started talking.
“I’m driving, so I don’t have much time to talk. You know Burgess Dixon is dead, right?”
“Yeah, suicide,” Gunner said.
“No. His bodyguard did it. They have security footage. The Feds recovered what had been erased, and he’s in the wind.
They’re combing the streets of Dallas and found his truck in a used car lot.
He sold it for cash. They don’t know where he is or what he’s driving.
I was told they’re going through security footage of every bus station and airport in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Nobody knows what prompted him to off his boss, but he’s considered armed and dangerous. ”
“That’s the same man I put on the floor and handcuffed to a piece of furniture when I went to have it out with Dixon,” Gunner said.
“Damn it,” Asher muttered. “Just pay attention to your surroundings until they find and arrest him, okay?”
“Yes, and thanks for the heads-up,” Gunner said.
“Are you okay, otherwise?” Asher asked.
“I turned in my resignation and told the guys in the department about the lottery. I am in the beginning stages of selling my house and moving back to Crossroads, and I’m bringing Holly with me.”
“So, you two are a thing now?” Asher asked.
“Yes, we are officially a thing.”
“What does she think about leaving Dallas?” Asher asked.
“The same thing that I think… That we both want to be close to home because of our dads. That week I spent with Dad and Pearl was the best time I’ve had in years.
He’s not getting any younger, and I want to be there for him, like he was there for us.
The lottery win gave me so much more than just money. I have the freedom to go home again.”
Asher could hear the longing in his brother’s voice. “Then I am happy for you, and Dad will be ecstatic. Just stay aware and stay safe.”
“I will. Love to little Jake and Nora for me, and decide how you want me to send you the money I promised: transfer into a bank account, or just write you a check. And tell Dylan I need the same info from him, too.”
“Yeah, I will talk to Nora tonight. We will never be able to thank you enough.”
“I don’t need thanks. It isn’t charity. It’s just a gift from one brother to another. Talk to you later,” Gunner said and hung up.
But now he had a whole new concern. Surely a man on the run for murder would not be hanging around to get revenge for being coldcocked, but he was definitely going to take Asher’s advice and pay attention.