Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
Riley nodded to the prison guard upon entering the stark room, followed by Detective Stapleton. And Colton.
Knowing ahead of time he’d be present today hadn’t lessened the impact of seeing him for the first time since he left four days before.
She hadn’t even heard his voice until his quiet good morning when she met them at the gate with Nowell and Piper flanking her.
It had been John, not Colton, who called her Monday, asking if they could join her for her meeting with Shane.
After checking with her client, since he would have to waive attorney-client privilege, she’d confirmed they could take some of the time allotted to her to ask whatever questions they may have. And only those questions that wouldn’t compromise his case.
With her arms crossed over her white blouse under a black suit coat, she stood by the table, not allowing herself to look at Colton standing adjacent to her. A tense silence permeated the small space until another guard brought Shane into the room.
It appeared he’d taken advantage of the weight room for some workouts. But more than the healthier physical condition, hope shone in the eyes that held such despair during their last meeting here.
“Shane.” She smiled and shook his hand. “Good to see you.”
“Good to see you, too, Riley. I’m anxious to hear how things are going.”
She wished she had better news for him, but they’d get to that. She gestured to the men with her. “This is Detective John Stapleton, Houston PD, and Colton Blankenship, a consultant with Petersen Security International.”
“Gentlemen.” Shane shook their hands, and they settled around the table. “A police detective? I assumed you used your own investigators.”
She understood Shane’s hesitation. It had been Houston PD who’d done all they could to put him here.
“I do have an investigator. Detective Stapleton’s here in another capacity. I’ve had some … trouble, I guess you could say. With a stalker. Started right after I took this case, so they’re here to determine if it might be tied together somehow.”
His brow furrowed. “Like somebody doesn’t want you to help me?”
“Could be. We’re just considering the possibility.”
“I hope not.” Alarm filled his eyes. “If you were to get hurt because of me—”
“We don’t know anything yet.” She gestured to John. “Detective, why don’t you start.”
John turned his attention to Shane. “Ms. Hudson has been receiving some messages that lead us to believe the suspect is warning her away from this case. Do you have any ideas as to who or why that might be?”
Shane scoffed. “Whoever killed Cait. That would make sense, right? They figure they got away with it, I’m doing the time, so they don’t want her rocking the boat.”
Colton nodded. “That was our thinking.”
Riley twisted her hands together on top of the table.
His voice still caused her pulse to race.
Not to mention the sight of him standing at the prison gate when she pulled up today with her detail.
Nowell so far had proven to be an excellent point man, but whenever she glanced up from her desk at the office, it took her a moment to realize it wasn’t Colton at her door or pacing the hall.
And her midnight trips to the kitchen had her sitting alone, usually with her Bible.
Piper, every bit as diligent and competent as the men, also had a soft spot for fashion and all things girly. They’d enjoyed a few fun conversations that had the guys sitting stupefied. Still, she missed Trevor and would be glad to have him back.
If sleep had been in short supply before Saturday night’s events, it was worse now. The sound of the gun … the screams … Colton’s body over hers … protecting her. All running through her head every time she closed her eyes.
John pulled four eight-by-ten still photos from a file folder, pulling her attention back to the matter at hand. He placed them side-by-side in front of Shane. “Are any of these guys familiar to you?”
Leaning in, Shane studied each photo. “This the best you have? Kind of grainy.”
“Unfortunately, these were taken from a security camera in the lobby of Ms. Hudson’s building. Camera’s mounted above the front desk, so the angle is wonky, and they’ve been enlarged.”
Shane studied them again. “No. I’m sorry. I don’t know any of these guys.”
John left the photos where they were and produced the composite drawn from hers, Logan Devers’, and Avery’s descriptions. “What about this guy?”
Shane studied the drawing for several seconds, then shook his head. “No. Nothing.”
Her spirits fell another notch. She’d so hoped something about the man would ring a bell.
“Do you know of anybody who had it out for you?” John asked. “Somebody who might want to hurt you badly enough to kill Caitlyn and frame you?”
Shane’s face blanched, and his wide-eyed gaze bounced between Riley and the detective. “You think Caitlyn was killed because of me? Because somebody had it out for me?” He put his head in his hands and buried his fingers in his hair. “Then I do belong here. If this is my fault, I do belong here.”
“That’s not true.” Riley placed her hand on his arm. “Shane.”
He dropped his hands and brought his tear-filled eyes up to meet hers.
“The only person at fault here is the one who yielded the knife that day. Whatever his motive, he chose to carry out that horrible deed. This is not on you. But you can help us find him, if you can think of anybody you might’ve been crosswise with.”
Colton cleared his throat. “She’s right.
I lost my wife to cancer and blamed myself for not being able to help her.
I knew I wasn’t the cause, but she was mine to take care of.
It took a long time …” He glanced at Riley.
“And somebody God put in my path to come alongside and tell me it was out of my hands. That I wasn’t to blame, and to continue to carry the guilt squelched the Spirit from working in my life.
Don’t let the enemy defeat you. Keep the faith. ”
Riley pulled her hand back and clasped it with the other on the table, twisting her ring. Her heart squeezed in her chest. Even with the pain of missing Colton permeating every inch of her, she couldn’t regret the time she’d had with him. Not with seeing him walking again with His Lord.
Shane swallowed and scraped a hand across his eyes. “I’m sorry about your wife.”
“And I’m sorry you lost Cait. From all I’ve heard, she was a spectacular person.”
“Very much so.” Shane took a deep breath and let it out. “Okay. Ask me whatever you need. I want to get the guy who murdered Cait, but I’d also like to help you find whoever’s after you. Especially if they’re one and the same.”
She reached out again and gave his hand a quick squeeze. “Thank you. And if you have any other thoughts like that, get with Tommy. He’ll help you with it. He carried a lot of guilt for not taking their neighbor more seriously before his wife was killed. He understands it.”
He nodded. “Tommy’s been a great comfort since I got here. Helped me tap back into my faith. And Barbara … she’s been a blessing.”
“I’m so glad to hear that.”
After Tommy suggested having his sister write to Shane as a voice of encouragement, Riley had been delighted to give her the go-ahead. Nobody was more positive and encouraging than Barbara.
John pointed to the photos. “The thing is, these are all the same guy. Even the composite.”
Shane peered at the images. “All these guys are the same person?”
“Verified. So, taking another look, is there anything at all familiar, anything you might recognize, between all five—the photos and the composite?”
Shane started with the first again, picking up and studying each photo. He then picked up the composite and placed it in front of him. After several silent moments, he covered the beard with one hand and the baseball cap with the other, leaving only the eyes, nose, and mouth.
“Huh.”
Riley exchanged glances with the two men before looking back at Shane. “See something?”
The clock behind her ticked for several seconds before he tilted his head, still focused on the drawing with a furrow in his brow. “I can’t be sure, but he reminds me of Warren. I’m just not sure how that can be.”
“And Warren would be …?”
His gaze snapped up to her. “Oh. My stepbrother.”
Her head jerked back. “Stepbrother? I didn’t know you had a stepbrother.”
“Estranged, I guess you could say.”
Colton leaned forward. “Estranged? As in, not on good terms with?”
“More like no terms at all.”
“Explain.”
“I haven’t seen him in over ten years. I was home for Thanksgiving my first year of college. So, I was eighteen, I guess. Thirteen years ago. He came to my dad looking for money.”
“And you haven’t seen him since?” John asked.
“I haven’t. I know my dad’s seen him a time or two.” He sighed. “Warren hasn’t had it easy. My dad divorced his mother, and Warren went with her. I was almost two when my mom married his dad. My dad. He adopted me. My biological father was killed in a car accident a month after I was born.”
“And Warren’s how much older than you?”
“Five years. He was about seven, I guess, when we came into the picture. Apparently, the divorce was big-time ugly, with Warren’s mom using him as a pawn to get more money or flat-out revenge.
I didn’t know all of this as a kid. My dad explained it to me a few years ago when I got curious about his first family.
I think it hurt him that Warren’s mom kept him away so much.
But every time he tried to get custody, the court sided with her. ”
Colton sat back in his chair. “So, you weren’t raised together. As brothers.”
He shook his head. “The few times Warren was there, things were tense. He didn’t like me at all, and I never understood it. Not as a kid. I always hoped we could be more like brothers, but Warren wasn’t having it.
“His last visit—I was ten—he beat me to a pulp. Dad had to pull him off me and never had him back over again. If he met with Warren at all, it was away from the house. And me. But those visits were few and far between, especially once Warren was out of high school.”
“He was fifteen when that incident took place?”
“Yes. I had no idea what set him off.”
John glanced at Colton and back at Shane. “And no contact with him after he showed up thirteen years ago?”
“None. I didn’t even talk to him that day.
He came to the door, and Dad went outside.
All I could hear was the shouting. Something about how Dad owed him for not being there.
For choosing another son who wasn’t his over the one who was.
A bunch of stuff. It really hurt my dad, because he wanted Warren after the divorce.
I can’t help but think Warren’s life would’ve been much different had he been able to stay with Dad. ”
He gave his head a shake. “Boy, his mom was some kind of scary. I hated it when she’d pick up Warren the few times she let him come for a visit.
I was little, but that woman—I could tell even then there was something off about her.
Called me … illegitimate, to put it nicely, to my face when I was about six.
I didn’t even know what the word meant until much later.
But who says that to a little kid? Evil, I tell you. ”
Riley’s head spun. A man bitter about his father raising a son of his choosing rather than the son of his own blood. Could that bitterness have grown so deep, he would commit such a heinous act to put the favored son in his place? A place where he lost his freedom? His identity?
“If you haven’t seen Warren since you were eighteen,” she said, “then there’s no way he would’ve met Caitlyn, right? Assuming she was ever at your parents’ home?”
“Oh, she was there. Several times over those four months. Had dinner with us, went to church with us. My mother adored her. But, no. Warren never met her.”
“Hmm.”
“Unless …”
She cocked her head, waiting for him to finish.
His brow furrowed again. “I guess it’s possible they could’ve met at the club.”
Riley sat up. “The country club?”
“Yeah. I guess about a year before I met Cait, he had a job there. I remember my dad saying he hoped Warren finally found a decent one. I guess it didn’t stick, though.”
“He was fired?” John asked.
“Not sure. Dad never said.”
Colton leaned forward in his chair. “Do you know what other jobs he might’ve had? Or where?”
“I don’t. Dad might, though.” Shane paused before regarding Riley again. “But I can’t see how my relationship with Warren would have anything to do with either of our situations. He’s been out of my life for years.”
Riley’s gaze met Colton’s, and she saw the same question there that swirled in her own mind. Maybe Warren was out of Shane’s life.
But was Shane out of Warren’s?