Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Clay tensed as the doors opened and Rushton entered along with another man in a suit, who carried a briefcase. He looked like a lawyer, and it would be just like Rushton to show up with one.
Clay felt Darby tense as he approached them. She was trembling so he slipped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to the wall, but he couldn’t shield her from Rushton’s glare of contempt as the two men headed toward them.
Rushton stopped in front of them. “Hello, Darby, you’re looking well. You’ve certainly grown since the last time I saw you.”
She turned away so Clay answered for her. “She doesn’t want anything to do with you, Rushton, after all you’ve put her through.”
“What I’ve put her through? She took money that rightfully belonged to me, but she refuses to return it.”
“It’s not your money,” she told him, suddenly finding her voice. “It was left to me by my grandmother.”
“You hadn’t even seen her in decades! I was with her every moment of her life.”
“Except when you dumped her into a nursing home,” Darby countered.
“I was the one taking care of her right until the end.”
“And blowing through her fortune while doing so,” Clay said, making certain Rushton knew they’d looked into his financials and knew everything about him.
His eyes widened then a scowl formed on his face as he came to that realization. He started to speak, but his companion stopped him by placing his hand on his shoulder.
“Grant, we’re not here to debate this. The courts will handle that.
” He pulled Rushton away, down the hall to where Chief Dean was standing and waiting.
“I’m Calvin Stewart, Mr. Rushton’s lawyer.
We understand there’s an alert out for my client.
He’s voluntarily coming in to address these accusations. ”
“We’ll be with you in a moment.” Chief Dean glanced at Clay then motioned for an officer. “Take these two to an interview room.”
As they were being led away, Dean turned to Clay. “Better sit this one out. You’ve antagonized our suspect, so you can watch through the viewing room.”
Clay didn’t like being relegated, but Dean was correct.
Rushton was never going to answer his questions, so he would have to be satisfied with watching, listening, and hoping Dean was a skilled interrogator.
Of course, they all knew they wouldn’t get much from him with his lawyer sitting beside him.
“You don’t need to be here for this,” he told Darby. She could return to the hotel. He was certain he could convince Dean to place an officer to protect her.
“No, I don’t want to leave,” she insisted. “Now that I know he’s behind this, I don’t want to go anywhere.”
She joined him in the viewing room along with several other officers and waited as Chief Dean entered the room and sat across from the two men.
“We would like to know what this is about,” the lawyer demanded. “Why is my client wanted for questioning?”
“There have been a series of attacks against your niece, Darby Foster. During the course of our investigation, we learned of an inheritance dispute between you and your niece over an inheritance you believe you’re entitled to.”
“I am entitled to it,” Rushton insisted.
His lawyer motioned for him to be quiet. “That’s a matter currently being litigated through the courts. My client has no reason to do harm to his niece over it.”
“How much money was this inheritance?”
“$500,000.”
Chief Dean’s eyes widened and he whistled. “That’s a lot of money. No wonder you’re angry.”
“It’s a small drop in my client’s mother’s estate. The amount isn’t the issue.”
“It seems like a significant issue to me.” Dean picked up some papers and read from them. “According to what I have, your financials don’t show any large deposits from an inheritance. Did your own mother not include you in her will?”
“She did. Unfortunately, her net worth was depleted by years of illness and long-term care costs.”
Not to mention the multiple large cash withdrawals and expensive cars and vacations Rushton had enjoyed through the years, according to Cooper’s deep dive into Darby’s grandmother’s financial records. Clay was a little miffed that Dean didn’t bring that up. It was a missed opportunity.
Chief Dean nodded. “No wonder you want to get your hands on that money. Seems to me that you got the short end of the stick.”
Rushton rubbed his face, obviously agitated. But his lawyer remained calm and answered for him. “As I said previously, we’re litigating the matter in court.”
“We’ve also heard from her ex-husband that your client paid him a substantial amount of cash for his help in getting ahold of that inheritance money.”
Rushton glanced at his attorney, who gave him the go-ahead to respond. “I did ask for his help in negotiating with his ex-wife in the hopes of resolving this out of court. He agreed to act as a mediator.”
Satisfaction flowed through Clay. If Rushton knew Brent was dead, he would never have admitted their connection. Without Brent to verify it, they had no way to prove it.
Dean continued. “And the money you paid him?”
“A loan,” he said, dismissing it. “He said he needed it. He seemed desperate and he is family.”
“Family you’d never met before.”
He shrugged. “I was trying to mend fences.”
“Why not just go straight to Darby and speak with her?”
He waved off that query. “There’s been friction between us over this. I thought approaching her husband was a better idea.”
“Did you know they were divorced?”
“Not until I spoke with him, but he assured me he still had some influence over her.”
“I see. And how long have you been in Sheraton, Mr. Rushton?”
“I arrived in town two days ago. My hotel and credit cards will confirm that.”
Clay nodded. At least that was the truth.
“And you met with Brent Foster when?”
“Yesterday. I went by his car dealership and had a conversation with him.”
“So then you gave him this money—”
“It was a loan,” Rushton insisted. “If he says differently, he’s lying.”
“So you deny trying to hire someone to kill Darby Foster?”
“Absolutely, he denies it,” the lawyer said before Rushton could answer. “And if you had any proof of his involvement, you would arrest him. Are you?”
Dean glanced up at the viewing-room screen. For a moment, Clay thought he might confer with him about other issues. But he shook his head. “No, not today. However, our investigation is continuing. We may need to ask further questions as evidence reveals itself.”
“My client is willing to help in any way he can,” the lawyer stated. He stood and handed Chief Dean a business card. “Feel free to contact me if you need anything further from my client.” Rushton pushed to his feet and they headed for the door.
Clay and Darby remained in the viewing room, out of sight, until the two men had left the station.
Dean approached Clay. “He doesn’t know Foster is dead.”
“I picked up on that.”
“I couldn’t hold him. We don’t have enough to support charges. I’m having the shooter placed back in the interrogation room. Now that my team has had time to collect more evidence against him, I’m hoping we can lean on him a little more, and he’ll give us Rushton.”
It seemed their only hope at the moment of tying Rushton to the hits. Unless Cooper had uncovered something. Clay checked his cell. No message from Cooper.
He rubbed his face. “I’m taking Darby back to the hotel. We’ll change rooms but not hotels. Call me if something breaks.”
“I will,” Dean stated.
Clay didn’t have to give the news to Darby that the interview hadn’t given them anything. She’d been there and heard Rushton’s side of the story.
They retrieved Hercules then Clay carried the kennel to his truck before they headed back to the hotel.
Her room was still cordoned off, but Dean had given them permission to gather a few things without disturbing the scene.
The body was now gone to the morgue, but blood still stained the carpet, something the hotel manager was none too pleased about.
“How long until I get in there and clean?” he asked Clay. “I need to rent that room.”
“You’ll have to take that up with the Sheraton police, but I wouldn’t plan on it anytime soon,” Clay explained.
The manager grumbled a bit then gave them another set of adjoining rooms.
Once she was settled in, Clay moved his own belongings to his new room. He checked his phone again. Still no word from Cooper. That frustrated him. It shouldn’t take him this long to track down something online.
He blew out a breath. Blaming his colleague served no purpose. It wasn’t Cooper’s fault that Darby was in danger any more than it was his, yet he still hadn’t liked the feeling of watching Rushton looking so smug as he walked out of the police station tonight.
He might get away with it.
Rushton also didn’t strike Clay as the type of man who gave up easily. He might not have a means of getting his hands on Darby’s money once he discovered Brent was dead, but Clay doubted he would go away quietly. He might try to simply steal it from her.
A feeling of dread filled him. This wasn’t over.
It was time to start planning for Darby and her son to go into hiding for good.