Chapter Fourteen
Harley .
That was the name repeating in Cully’s head as she drove to San Antonio to speak to her mom. Declan was riding shotgun while working on his phone. He’d insisted on coming with her, and Cully was glad that he had.
She hadn’t wanted to do this trip solo.
Not just because of the danger either. Though that was a possibility. But because mentally she was in a tangle right now. There were so many things weighing on her, and Declan was one of them.
It felt wrong to kiss him. And so very right. But the timing was all wrong. There was a killer on the loose and way too many unanswered questions in the investigation. Way too many suspects, what with Roscoe, Renee, Noah, her mother, the loan shark and his henchmen.
And Harley.
Cully had no doubts that Harley could have killed her father because of all the pain Derrick had caused Alice. But could have killed and actually done the deed were two different things. And at the heart of it, she didn’t think Harley could outright murder someone.
But maybe it hadn’t been planned.
It could have been something that’d happened in the heat of the moment. Perhaps Harley had confronted her father and Savannah, and things had gotten out of hand.
She mentally shook her head over that theory though. Because the same person had likely killed all four people. She could see things getting out of hand in one situation, but it was a huge stretch for it to happen on two different occasions. Still, it was possible which was the reason Cully was very anxious to hear what her mother had to say.
“Bingo,” Declan muttered, causing her to glance over at him. “Cyclops just confirmed that Noah has been in Outlaw Ridge since yesterday. Traffic cams pick him up taking the turn off the interstate about two hours before the house was set on fire.”
“So, Noah could have done it all,” Cully murmured. “The murders, the cover-up, and nearly killing us.”
“You bet he could have done it,” Declan agreed. “And I need to let Owen know that.”
He made the call, relaying the info to Owen, and then listening for a least a full minute. Whatever Owen said had Declan cursing under his breath.
“You might want to round him up again,” Declan added to Owen before he ended the call.
“Let me guess. Owen had to cut Noah loose because there wasn’t enough evidence to arrest him,” Cully said.
“Got it in one. And Owen had to let Roscoe go as well. There’s no evidence to hold him, though Owen did warn Roscoe not to go anywhere near Renee unless she specifically asked to see him.”
That was for the best, especially since Roscoe might try to take out his anger on Renee because of her affair.
Declan groaned and looked at the info on his phone screen. “I’m going over the results from Cyclops,” he let her know. “The fact that Noah was in Outlaw Ridge doesn’t mean he’s guilty, but it gives him means and opportunity. He already had the motive to burn the house down if he’s the killer and wanted to make sure any potential evidence was destroyed.”
That was true. And Cully hoped Noah was guilty. That was far better than suspicion falling on her mom.
She turned into her neighborhood and drove to her street. When the house came into view, she spotted two vehicles in the driveway. She didn’t recognize the black SUV but figured it belonged to Hayes. The other was a dark blue truck that was familiar.
“Harley’s here,” Cully muttered, and she hated that she felt instant alarm about that.
But the alarm was warranted, especially if her mother was right and that Harley could be the killer.
“Hayes won’t let anything bad happen to your mom,” Declan reminded her. He’d obviously picked up on what she was feeling.
She prayed Declan was right and came to a quick stop along the curb in front of the house. The moment she turned off the engine, Cully was out of her car and hurrying to the front door.
Declan was right by her, and it occurred to her that he was firing glances all around them because of possible danger. She certainly hadn’t forgotten about that possibility, but right now, making sure her mother was safe was her top priority.
Cully used the keypad to unlock the door, and with her chest aching now from her tense muscles, she practically ran into the living room. Alice wasn’t there.
“Mom?” she called out.
“In the kitchen,” her mother answered.
Declan and Cully headed that way, and the relief washed over her when she saw the scene in the kitchen. Not some tense hostage standoff as she’d feared. Her mother and Harley were seated at the breakfast table, drinking some lemonade. Tansy and Hayes were by the island.
Hayes snared his brother’s gaze for a moment, not surprised to see him since Declan had texted him shortly after Cully and he had left Outlaw Ridge.
“All’s well here,” Hayes assured them.
Yes, it seemed to be. Harley and her mom appeared to be just visiting, but Alice got to her feet and went to hug Cully first and then Declan.
“Thank you for coming so fast,” her mother murmured to her.
Cully was glad that her mom’s eyes and voice were crystal clear. Good. Because maybe that meant she’d remember why she had called them and might even be able to give them more details of when she’d seen Harley with that blood on him.
Harley got up from the table as well and took his keys from his pocket. “I should be going. I just dropped by to check on Alice.” He shifted his attention to Cully. “One of my waitresses called to tell me that Renee had been admitted to the hospital. Is she all right?”
Cully wasn’t surprised that word of that had already gotten around. Small-town gossip often traveled very fast.
“I’m not sure,” Cully settled for saying. And it was the truth. It might be hours before Renee could be evaluated.
Harley nodded, glancing at both Declan and her. “Hope you two can get some downtime soon. Anything I can do to help?”
Normally, asking something like that wouldn’t have given her another jolt of alarm. But it did this time, and she had to wonder if Harley was trying to get insider information about the investigation. Maybe to make sure that he wasn’t being suspected of the murders.
“Yeah, downtime would be nice,” Declan said. “And thanks for the offer. Owen’s got everything under control though.”
Harley nodded again, but did she see disappointment in his eyes? Or maybe that was just her imagination.
“Call me if you need anything,” Harley added, giving a wave to both Alice and Tansy before he headed out.
Alice stayed put, but Hayes followed Harley to the door, no doubt so he could lock up after him.
“We didn’t know Harley would be coming over,” Tansy told them. “He just showed up.”
Cully tried to figure out how to ask her question without alarming Tansy and her mom, but she couldn’t think of a gentler way to say it. “Did you feel threatened being around Harley?”
“No,” Tansy was quick to say. “He was his usual self. Why?”
So, maybe Alice hadn’t told Tansy about the call she’d made earlier. “Just checking,” Cully said, shifting to her mother. And since this was something she didn’t want to keep from Tansy, she added, “Why don’t you tell Tansy what you told us about Harley?”
Her mom nodded and gathered her breath. “I remembered seeing Harley with blood on him right after Derrick ran off with Savannah.” She pointed to her right sleeve. “It was there, on his shirt, and it looked like spatter. A lot of it.”
That could be consistent with shooting two people. But, of course, it proved nothing.
“Do you recall if Harley had any injuries on his hand?” Declan pressed. “Maybe a cut that would explain the blood?”
Alice shook her head. “I didn’t see an injury.” She stopped, sighed. “But there could have been one. When you work in a diner, it’s easy to get cut.”
“True,” Cully admitted. “Did you ask him about it?”
“I didn’t. I was so upset, crying. And I’m sure I was ranting about what your father had done.”
That was understandable, but it led Cully to another question. “What made you think of it now?”
“The ring,” her mother said.
Cully gave her a blank stare. “What ring?”
Alice motioned for them to follow her, and she led them to her bedroom. “I was going through some old things, and I found that little heart jewelry box you bought me for Christmas when you were ten.”
Cully remembered the box and recognized it when they stepped into her mother’s room, and she saw it sitting on the dresser. It was the first time she recalled seeing it in years. After her father left and her mom had had to go to work at the diner, she’d quit wearing jewelry of any kind.
Alice opened the box, revealed the tangled chains and earrings. Mostly costume stuff with lots of shine and sparkle. Her mom reached in and plucked out something that definitely wasn’t costume. Cully wasn’t a jewelry expert, but this was almost certainly the real deal.
A woman’s gold ring with a sizeable diamond in the center circled by rubies.
It took a couple of seconds for that to register, for her to recall Renee saying that Roscoe had bought Savannah a diamond and ruby ring.
“Where did you get that?” Cully asked just as Declan said, “Did that belong to Savannah?”
“I think it might have been hers,” Alice admitted. “The last time I saw Savannah, she was wearing a ring just like this.” She stopped, took several deep breaths. “And I don’t know how it ended up at the bottom of my jewelry box.
Declan reached in his back pocket and took out a small evidence bag. “I’ll need to send this to the lab for testing. It could still have Savannah’s DNA on it.”
Yes, and it would have her mom’s DNA on it, too, since Alice was holding it.
Her mom dropped the ring into the small bag that Declan held out for her, and he stepped aside to label it.
“When did you find this?” he asked.
“A couple of hours ago. Like I said, I was going through some old things, and when I saw it, I had a flash of a memory. A lot of memories actually but one of them was of Harley with blood on his sleeve.”
“Did you have that memory because it’s possible that Harley put the ring in the box?” Cully had to ask.
“Maybe. He visited me a lot right after your father left. And when we moved to the apartment, he was in and out of there all the time.”
Yes, Harley had been. But he wasn’t the only one. “I remember Roscoe coming by a time or two. He said he was looking for Savannah because she owed him money.”
Of course, Cully now knew that probably wasn’t true, that Roscoe had simply been looking for Savannah because he’d been in a relationship with her. And if he’d been the one to kill her, Roscoe might have thought it would make him look innocent if he appeared to be searching for her.
“Yes, Roscoe visited,” Alice confirmed a heartbeat later. “So did Renee. I suppose one of them could have put the ring in there. Back then, it wasn’t in a drawer but on the top of my dresser, and my bedroom door was usually wide open for anyone to have seen it if they’d gone from the living room and into the kitchen.” She paused. “But why would they have done that?”
Cully could think of a reason. A bad one. If one of them was the killer, they might have taken the ring with the intention of framing Alice if the bodies were ever discovered.
But this didn’t rule out Harley.
If he’d killed Savannah and taken the ring, he might have hoped that Alice would sell it since in those days she was always strapped for cash.
“What about Noah?” Declan pressed. “Did he ever visit you?”
“No.” Her mom didn’t hesitate. “He came to the door once when we still lived in Outlaw Ridge, but I didn’t let him in.” She paused. “I think Noah had a crush on me. I didn’t feel that way about him though.”
So, Cully hadn’t been wrong about the vibe she’d gotten from Noah that he’d had a thing for her mother.
“But I suppose Noah could have gotten in when I wasn’t here,” Alice went on. “I probably wasn’t as careful as I should have been about locking the door.”
Cully could vouch for that, and it meant all of them—Harley, Renee, Roscoe or Noah—could have put that ring in the jewelry box.
Her mom touched her fingers to her right temple. “I’m getting one of my migraines. I can feel it coming on.” She gave Cully a kiss on the cheek. “I’m so sorry, but I’ll have to cut this visit short.”
Cully was well aware of her mother’s migraines so she motioned for Declan to follow her out. Tansy would make sure Alice would get the meds she needed, but the lights would all need to be turned out and the curtains closed.
“I’ll stay here as long as needed,” Hayes said to them once they were out of the bedroom. He glanced at the evidence bag with the ring that Declan was holding. “Want me to arrange for a courier to pick that up?”
Declan shook his head, and he tucked it into his pocket. “No, we can drop it by the lab on the way back to the station.” They all headed to the door, but Declan stopped short of going out and turned to face his brother. “Probably a good idea though to keep Harley from paying her another visit. If he’s the killer, and we get close to proving it, he might try to do something…desperate.”
Oh, God. Cully hadn’t thought of that. But Hayes obviously had. “Alice insisted I let Harley in when he came to the door, but I didn’t take my eyes off him the entire time he was here. And he won’t get in again, not until I get an all clear from Owen or you.”
“Thank you,” Cully muttered as Declan and she left and hurried back to her car.
She got behind the wheel, put on her seatbelt and started the engine. “What’s the address of the lab? I’d like to get that ring checked right away.”
“So, would I.” He opened his mouth, no doubt to give her the address, but the sound stopped him.
A strange hiss.
At first Cully had no idea what it was, but then she saw something she definitely didn’t want to see.
Fire.
It shot up from beneath her car, climbing its way up her door, and there was smoke at the front end, too. Oh, God. This wasn’t some fluke.
Someone was trying to kill them again.
Her gaze flew to the passenger’s side where she hoped there’d be a safe escape. But no. Smoke was there, too. And at the rear of the vehicle. She couldn’t see actual fire there yet, but Cully had no doubts that she soon would. The fire outside her door was already at least a foot high.
There was no way out without getting burned. They couldn’t just sit there either because the fire would consume both the car and them. Of course, with the black smoke already pouring in, they might die of inhalation before that happened.
“Shit,” Declan spat out. “We have to move fast. Open the door and try to hurdle over the fire. Now,” he added, his voice a sharp order.
The handle was hot to her touch, but Cully latched on anyway. She threw open the door, and in the same motion, she launched herself off the seat. Not quite a hurdle. She couldn’t manage that. But she sprang out, going into a dive to propel herself over and away from those flames.
Cully grunted in pain when she landed hard on the sidewalk. On the other side of the car, she heard Declan do the same thing.
“Move,” he shouted. “Get away from the car.”
She forced herself to get up so she could start running toward the house. Cully definitely didn’t want her mom hearing the commotion and coming out to see what was going on. If the arsonist was still around, then Alice could be hurt.
Heck, so could Declan and her.
They could be killed. Because once their attacker realized the fire had failed, he or she might try to go at them with something else.
“What the hell?” she heard someone say.
Hayes. He’d obviously heard what was going on and would help. Hopefully though, he wouldn’t leave the door unguarded because Cully didn’t want the arsonist SOB trying to sneak inside.
The breeze pushed the smoke right at her, causing her to cough and making it hard to see. Still, Cully saw Declan breaking through the thick black cloud, and he looked like some demon warrior from hell. Fierce, determined, and very angry.
She was angry, too. This monster was trying to kill them again.
Declan caught up to her, and without slowing down, he hooked his arm around her, running with her to the house. The moment they reached it, he pulled not into the house but to the ground by the side of the porch.
Not a second too soon.
Because her car exploded into a fireball.