Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
Hours later, Jackson sipped water while waiting for the task force meeting to start. He’d taken a shower to wash off the smoke smell and changed his clothes, but his body ached from being thrown during the explosion at Elena’s house. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured by the blast. Including Piper.
She sat in the chair next to him at the conference room table. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail that accented her high cheekbones and the long column of her throat. A faint scratch marred her ear and her complexion was pale. Like him, she’d showered and changed her clothes. Jackson’s insides clenched as he imagined how close they’d come to dying. A few seconds more and neither of them would be sitting at this table now.
Thank you, God, for protecting us.
It was the second time in two days Piper had been in mortal danger. First the shooting and then the bombing. Jackson didn’t believe either was a coincidence. He couldn’t prove it yet, but he trusted his own instincts. Whoever was behind this would try again. And again. Until the job was done.
Jackson wouldn’t let them succeed. Piper didn’t know it yet, but he was staying glued to her side until this case was solved. His mouth quirked as he thought about their argument last night. She’d fight him on the protection detail. Independent, strong-willed, and challenging. But there was a sweetness to her as well. A vulnerability that she rarely showed. The combination drew him in, made him want to be closer to her. It always had.
She shuffled some papers and then glanced over, catching him looking at her. “You okay?”
Embarrassment heated his cheeks. He’d been staring like a love-sick schoolboy. “I’m fine.” Jackson took a swig of water, letting the cool liquid soothe his smoke-damaged throat. “How’s your shoulder?”
The corner of her mouth lifted. “It hurts, but don’t tell Derek that, or he’ll put me on desk duty.”
“Ugh. There’s nothing worse than piles of paperwork.” Ranger Daniel Perez pulled out a chair. Jackson’s colleague tossed his white cowboy hat on the table before running a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. Pushing fifty and divorced, Daniel was dedicated to his job. No kids. No hobbies. He did have a very large and loud extended family, but they were incredibly supportive of his career and never complained when he had to cancel last minute or change plans .
Daniel grinned. “I’m saving my extra paperwork for Cole. He comes off medical leave next week but won’t be ready for full duty for another month.”
“That’s cruel.” Jackson grinned back at his friend. “Especially since I’m doing the same.”
Daniel laughed, drawing the attention of Ranger Felicity Capshaw. The dark-haired beauty was petite with dainty features, but she was tough enough to flip a suspect over and make him cry for his mama if necessary. Her strength was only superseded by her brains, and Jackson was glad to have her on the task force.
Felicity propped her hands on her hips. “You two have to get in line. I helped Cole rescue Olivia from the stalker, so I get dibs on his help.”
“Hold on there.” Jackson arched his brows. “I worked that case too. You can’t cut ahead of me in line.”
“Sure I can.” She waved a hand over the piles of paperwork covering the conference room table. “Unless you’d like to spend the next few days interviewing Elena’s friends and sifting through her phone records. I’m happy to sit back with my feet up and eat a breakfast burrito.” She shrugged, her lips curving up into a smile. “Your choice.”
Piper leaned over. “Back off, Barker. She’s got you cornered.”
Jackson raised his hands in the classic sign of surrender. “I concede. You get dibs on Cole.”
The entire group laughed. A moment later, the conference room door opened, and the sheriff strolled in followed by Jackson’s boss, Lieutenant Vikki Rodriguez. The next few minutes were spent getting everyone settled with snacks and beverages.
“Okay, let’s get started, people.” Derek settled in his chair, then tilted his head one way and then the other, as if his neck was stiff. His dark hair was damp from a recent shower, his uniform clean and pressed, but his expression was grumpy. Jackson could hardly blame him. Within a few days, the town had a murder, a shooting at the sheriff’s department, and a bombing in a neighborhood. The media scrutiny was intense. “What did Elena’s tablet tell us?”
“She was having an affair with Shawn Kingston.” Piper passed around packets she’d prepared for the task meeting. “Text messages, phone calls, and photographs all confirm the relationship. It started a year ago, and according to the messages, ended two weeks before her death.”
“Who ended it?” Jackson asked, flipping through the pages. Dozens of texts and phone calls happened between Shawn and Elena. They were flirty but also sometimes intimate. The relationship wasn’t a mere fling.
“Elena did. Based on her messages, she was done being a mistress. Shawn was unwilling to end his marriage. That left Elena with no choice.”
Piper rose, intending to circle the table to the whiteboard. The window of the conference room had been replaced since the shooting, the bullet holes in the walls patched and the damaged chair removed, but Jackson still had the sudden urge to grab Piper’s hand so she’d stay next to him. But that wouldn’t be professional. Or reasonable. So he curled his hands into fists to tamp down the impulse.
She used a marker to add dates to the timeline. “Shawn repeatedly attempted to get Elena back. He sent dozens of messages and called her numerous times. Even sent flowers to her house. She deliberately ignored him. Three days later, she was dead.”
Silence filled the room. All of them had worked enough cases to know that rejection could turn into deadly obsession. Jackson’s stomach soured at the thought of his childhood friend luring Elena to the woods to beat and kill her. “Do we know why Elena went to the nature preserve? Who was she meeting?”
“It’s unclear. She received a phone call from an unknown number about an hour before her death. The killer used a burner phone to hide his identity. I’ve traced the purchase of the phone to a store three counties over. The person paid cash. I attempted to obtain security footage from the store, but it’s deleted every three days. Since the phone was purchased five days ago, the footage is gone.”
Frustration nipped at Jackson. It would’ve made things a lot easier if there was security footage of the killer buying the cell phone. He did a quick calculation in his head. “The killer bought the phone two days before Elena was killed.”
“Yes.” Piper’s mouth flattened into a thin line. “This was premeditated. The only communication between our victim and the burner phone was this one call to set up the meeting at the nature preserve.”
“If Elena had ignored Shawn’s texts and other gestures, why would she agree to meet him?” Daniel asked as he flipped through the pages. “Seems to me, she was purposefully avoiding him. In fact… why call her at all? They worked at the same place. He could’ve arranged the meeting in person. It would’ve been a lot easier and untraceable.”
Jackson had to admit his fellow ranger had a point. Shawn was clearly upset over the end of his relationship with Elena, but that didn’t make him a killer.
“We need to be careful,” Derek said, echoing Jackson’s thoughts. “I don’t want to narrow our investigation to one person. According to several neighbors, Wally Hutchinson threatened Elena openly. He was furious with her for helping his ex move out. He’s abusive and aggressive and has been arrested for violence against women in the past.”
“Wally’s also missing,” Felicity added. “No one has seen or heard from him since Wednesday afternoon. I checked with the Watering Hole, which is a bar Wally and his brother frequent. The bartender confirmed both men were there from about noon until 4:30 or so. Then they left with Gerdie.”
“All together?” Piper asked. “Todd told us he stayed for a few hours at the bar after Wally left.”
“Not according to the bartender. They closed out their tab at 4:32, and he says left right after. All together. I asked for the security footage, but the cameras above the door and the register are broken. The system hasn’t worked in two years.”
“The meeting between Elena and her killer was set for 5:00.” Lieutenant Rodriguez ran a hand over her dark ponytail before tossing the strands over her shoulder. “How far is the bar from the nature preserve?”
“About 15 mins. Wally could’ve easily driven to the parking lot to meet Elena with time to spare. Did they take separate cars to the bar?”
“No way to know for certain. The parking lot doesn’t have cameras.”
Jackson mulled that over. “Todd says he met his brother there, but he lied to us about what time he left, so I wouldn’t take anything he said as gospel. Did the bartender notice if they came in together?”
“He didn’t, but Wally left work around 12:45. It matches the timeline if he drove directly to the bar.” Felicity shrugged. “Having said that, Todd’s house isn’t far from the bar. Wally could’ve picked up his brother along the way.”
“Would Elena have agreed to meet with Wally?” Piper challenged. “Or his brother, Todd. Considering what she knew about Wally—including the fact that he’s an abuser and had openly threatened her—I seriously doubt she’d have agreed to meet either of them in a secluded location.”
“We don’t know what the killer said to her,” Daniel argued back. “All we know is there was a phone call.”
Felicity nodded. “According to the bartender, Wally was hanging out with a woman for most of the afternoon. Gerdie James. Apparently, she and Wally go way back and have dated off and on for years. She left with the Hutchinson brothers. It’s possible they asked Gerdie to make the call to Elena to arrange the meeting.”
Piper nodded. “There are photos of Gerdie and Elena together on social media. They knew each other.”
Jackson’s worry for the woman deepened. She could’ve unwittingly helped with the murder. He could easily imagine a scenario where Wally convinced—or threatened—Gerdie to call Elena claiming to have a flat tire or some other kind of car trouble. Based on what they knew about Elena, she would’ve come to her friend’s aid.
“Where’s Gerdie?” Derek asked.
“She’s missing. Hasn’t been seen since leaving the bar with Wally. Right now, there’s no way to know if she’s willingly with Wally or if she’s being held against her will. Or…” Felicity winced. “She’s dead.”
A dark feeling settled over the group like a heavy cloak. Jackson sent up a prayer for Gerdie’s safety. If Wally had killed Elena, there was no telling the horrors he was capable of.
“A BOLO has been issued on Wally’s vehicle,” Felicity continued. “So far, it hasn’t been spotted. We’re also interviewing coworkers and neighbors, but no one can tell us where he is. There’s not any evidence tying Wally to Elena’s murder, so we don’t have enough for a search warrant of his residence. Even if we did, it wouldn’t help much. He was living at a pay-as-you-go hotel and hasn’t paid rent in two weeks. They evicted him on the same day Elena died. ”
“Could he have been living with his brother?” Lieutenant Rodriguez asked.
“We spoke to the neighbors. No one saw him there, but that doesn’t mean much. In that neighborhood, they mind their business. Mrs. Wainwright was the most helpful and she hadn’t seen Wally’s truck around lately.”
Piper shrugged. “Doesn’t mean much. If he’s late on his rent, he’s probably late on his truck payment. He might be hiding the vehicle to prevent them from repossessing it.”
Jackson leaned back in his chair. “I tried to interview Todd again after the bombing this afternoon. No one answered the door. His truck and his dog were gone.” His jaw tightened. “Whoever set the bomb was close enough to watch as Piper and I entered Elena’s house. It was a targeted attack. Todd’s house has a clear line of sight. He also knew we were there because we spoke to him before going across the street.”
“Todd doesn’t have the same criminal record as his brother,” Daniel passed out his own packet of papers. “Wally has been in and out of trouble for decades. His charges are extensive and he’s bounced in and out of prison. Todd, on the other hand, hasn’t been in trouble for years. Not since his twenties. A history of breaking and entering, one charge of domestic violence that was dropped, and a few drug charges that were pled down. Then nothing for almost a decade, until recently. He was arrested last year for possession of marijuana during a routine traffic stop. The charges were later dropped. ”
“Either of these guys have experience building explosives?” Lieutenant Rodriguez asked.
“Wally spent some time in the military before being dishonorably discharged for assaulting his girlfriend. He didn’t work specifically in the bomb-making squad, but he lived with a guy who did. It’s possible he picked up a thing or two from his roommate.”
“Let’s interview the roommate and find out.”
Daniel nodded. “On it.”
Jackson flipped through Todd’s arrest record. “Paul Kingston represented Todd in his recent drug charge. What about Wally?”
“Shawn is listed as his attorney,” Felicity said. “It’s not surprising, though, right? The Kingstons are well-known criminal defense attorneys.”
Jackson nodded absently, but his mind was whirling. “The Kingston Law Firm also represented Marcus, the man who shot at Piper yesterday morning. So far, everyone involved in this case has ties to them. Including Elena.”
“What are you suggesting?” Derek asked.
“I’m not entirely sure. It seems far too coincidental that Piper was shot at and then nearly blown up right after Elena’s murder. There’s no direct evidence to connect these crimes together, but it’s the only thing that makes sense. If the killer was merely trying to destroy evidence, he could’ve blown up Elena’s house at any time. He specifically waited for Piper and me to enter. So, let’s assume the incidents are all connected for a moment. What do we know about the gun Marcus used? Is it the same one that killed Elena?”
“No. It’s connected to a robbery in Houston from five years ago. Store clerk was shot and killed. No suspects.” Derek frowned. “Marcus couldn’t have committed the crime. He was in county lockup at the time on a disorderly charge.”
“Criminals sometimes give weapons to their attorneys, don’t they?” Piper asked. “Unless charges were filed, the Kingston Law Firm would have no obligation to hand the weapon over to the prosecution.”
“True, but Marcus and the Hutchinson brothers live in the same neighborhood,” Derek pointed out. “It’s reasonable to assume they knew each other. One of them could have given the gun to Marcus.”
Jackson nodded. He studied the whiteboard. A few crime scene photos were tacked up, held in place by magnets. “Elena was beaten before being stabbed. That’s a lot of rage. It’s personal. And Shawn lied to us about the affair with Elena.”
Felicity shrugged. “Maybe he didn’t want his wife to find out. Shawn wouldn’t be the first person to lie about an affair.”
“True, but I offered him a chance to come clean about the affair and I would do everything in my power to keep it quiet. He’s response was hostile.” The reaction didn’t sit well. “What if Shawn and Wally are in it together? Shawn could’ve lured Elena to the parking lot under false pretenses, claiming he needed help, and then killed her. It could explain why Elena’s cell was taken by the killer, along with her purse. Shawn didn’t want us to uncover the affair they were having. Things got complicated when Elena ran into Piper though. Now Shawn has a detective and a Texas Ranger on his tail.”
Derek frowned. “So he hires Wally to do what? Kill you two. That would only put more focus on the case. It makes far more sense that Wally is behind all of this. He kills Elena to get revenge and then targeted Piper because he’s worried she saw something and can identify him. It explains why he disappeared after the murder.”
“Do Wally and Marcus know each other?” Lieutenant Rodriguez asked.
Piper nodded. “They live in the same neighborhood and went to school together.”
“Then I have to agree with Sheriff Martinez. It’s a stretch to believe Shawn would hire Wally. We won’t ignore the possibility, but without solid evidence, it’s unwise to put our focus there. Our primary objective should be finding Wally and Todd. As far as I’m concerned, they’re persons of interest in this matter. Has anyone filed a missing person report for Gerdie?”
Felicity nodded. “Her sister did.”
“Good. We need to put resources into finding her too.”
There was a knock on the conference room door. When Derek barked for the person to enter, a deputy stuck his head in the door. “Sorry to interrupt, sir, but the Kingstons are here to see you. They insist on speaking to you and Ranger Barker about the murder case. ”
Jackson’s brows arched. “They found out we know about the affair.”
“Probably.” Derek pushed away from the table. “That’s okay. I have a few questions of my own. While it’s likely these crimes are connected, we don’t have solid evidence linking them. For the time being, Elena’s murder case is separate from the bombing and yesterday’s shooting. Shawn hasn’t been cleared from the suspect list. Since he had an affair with Elena, he had motive to want her dead. We need to keep working until we can eliminate him.”
“I’ll coordinate with Daniel and Felicity about the interviews and evidence we still need to review,” Lieutenant Rodriguez said. “I may include another few rangers to the task force since you’re short-staffed, sheriff.” Her expression darkened. “I don’t take kindly to someone coming after a fellow law enforcement officer. It doesn’t help when one of my men is getting caught in the crossfire.”
The lieutenant was very protective of her team. It was one of the reasons she’d attended the meeting today. No one would get away with threatening someone on Company A. Not on her watch.
Derek gave her a sharp nod. “It’s appreciated, Lieutenant.” He started for the door. “Jackson, Piper, you’re with me.”
Jackson rose, collecting his cowboy hat from the table and settling it on his head. Interviewing Shawn again took some mental preparation. He hardened his heart as his gaze swept across the whiteboard. These cases were connected. He was sure of it. Shawn’s reaction when he was questioned about Elena was suspicious. Maybe he was covering up his affair, but Jackson had a feeling there was more to it. Shawn could’ve hired Wally to kill Piper. If nothing else, it would help cover up the true motive for Elena’s murder.
Jackson’s gaze met Piper’s for a moment. The questions rolling through his mind were reflected in her eyes.
Were they about to face off with a killer?