Chapter Nine
Judson stood in the shower in Addie’s bathroom, hoping the hot water would perform some kind of magic. And fast.
He needed the cobwebs clear from his head. Cobwebs caused by the lack of sleep since he hadn’t managed more than a couple of hours throughout the night. Hard to sleep while worrying about Addie and the twins’ safety. Also, by being in the same room with her, mere feet away.
Yeah, that hadn’t been easy.
His body hadn’t let him forget how close she was or the lingering effects of that kiss they’d shared. Nope. No forgetting that. It was just as powerful as the other things going on in his mind and body.
Including the flashbacks.
Not just of the attack against Addie and him but also the call from Yvette. He could still hear the sound of her scream echoing through those cobwebs. It had seemed genuine. Like the woman had been terrified for her life.
But there was a problem with that.
They didn’t know where Yvette was because they hadn’t been able to trace the call. So, if she had indeed been screaming because of some horrible threat, her attacker could already have killed her and silenced her for good.
Being a cop all these years had made him enough of a cynic to believe this was all some ploy to make herself appear innocent. It wouldn’t work. If Yvette was alive and they could find her, she was going to pay for what she’d done.
Judson heard the dinging sound of a text, so he got out of the shower and glanced at his phone on the vanity.
It was from Grace, updating him on the schedule.
It wasn’t his boss’s first text of the day.
She had sent one an hour earlier to let him know that Shane’s and Jennifer’s interviews were still on for the morning and that she’d be talking to the ME about Courtney’s autopsy.
Yeah, plenty going on, but so far, they still didn’t have the answers they needed to get a break in the investigation.
Judson texted back a thumbs-up emoji to Grace and gulped down the rest of the mug of coffee that he’d taken into the bathroom with him.
Not his first cup, despite it being barely 8:00 a.m. He’d had that first one as he sat with the twins while Addie showered, and as soon as he made it back to the kitchen, he’d be tanking up on yet more caffeine.
He dressed in the clean clothes that Livvy had had brought over, putting on his holster and weapon, before he went into the bedroom. Addie was right where he’d left her, in the rocking chair with Rose. The baby had finished her bottle, though, and Addie was burping her.
“I heard your phone,” Addie said, the worry in her eyes.
Of course, the worry had been there since the start of this ordeal, and sadly, it likely wouldn’t be going away anytime soon.
“It was a text from Grace,” he explained, going to the bassinet to check on Lily.
She was still sacked out. “Trevor is on his way here. Grace decided to do the interview with him here rather than the police station. This way, she doesn’t have to split the manpower and we can continue to show a strong police presence here. ”
“In case of another attack,” Addie finished for him.
Judson had to make a sound of agreement. “Right now, there are three cruisers parked out front and four cops inside the house. Grace, Livvy, Bennie and me. The shooter might think twice before trying to come at us again.”
Addie no doubt mentally played out what would happen later today. Grace, Livvy and Bennie couldn’t stay here indefinitely, and the shooter could just wait for an opening. The danger wasn’t over and wouldn’t be until the killer and/or their attacker was caught.
“Trevor will be thoroughly searched before Grace allows him to step foot inside,” Judson explained. “And she’s going to ask if he’ll submit to having his vehicle searched as well.”
If Trevor refused, then Grace would get a search warrant. Trevor wasn’t automatically guilty by association with his kidnapping wife, but simply being married to her should be enough to convince a judge that the cops needed to take a harder look at the man.
“Did Grace say anything about Yvette?” Addie asked in a whisper.
Judson shook his head. “No update on her.”
Because they hadn’t been able to trace the call, they had no idea where the woman was. Basically, they had to wait for Yvette to call them again. Or for someone to spot her.
Or for her body to turn up.
Despite the hell that Yvette had put Addie through by abducting the twins, Judson didn’t wish the woman dead. Just the opposite. They needed Yvette alive and talking, especially if she’d been telling the truth when she claimed she had taken the babies to try to protect them.
That claim had cost Judson some sleep and was even now going through his head. It was too bad Yvette hadn’t spilled more info and named names. And Judson had given that some thinking time, too. Yvette likely would have been reluctant to rat out her own kids and her husband, so who did that leave?
Courtney?
There was no proof whatsoever that the social worker had wanted to kidnap the twins.
And that no proof applied to anyone else.
There hadn’t been any threats and there wasn’t any chatter on the dark web about abducting the babies.
Of course, that didn’t mean such a threat hadn’t existed, but at the moment, everything still pointed to Yvette as the perpetrator of the crime.
Addie sighed, drawing his attention back to her, and she got to her feet. Like her sister, Rose was sleeping, too, and she didn’t even stir when Addie eased her into the bassinet.
“What about Jennifer and Shane?” she asked, still whispering. “Please tell me they didn’t disappear.”
It was a valid worry, since Grace had cut both of them loose for the night. For Shane, there’d been no grounds to hold him, and his lawyer had put up enough fuss for Grace to allow Shane to leave with the promise he would return to the station in the morning to answer more questions.
Jennifer’s situation had been different since she had been found at the scene with a knife and Courtney’s blood, but there was still no evidence that she’d been the one to attack Courtney.
In fact, the lab hadn’t been able to find any of Jennifer’s DNA on Courtney or in her vehicle.
It was enough for Grace to allow the woman to leave—again with the stipulation that she return for an interview.
“They haven’t disappeared,” Judson assured her, but he didn’t get a chance to add more because there was a soft tap at the door.
“It’s me,” Etta Jean said.
Since the door was locked, Judson crossed the room to let the woman in. Like Addie and him, there was plenty of fatigue and stress on Etta Jean’s face, too, and she was carrying two mugs of coffee.
“I figured you could both use this,” she immediately said, handing the mugs off to them. “There’s also plenty of breakfast stuff in the kitchen. I made some bacon, eggs and biscuits and left it all warming on the stove.”
“Thanks,” Judson said after he’d gulped down some of the coffee.
He was sure his fellow cops and the ranch hands would appreciate the food. He would, too, since he’d need to fuel up to help with the fatigue, and he might be able to convince Addie to eat something as well.
“I’ll stay with the babies as long as needed,” Etta Jean added. She paused. “Any idea when we’ll know…something?” she settled for saying.
Judson had to shake his head. “But there’ll be at least three interviews this morning, and we might get something from one of those.”
Etta Jean nodded, sighed and patted his arm. “Let me know the second you learn anything.”
He assured her that he would, and Judson got Addie moving out of the bedroom and toward the kitchen. Apparently, others had had the same notion of fueling up and grabbing coffee, because they stepped in to find Grace and one of the ranch hands, Ty Matheson.
“Morning,” Grace greeted, stepping to the side to make room for them at the stove. “How are you holding up?” she asked Addie.
Addie made a so-so motion with her hand. “The twins slept well enough.”
“But not you.” Grace sighed. “Eat up, because you’re going to need it. We have a long day ahead of us.” She was chowing down on a biscuit that she’d stuffed with bacon and scrambled eggs. “Trevor’s ETA is fifteen minutes,” she tacked on to that.
Not much time, so Judson made two of the breakfast sandwiches and handed one to Addie. Grace motioned for them to sit at the massive kitchen table.
“I didn’t put it in the text, but the background report came through on Elijah,” Grace started. “This will probably come as a surprise, but the man has no criminal record.”
It was indeed a surprise. “His hot temper hasn’t gotten him into legal trouble,” Judson commented.
“Oh, it has,” Grace corrected while Judson and Addie both took a bite of their sandwiches.
“He was detained after a bar fight a year ago, but no one pressed charges after he agreed to pay for the damages. Elijah doesn’t come from money or have a huge settlement like Yvette,” she added.
“Nor does he have a high-paying job. Still, he somehow managed to come up with the cash.”
“Maybe he got it from Jennifer?” Judson suggested, washing down his sandwich with more coffee.
Grace lifted her shoulder. “Possibly, but she’s not exactly rolling in dough, either. In fact, both Elijah and she are pretty much broke.”
“Which could be motive for kidnapping babies,” Addie piped in. “Yvette said she took the twins to protect them.” She stopped, shuddered. “Maybe she was protecting them from Elijah.”
“It’s possible,” Grace admitted. “Elijah doesn’t have an alibi for, well…anything related to the investigation. Not for the kidnapping or for the attack. So, he could have planned to take the twins for ransom, thinking either you or Yvette would pay it.”