Chapter Ten
Addie felt as if someone had punched her. When this hellish ordeal with Yvette had started, she certainly hadn’t expected Rowena to be added to mix.
“Come on,” Grace told Trevor, leading him into the dining room. “Let’s get all this on the record.” She had him sit at the table and then went back to join Addie and Judson in the hall.
“This might not be true,” Grace said, obviously noticing that Addie had gotten that gut punch. “Yvette could have made it all up. Or Trevor could be the liar. Just don’t jump to any conclusions yet.”
Too late. Addie had already made that jump, and she was coming up with a very disturbing possibility. Had Rowena been the one to spur Yvette into kidnapping Lily and Rose?
“First things first,” Grace went on, shifting to Judson. “Call and find out where this Rowena is and if Yvette is with her.”
Judson nodded and stepped to the side to make the call. Grace stayed with Addie and took hold of her shoulders, forcing her to make eye contact. “Tell me about Rowena. When’s the last time you saw her?”
It took Addie a couple of seconds to drag in enough breath to speak.
“I haven’t seen her since I was six. But yesterday, she called to tell me she was dying and that she wanted to see me.
” She stopped, had to, because she got another of those punches.
“Rowena could have set up the kidnapping as a way to force me to see her. She could have arranged for Yvette to bring the babies to her.”
“I won’t rule that out,” Grace said, “but at the moment just focus on the details. If Rowena’s in jail—”
“She’s not,” Addie interrupted. “She’s been released and is in some medical treatment facility in San Antonio. Judging from the route Yvette was taking to escape with the twins, she could have been heading in that direction.”
Grace cursed under her breath. “All right. I’ll get someone out there right away to check on—” But she stopped when Judson finished his call and came back over to join them.
“I just spoke to the director at Serenity Springs Care Facility, where Rowena is a patient,” Judson explained. “Yvette isn’t there. In fact, Rowena hasn’t had any visitors since she arrived two days ago.”
That eased some of the knotted muscles in her stomach and chest, but Addie was nowhere near ready to relax. “Rowena and Yvette could have worked out the kidnapping when Rowena was still in jail. The two could still be in contact.”
Grace’s forehead bunched up while she glanced at Trevor. “Okay, let me do this interview, and then I’ll drive to San Antonio and have a chat with Rowena.”
The words had no sooner left her mouth than Judson’s phone rang, and Addie saw the name of the treatment facility on his screen. That bad feeling returned with a vengeance.
Judson moved them farther away from the dining room, no doubt so Trevor wouldn’t be able to hear, and he took the call on speaker. “This is Deputy Judson Docherty,” he said.
Addie expected to hear the facility director’s voice, maybe telling them that Rowena escaped. But it wasn’t.
It was Rowena.
“I understand you just contacted Serenity Springs about me,” Rowena said, skipping any greeting. “I was in the room with the director when she got the call,” she added. “Yvette isn’t here.”
“When’s the last time you saw her?” Judson was quick to ask.
But Rowena certainly wasn’t quick to answer. “I won’t get into that over the phone, but I will tell Addie and you in person. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
Now, it was Addie who cursed, and it wasn’t under her breath. “That’s blackmail,” Addie spat out.
“Yes, it is,” Rowena readily admitted. “But I need to see you, and if this is the way I can make that happen, then I’ll use it.”
“This is Sheriff Granger.” Grace spoke up, the anger rising in her voice. “I can charge you with obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting a fugitive. You’ll be sent back to prison and take your dying breath there.”
Rowena coughed. “You could do that, and then I’ll take what I know about Yvette to the grave. I’ve got nothing to lose, Sheriff Granger, by staying silent, because no matter what I do, I’ll be dead in a couple of weeks.”
“Fine,” Grace snarled. “I’ll send someone from SAPD over there now to arrest you.”
“Wait,” Addie mouthed, not saying it aloud since she didn’t want Rowena to hear it. “Mute your phone,” she told Judson and didn’t add anything else until he had done that. “I can go see her.”
“You can’t,” Judson snapped just as Grace insisted, “No need. I’m calling her bluff.”
“It’s not a bluff,” Addie muttered. “Her one and only goal is to see me, and she’ll risk going back to jail to get a chance at that happening.”
Grace groaned and did more cursing. “You don’t have to do this,” she told Addie.
“I know,” Addie replied, but it didn’t exactly feel like an option. “As long as Yvette is at large, the babies are likely in danger. Judson and me, too. Heck, anyone around us as well. If Rowena has any inkling of where we can find Yvette, then it’s something I need to do.”
Grace didn’t look convinced. Judson certainly didn’t, either. And while Addie was dreading this, dreading it all the way to her bones, she would do it for those precious babies. She’d face down the monster who’d killed her mother and kidnapped her and hopefully get the truth about Yvette.
“All right,” Grace said after what felt like an eternity of hesitation. “The two of you go to San Antonio. And take Livvy with you.”
Addie shook her head. “No. I want her to stay here. I want all the protection possible for Lily and Rose.”
Grace shook her head, too. “I’ll be here.
So will Bennie and two of the ranch hands.
But there’s no way I’ll send Judson and you out there alone without backup.
Go and have Livvy follow in a cruiser. That way, if the killer sees two cop cars, he or she might think twice about launching another attack. ”
Addie wanted to argue with that, but then she remembered this wasn’t just about her. Judson would go with her, she had zero doubts about that, and it meant he’d be in danger.
“All right,” Addie agreed. She turned to Judson. “Can we leave now? The sooner we get this done, the better. I don’t want to sit around here thinking about it.”
His expression morphed from deep concern to anger, which she didn’t think was directed at her but rather Rowena. “Okay,” he finally said. “But I stay with you during the visit. You’re not doing that solo, even if Rowena insists on it.”
Addie had no trouble agreeing to that. This visit would be beyond hard, but without Judson, it felt impossible. Besides, Judson was the cop, and this could serve as an official interview.
“Just let me give the babies a quick kiss goodbye,” Addie insisted, hurrying toward her bedroom.
She stepped into the room and found them both asleep. Etta Jean was folding laundry on the bed, and she must have seen something in Addie’s expression, because she immediately asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I just have to visit someone,” Addie settled for saying. “Judson’s going with me. If you need anything, let Bennie or Grace know. And call me if there’s any sign of trouble.”
Etta Jean gave a shaky nod and kept her gaze pinned to Addie as she gave each baby a kiss on the cheek. Addie gave Etta Jean a hug, too, and then hurried back out to find Judson waiting for her at the door.
“The cruisers are ready,” he let her know.
Clearly, he still wasn’t convinced this was the right thing to do, but he didn’t hesitate getting them out of the house and into the waiting cop car. Livvy was already in her vehicle, and they took off, heading toward San Antonio.
“Should I call the treatment center and let them know we’re coming?” Addie asked.
“No. I don’t want anyone there knowing our plans. Especially Rowena. She could call the person who attacked us.”
Oh, mercy. Addie hadn’t even considered that, but it was a possibility. Rowena had made it seem as if she’d wanted to say goodbye, but the woman could have something sinister in mind.
Like trying to kill Addie for rejecting her.
“If you want to change your mind about this visit, I can turn around and take you home,” Judson offered.
“No.” Addie steeled herself up and mentally repeated that a couple of times. “I want to find out anything Rowena knows about Yvette.”
Judson’s jaw muscles tightened, but he didn’t turn around. However, he did keep watch around them as they headed toward the interstate, and he used a voice command to call the prison where Rowena had been an inmate. It took him several minutes to work his way to the warden.
“Curtis Sanchez,” the man said when he came on the line.
“Deputy Judson Docherty from Renegade Canyon PD. I’m pressed for time, and I’m hoping you can help me. Rowena Matthews’s name had come up as connected to a fugitive wanted for abducting two infants. Yvette Cates.”
“Yes, I saw that on the news,” Sanchez said, but then he paused. “How’s Cates connected to Rowena?”
“It’s possible they were friends. I need you to tell me if Yvette ever visited Rowena while she was incarcerated?”
“Hold on a second and I can check that.” They heard the clicks of a keyboard in the background, and it didn’t take long for the man to come back on the line. “Yes, she did. Lots of times. Three visits in the last two weeks. Before that, Yvette came about every other month.”
So, something had caused those visits to increase. But what? Had the women been planning the trip to the Horseshoe Ranch to get the twins, or was this about something else?
“Were the visits monitored?” Judson pressed. “In other words, were they recorded?”
“Supervised but not recorded,” Sanchez admitted. “Rowena wasn’t considered a flight risk. In fact, while she was here, she was a model prisoner, which was why she was granted medical release. Why? Do you think Rowena had a part in the abduction of those babies?”