Chapter Three #3
“I believe so. As I recall, she hadn’t told him she was divorcing him because she feared his reaction.
She’d developed what she thought was a secret and safe exit plan.
I remember that he told her she’d never leave him right before he grabbed the wheel the final time, so it seems he’d found out.
He was a PI, after all, so it makes sense that he’d see the signs that she was ready to fly the coop. ”
Ronan wondered what had finally driven her to leave. What had been the straw that broke the camel’s back? “He sounds like a piece of work.”
“He was. It was a major scandal when it happened. She practiced family law and a lot of her clients were women fleeing abusive spouses. That she’d stayed with Todd so long after advocating for women to get out of relationships just like hers was embarrassing for her when it came out.”
“Must have been. Do what I say, not what I do.”
“Yeah. Look, I’m sure you’ll find her cooperative, Detective. She had a good reputation here in town. She did a lot of pro bono work, especially with the victims of domestic violence.”
“Did you know she’d become a bounty hunter?”
“Oh yeah. Her rescue of that kid from the burning building made the news here, too. Her father was prouder than a peacock.” Bellinger chuckled. “He made sure everyone knew.”
Ronan wondered why she hadn’t continued practicing family law after moving to California. It had been more than three years. He’d have thought that the embarrassment would have faded by now. Or maybe there was a darker reason. “She wasn’t disbarred or anything like that?”
“No. There was an investigation, of course. There were two fatalities in addition to her husband. She avoided three other vehicles, but a fourth overcompensated when she swerved to get her car to the shoulder. It rolled and the driver and front-seat passenger were killed. There was a kid in the back who survived. He was injured but made a full recovery.”
“Was she charged with any of the deaths?”
“No, Elle was found to be not at fault. The driver of the car that rolled had been drinking, too. His BA was just under the legal limit but he might have been charged if he’d lived.
He was definitely impaired, which explained his overreaction to her evasive maneuvers.
Elle’s side of the story was fully documented by the other drivers and by her husband, ironically enough.
Todd was a PI, and they were in his work vehicle, where he had dashcams for both inside the car and outside.
They showed that her version of things was one hundred percent true. ”
“All right, then.” Now Ronan was even more curious. Why bounty hunting? That was not a career change he would have predicted. “Thank you, Sergeant.”
“You’re welcome. Look, if you do catch up to her, tell her that she’s missed.
She did a lot of good here in Sarasota. She passed her law practice on to her assistant, but she doesn’t do the levels of pro bono work that Elle did.
She needs the cash to live, while Elle didn’t.
Todd’s family is loaded and Elle was, too, after he died.
She inherited his assets. I think she might have done some of the pro bono regardless, though.
I worked with Elle once, when I was on patrol.
She was new to the system and all I’m-gonna-make-a-difference.
I thought she’d grow jaded with time. As far as I could see, she never did. ”
“Thank you,” Ronan said again. “This makes me hopeful that she’ll be a help in my investigation and not a hindrance. Do you know anything about her partner? Sara Lambert?”
“From what I remember hearing in the break room, she and Elle were old college friends, but that’s all I know.”
Ronan wished him a good day and ended the call.
This was encouraging.
Now he just had to find the two women. He picked up the phone and called the first inn on his list.
Fort Bragg, California
Wednesday, January 21, 8:50 a.m.
“You got eyes on them?” Howard asked, his voice a little staticky over Ronan’s cell phone.
“Yes, I do.” Ronan kept his gaze fixed on the entrance to the hotel at the harbor where the Noyo River met the ocean.
It was one of the fancier establishments in town, so the fact that the bounty hunters had chosen it was no surprise.
“They’re just going in. I’m about to head inside to find out who they’re tracking.
As soon as I have their statement, I’ll call you. ”
“Good work, Ronan. How did you know they’d be there?”
“I called most of the inns up and down the coast this morning. I wanted to find out if these two bounty hunters had questioned any of the other innkeepers, but they hadn’t. Just Dianne Foster.”
“They targeted her for a reason, then.”
“That’s my thinking. Whoever they were asking about got Dianne emotional. She was wiping her eyes while talking to them.”
“And we’re sure her fool nephew is behind bars?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Ronan had called the jail this morning to double-check. “So they aren’t hunting for him. Anyway, Judith Kingman at the Harbor View Inn called me an hour ago. Told me they’d reserved a room online and paid for early check-in.”
“Where were they for the past few nights between leaving Dianne’s inn and now?”
“I don’t know. I’m hoping they’ll tell me, but I understand they’re not inclined to share with law enforcement. If they don’t cooperate, I’ll get a warrant for their personal and company credit cards.”
“I’ll tell Cliff to be ready to do the legwork.”
“Thanks.” The clerk who supported the sheriff’s department was amazingly thorough at his job. “I need to drive to Santa Rosa to interview Dianne’s nephew when I’m done here, so I appreciate his help. I’m going in now. I’ll call you later.”
Judith Kingman was the owner and day manager of the Harbor View Inn. He’d hadn’t known her as long as some of the other businesspeople in the area as she was a new transplant, but she seemed to be a good person. She’d called him as soon as she’d seen the bounty hunters’ reservation on her computer.
She glanced at him when he entered but went back to checking the two women in, giving him a moment to study the hunters.
They were physically very different. Sara Lambert was tiny and Giselle Randolph towered over her.
Randolph was closer to Ronan’s height, especially with the boots she was wearing.
Lambert looked like she weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet. She appeared wiry, though. He could see the muscle definition in her arms through the thin jacket she wore. He wouldn’t underestimate her.
It was hard to get a read on Randolph’s build, however. She wore a heavy parka and gloves. Ronan rolled his eyes. It wasn’t even that cold outside.
Unless they’d come from somewhere colder.
Lambert recognized his presence first, throwing a narrow-eyed glance over her shoulder. In tune with her partner, Randolph shifted so that she could see around the hood of her parka.
He hoped she didn’t plan on chasing anyone with that heavy coat on. Her field of vision was severely compromised.
As if reading his mind, she pulled off the gloves and then the coat, revealing a thin black leather jacket. It looked like the same jacket she’d worn while doing that press conference after saving the child from the burning building.
The jacket was tailored well. If Ronan hadn’t been specifically looking for it, he would have missed the slight bulge under her left arm.
She was carrying.
So was Lambert.
“Your room is ready,” Judith was telling them. “Do you have any questions?”