Chapter Thirteen
Chapter
Thirteen
Garrett stared at the sheriff, putting all his will
into the glare. “I would like to see my client.”
The sheriff sat back in his chair. “Your client is being
booked, and once that process is finished, you can talk to him. I’ve heard he’s
being…difficult.”
“You hauled him out in handcuffs. You didn’t ask him to come
in for questioning. You didn’t ask him anything at all and yet you cuffed him,
and don’t think I didn’t miss how rough you were.”
The sheriff shrugged. “He was resisting arrest.”
Garrett wanted to explode. “He was trying to walk and your
deputies dragged him. He wasn’t resisting. He was trying to stay on his feet.”
“Well, he didn’t do a good job of it. You know he lost it in
the patrol car. We had to tase him to calm him down. Is there something wrong
with him?”
There was so much wrong. Bile threatened to rise at the
thought of what Keane had gone through. He’d tried to talk to them, tried to
reason, but the sheriff had explained that he could be brought in, too.
“I want to see the evidence against him.” He wasn’t about to
explain to the sheriff that Keane’s greatest fear was getting shoved into the
system again. He always said if he went back in, he wasn’t coming out.
“Take that up with the DA.” The sheriff gave him a lazy
smile. “Who is on a fishing trip. Won’t be back until Monday at least. You know
we can hold him until his bail hearing.”
“And when will that take place?”
Sheriff shrugged as though it didn’t bother him at all.
“Hopefully Monday, since the judge is off with the DA. Real good friends those
two. They go a long way back.”
He bet they did. He was walking into a corrupt system once
again. “I want to talk to him.”
“He ain’t asked for a lawyer.”
“Because you hit him with a Taser before he could,” Garrett
shot back. “I don’t understand this. Why would he try to kidnap Olivia?”
“I’ve been a sheriff for years and still don’t understand
the criminal mind. They do what they want. I suspect he has feelings for her
that aren’t returned. Ain’t you the one dating her?”
They’d been seen out more than she had with Keane. Keane’s
work kept him on the ranch most of the time, so all the business lunches were
him and Olivia. “We’re both dating her. He doesn’t need to kidnap a woman he
already has.”
The sheriff’s eyes narrowed. “Well, that’s interesting.
Maybe he had an accomplice.”
“I’m the one who saved her.” He didn’t add the word he
wanted to. Moron. The sheriff was looking for the easiest arrest possible, and
it happened to be Keane.
“Sometimes things get twisty,” the sheriff replied. “It
probably comes down to money. You trying to see if she’ll pay you to be her
bodyguard? Or maybe you’re trying to scare her so she’ll marry you without a
prenup. You’re going to want to do that quickly before Jack Barnes finds out.
That man might be older, but there’s still a devil inside him.”
“Jack Barnes is a good man, and I’m sick of how you all
treat him.”
A low laugh came out from the sheriff’s throat. “Well, he’s
a good man who I just updated, and he wants to make sure that friend of yours
stays right where he is. You two boys made a big mistake when you messed with
that man’s daughter.”
Jack knew about the arrest? “We didn’t mess with her. We
love her.”
“Tell it to a judge, son.” The sheriff looked up as the door
opened.
Deputy Morgan stood in the doorway looking far sterner than
the last time he’d seen her. Her eyes were flinty as she looked at the sheriff.
“Mr. Rollins is asking for his lawyer.”
“You get anything out of him?” the sheriff asked.
“Well, it was hard to interrogate the man when his teeth
were still chattering,” Deputy Morgan said. “You should check the voltage on
those Tasers. I don’t think they’re in compliance with state laws. The only
thing I’ve gotten out of him is the fact that he wants a lawyer.”
The sheriff sighed and then looked at the clock. “Well, I
should head up to the hospital and check on our victim. She’ll be damn happy we
have the perpetrator in custody. And Mr. Pace, you should remember if I find
evidence that you were involved, you won’t be his lawyer anymore. You’ll be his
cell mate.”
“I’ll take you to the interview room,” Deputy Morgan offered
flatly. “You can talk to him there.”
Garrett followed, a knot in his gut. “Have you heard
anything about Olivia?”
“She’s awake,” Deputy Morgan said, not looking back.
He would pull out his phone and call her, but she didn’t
have hers. “Has anyone put a trace on her cell phone?”
Deputy Morgan turned, one brow rising. “I know you think
we’re all hicks, but we do know how to put a trace on a cell phone. It was in a
truck in the hospital parking lot.”
“What?” Garrett’s heart stuttered. “Does she have a guard?
Is he back? Who’s watching her?”
She held up a hand. “Save it, Counselor. Honestly, it’s only
a matter of time before we bring you in.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means your friend was the last person to drive that
truck,” the deputy announced.
He was so confused. “You found her phone in the truck we
were driving? In Gabe’s truck?”
“Are you now stating that Gabriel Lodge had something to do
with this? Because from what I can tell you stole his car.”
“Olivia’s car is still in the shop. They’re waiting for her
tires to come in. We took two cars to The Barn—Gigi’s SUV and Gabe’s truck. I
had the keys to Gabe’s truck because Gigi wanted to have a couple of
margaritas, and she never touches a steering wheel if she’s had a drink. Gabe
told me he would drive her home and that Keane could take his if we wanted to
leave early.”
“Smart girl.” Deputy Morgan frowned and seemed to come to
some kind of decision. “You need to understand that the rest of the force might
be afraid of Jack Barnes and that’s why they’ll put everything they have into
this investigation, but I’ll do it because Olivia deserves it. I can’t believe
this is happening to her again.”
“What?” He needed someone to think this through. “What
happened to her?”
“A guy fucked her over trying to get her money,” Deputy
Morgan said with a sigh and what seemed like deep sympathy.
She was a smart woman. She seemed to think more than the
rest of the deputies he met. “How does faking her kidnapping do anything but
cause trouble for us?”
Her arms crossed over her chest. “You want her scared. I
should have remembered that most accusations are confessions. Isn’t this
exactly what you claimed those other men were doing?”
“They have reasons that it might put them in better
positions if Olivia is afraid. It puts me and Keane in a worse position.”
“Or she’s so scared she falls right into your arms.”
“She’s already in our arms, Deputy Morgan,” he pointed out.
“All this did was bring her father into it long before we’re ready. Do you
think Jack won’t protect his daughter?”
“Maybe you didn’t realize that.” But he could see she was
thinking about it.
“I have worked at Barnes-Fleetwood for two years. I live on
a ranch his son-in-law owns. Do you honestly believe I haven’t heard every
story? You can’t decide I’m some sort of master criminal but also stupid enough
to not understand the man who is my ultimate boss.”
“I never said you were a master criminal. This was actually
quite…” She stopped. “It was a clusterfuck. Like why dump the phone but keep
her purse? And that phone was sitting in the back of the truck.”
Now he had her. “Because whoever did this wanted what was on
her phone. He realized he didn’t get everything he needed from the fire because
Olivia took pictures.”
“All right,” the deputy allowed. “Let’s say I’m willing to
listen to another theory. I’m not the lead on this case and from what I can
tell Jack is already here and he’s the one who pointed the finger at Keane.”
It made no sense. “He doesn’t even know Keane.”
“He knows Keane’s got a record. Assault and battery.”
He felt his fists clench but forced himself to relax. He
hated that Keane had to deal with this. “Did you read all the reports? Not just
the prosecution. Did you read the defense reports?”
“Mr. Pace, I haven’t had time to read anything. I only know
that he spent three years at Huntsville,” Deputy Morgan replied.
“And that’s all you need to know.”
“Do you have a different story?” she asked.
“You know he was released.”
“After taking an Alford Plea,” she countered.
And he was done. “Deputy, if you aren’t familiar with why
they sometimes use that plea and the only real reason they would use it after a
conviction, then I suppose you’re like the rest of them. Which room is my
client in?”
Her jaw tightened, and for a moment he thought she would
argue with him, but she finally pointed to the end of the hall. “First door on
the left. He’s waiting. I am sorry for what happened to him. They shouldn’t
have used those Tasers.”
“I’ll want a full report, and I want the Tasers used put
into evidence. Though I suspect they’ll check out fine now,” Garrett said. He
started to walk away.
“I’ll get your report,” Deputy Morgan promised in a low
voice. “And I already have one of the Tasers. I’ll make sure no one can tamper
with it. And Garrett, I will think about what you said and I’ll read the full
file.”
He didn’t turn around. It was all he could ask from her.
He strode to the door, stopping where a deputy stood,
yawning.
“Is he cuffed to the table?” Garrett asked.
The deputy nodded. “Yeah, he tried to resist arrest. We
can’t let him run around. He’s violent.”
He was not going to kill anyone today. “I’m his attorney. I
want him out of the cuffs. Now. I already have a lawsuit over the Taser use. Do
I need to add this?”
“Do it, Tommy,” Deputy Morgan said. “I think Mr. Rollins
reaction was more about past trauma than a current violent state. I think it’s
safe enough.”
Tommy nodded and opened the door, walking in.
Garrett’s heart sank as he walked into that dank room and
saw Keane. He sat at the table, perfectly still. His eyes were on the wall in
front of him, and there was a blank stare that let Garrett know he wasn’t
really here. He didn’t show signs that he registered the deputy was uncuffing