Chapter Fifteen
The white sedan was parked in front of a small brown brick duplex. The concrete parking lot had buckled from last year’s drought. The Bronco’s suspension was more than adequate to handle the potholes and ridges created by the combination of too much heat and not enough rain.
Cooler weather had finally arrived. Winds had kicked up and the temperature had dropped ten degrees in the last half hour alone. He was still waiting for the full report as to what had been done to his truck. No surprise there since the black-haired female’s home wasn’t far from Kage’s apartment.
Sabrina Sanchos came up as the car’s registered owner.
The ride over had been quiet. Rochelle had been lost in thought, so he hadn’t wanted to disturb her. She’d been right about the perp targeting her.
“We should probably come up with a plan as to who leads this conversation,” she said to Camden after he found a visitor spot and parked. Rather than look at him, she stared out the front windshield. “Unless you want to play it by ear.”
“Why don’t you take the lead?” he suggested, figuring a woman might open up to another woman about being jilted easier than she would to a man.
“Okay,” she said, absently.
He exited the driver’s side and then rounded the front of the Bronco before opening her door.
Taking his hand, she climbed out of the vehicle. “It’s not him,” she finally said. “There’s no way he would shoot at me in front of his door. Kage ran away from us. He wouldn’t risk getting close again.”
“Let’s go see if we can figure out who is impersonating him,” Camden said.
“What do we know about his birth certificate?” she asked.
“Those are public record,” he said. “I’ll see what we can discover.” He fired off a text with the request for research.
He followed her to 316A, hanging back. From here, the TV volume sounded through thin walls.
Rochelle knocked at the door. Nothing.
As she lifted her knuckle to go for round two, the door opened. “Hello. My name is Detective Rochelle Paddock with Austin police. I have a few questions about Kage Durham.”
“Who?”
“Detective—”
“Not you,” the black-haired woman said. “I don’t know who you’re asking about.”
“Kage Durham,” Rochelle said. “I’m sorry, you are Sabrina Sanchos, correct?”
“Yes, I am.” Ms. Sanchos tensed. She looked to be in her midthirties and had spent a little too much time out in the sun.
Her skin had that leathery look. She was five feet three inches max and had curvy hips and implants that gave her body an out-of-proportion look.
Bright orange lip gloss and heavy eye makeup gave her a raccoon appearance up close.
She still had on the micro miniskirt, but the boots were gone and she had an ice pack around her ankle.
Toenail polish matched her lips. A large green-dragonfly tattoo covered her left arm, covering a decent amount of space from her shoulder to her elbow.
“You just left Kage Durham’s apartment, correct?” Rochelle asked, leaning against the doorjamb.
“I’m not sure who you’re talking about,” Sabrina said, eyebrows furrowed. She genuinely appeared to be stumped. Would Kage give her a fake name?
“Do you mind telling my partner and I where you were an hour ago?” Rochelle asked.
“I dropped off a note at a…friend’s house,” Sabrina reported.
“And that friend’s name is…?”
“Asher Foley,” Sabrina supplied.
“Do you mind if I ask you the nature of your relationship with Asher Foley?” Rochelle asked without skipping a beat. Meanwhile, the wheels were turning in Camden’s mind. Had Kage given the woman a fake name?
“We spent time together,” she said after a pause, as if she was searching for the right words.
“Were the two of you in a relationship?” Rochelle asked.
“Can I ask what this is about?” Sabrina asked rather than answer Rochelle’s question.
“Mr. Foley is wanted for questioning in connection with a murder case,” Rochelle stated.
Sabrina’s eyes widened. She exhaled a sharp breath. “He wouldn’t do…” She flashed eyes at Rochelle. “You aren’t suggesting he could have…”
“We can’t comment on specifics of an ongoing investigation,” Rochelle said, leaving the questions unanswered. Rochelle was a good investigator.
“Well, then, let’s see,” Sabrina said, keeping most of her weight on her good ankle.
“We were in a relationship, or so I thought.” Her eyes widened again.
“But we always had to come to my place.” Shock was followed by fear in her eyes.
“The first sign someone is married is that you can never go to their house. I confronted Asher but he swore up and down that he was free as a bird.”
Asher Foley. Camden hadn’t heard the name before. It was too soon to send a text asking for research into Asher Foley’s background. He couldn’t do that while he was still in Sabrina’s presence.
Was this a made-up name? Had Kage lied so Sabrina wouldn’t be tied back to him?
“How did you find out where he lived if he never took you there?” Rochelle asked.
“I saw him yesterday at the grocery store and followed him home,” Sabrina said.
“I’m not proud of the fact. I don’t normally have to chase men, and I’ve certainly never stalked one.
But Asher stopped calling and coming around.
He must have blocked my calls because I couldn’t get through to him either.
He ended it without a word. So when I saw him, curiosity got the best of me.
I sat across the street from his apartment for hours waiting to see if his wife came out but there was no sign of one.
” She shrugged. “I caught one of his neighbors and asked if they’d ever seen a woman in the apartment and the man said he hadn’t.
” Her gaze shifted from Rochelle to Camden as she then studied him.
“Men can be unpredictable, but I thought Asher and I had something special.”
“One minute, you’re lying in their arms as they promise the world,” Rochelle agreed. “The next, they turn the other way when they see you out in public.”
“I know, right,” Sabrina responded. Suddenly, a solidarity between wronged women emerged.
It was an effective tactic and yet it still caused Camden to be embarrassed on behalf of jerks who deceived their partners.
He was always honest about the fact he wasn’t looking for a relationship.
If two consenting adults wanted to spend time together with no strings attached and have sex, the rules had to be clear up front.
Honest communication was critical. Attachment wasn’t something Camden could do.
Not with anyone. Then again, he’d never found anyone like Rochelle before.
Camden quashed the thought. He might have had amazing grandparents, but his mother’s abandonment had taught him early on not to count on anyone but himself. Getting attached was lethal to the heart.
But Rochelle was nothing like his mother.
“Men can be such jerks,” Sabrina said, shooting Camden a disgusted look.
“That’s my cue to leave,” he said, taking a step back. “I’ll leave you two to speak in private.”
Sabrina practically glared at him as he stepped away. He was grateful to leave a conversation that had turned into male-bashing. On Rochelle’s part, it was an act. But not Sabrina’s. She’d been burned and the last thing she wanted was a man around to hear about her rejection.
Plus, it had turned out to be the perfect moment to disappear so he could have Asher Foley researched.
Back in the Bronco, he sent off a text with the request as he checked on the group chat to see if any progress had been made with Grandma Lacey. There was no update. But there was a text from his younger brother, Dalton. Call me ASAP.
Camden’s heart sank. He immediately pulled up his brother’s contact information and tapped the screen to initiate the call.
“Hey,” Dalton said, sounding like he hadn’t slept in days.
“Everything okay?” Camden asked.
“Yes, sorry,” Dalton said. “Didn’t mean to scare you with the text. I probably should have told you the reason for the request, but I thought it would come across better if you hear it straight from me.”
“Ok-a-a-y,” Camden said, drawing out the word. His stress levels jumped at the sound of Dalton’s voice. “What’s going on?”
“Are you sitting down?” Dalton asked.
“I’m in a Bronco,” Camden answered.
“Are you driving, because—”
“No, I’m sitting in a parking lot,” Camden said. “My partner is interviewing a witness and needed a minute alone. So I came out to the parking lot to wait. What is it, dude? You’re starting to freak me out.”
“She wants to meet,” Dalton said. “Our mother has been in contact with Grandpa Lor and has requested to meet with us.”
“What the hell could she possibly want after all these years?” Camden asked.
“I guess there’s only one way to find out,” Dalton said.
“You want this?” Camden couldn’t believe his brother had done an about-face when it came to their mother. Then again, neither had brought up the subject in longer than Camden could remember.
“I’m asking what you think,” Dalton said.
“What does Jules think?” Camden’s answer was “not no, but hell no” when it came to a meetup, but he wondered what his siblings thought.
“That it might be a good idea to clear the air,” Dalton said.
“After all these years?”
“That’s what she said,” Dalton reported.
“And just like that we’re supposed to agree to this? To think it’s suddenly a good idea after she abandoned us all those years ago?”
Dalton got quiet.
“Sorry,” Camden said. “I didn’t mean to go on a rant.”
“I have no memories of her,” Dalton admitted. “None. It would be like meeting a stranger. And yet…”
“You’re curious?”
“I didn’t think I was when I first heard the idea,” Dalton said.
“Whose idea is it?”
“Grandpa Lor mentioned it.” Dalton issued a sharp sigh. “At first, I thought no way, but I guess now that Blakely and I are starting our life together I’m curious about where I came from. Does that make any sense?”
Camden listened, trying not to judge his brother’s reasons. “We all think differently about the situation.” Camden never allowed himself to think about their mother. He’d closed that door years ago and never looked back. “And, yes, it makes sense. For you.”
“If Jules and I arrange a meeting, are you saying you don’t want to know about it?” Dalton asked.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Camden confirmed. He repeated the words to make sure Dalton heard correctly.
“Okay, then,” Dalton said. “We’ll respect your decision.”
“I appreciate it.”
“Is there anything you’d like us to say on your behalf if she asks?” Dalton continued.
“Not a thing,” Camden said. “Let her wonder about me like I did about her in those early years after she took off.” A surprising cramp in the center of his chest made breathing difficult.
Feelings that took him back to his seven-year-old self surfaced.
Feelings that brought on stabbing pain with every intake of air.
“My partner should be coming any second now and I have to send a text to my supervisor,” he finally said, hearing the strain in his own voice. “I have to go.”
“Take care of yourself, Camden.”
“You know I will,” he assured his brother.
“See you soon.”
With that, Camden ended the call. His cell buzzed while it was still in his hand. A text from his supervisor came through: check your email.
Camden tapped the screen to open his account and then his inbox filled the screen.
At the top was a note forwarded from his supervisor from Research.
He opened the email to find a rap sheet on Asher Foley involving sexual harassment and multiple cases pending that demonstrated a history of violence against women.
He scrolled down to the mug-shot attachment from the man’s last arrest.
Oh, hell.
“You’ll let me know if Asher shows up, right?” Rochelle asked as she was beginning to make her exit plan from this conversation. It was possible Kage had created a second identity so no one could track him.
It would be a lot of trouble to go through and didn’t make sense considering he had a white-collar-crime conviction. Did he really think it would hurt his dating life?
“I’ll sure do that,” Sabrina promised.
Rochelle gave over her number and then headed back toward the Bronco. Camden’s serious expression told her something was up.
She climbed in the passenger seat. “What did you find out?”
“You’re not going to believe this,” he said before handing over his cell.
What the actual hell?