But Not Forsworn: A Clint Wolf Novel (Clint Wolf Mystery Series Book 21)

by BJ Bourg

  They hadn’t located the stolen iPad, which would’ve been a smoking gun and a sure indicator that David Monier had arrested the wrong man, but there were two important pieces of evidence: Doug’s Remember the Fallen wristband and the obvious fingernail gouges to his wrist. This would be enough to convince a reasonable prosecutor to release her husband, but she was aware that they were not dealing with a reasonable man. And the fact that Susan hadn’t yet heard from Isabel was starting to worry her.

  Susan knew she needed to definitively figure out Doug’s connection to the Ralph Plant murder case, because that would surely force Bill Hedd’s hand, but to do that, she would have to find his killer. This person—or persons—would be able to explain why Doug attacked Kim, so Susan needed to find them ASAP—and she needed to find them alive.

  Of course, there was another possibility that Susan couldn’t ignore. Doug’s killing could’ve been purely coincidental. It might have nothing at all to do with Ralph’s murder. After all, when an estranged husband is found shot to death with his own pistol, there was one suspect who invariably shot to the top of the list, and Susan needed to speak with that person right now.

  After telling Amy and Melvin that they had done a good job, Susan exited the house and headed toward the street. Sheriff Turner was sitting in his dually and he had company. Doug’s wife Ashley was in the front seat and one of the department’s police social services deputies was in the back seat.

  Susan approached the passenger’s door, but Sheriff Turner waved her around to his side.

  “Sit up here,” he offered. “I’ve got to catch up with Mallory.”

  Susan shot a quick glance in Doug’s widow’s direction, and then pulled Sheriff Turner to the side. When she informed him that they were working a murder investigation and not a suicide, he nearly stumbled backward.

  “What?” he thundered, before catching himself and lowering his voice. “Someone killed one of my detectives?”

  “Yeah, but I think he was mixed up in some bad shit. We’re almost positive he was the one who attacked Kim, and he might not have done it alone.” Susan glanced toward the truck again to make sure Doug’s wife wasn’t listening. “Sheriff, were you about to promote Doug?”

  Turner frowned. “No. Why?”

  “He texted his wife earlier and mentioned he was about to get a promotion and a big raise,” she explained. “Mallory knew nothing about it, but I wanted to check with you just in case you’d made some private arrangement with him. Since you haven’t, it’s got me thinking. He definitely attacked Kim and stole the iPad, but we couldn’t find it in the house. He either gave it to someone or they took it from him.”

  Turner’s eyebrows came together above his brow like two caterpillars kissing. “If he gave it away, why would he do that?”

  “I’m starting to think someone paid him to retrieve the iPad, which means someone else killed Ralph. When his employers came here to collect it, they must’ve killed him and made it look like a suicide—just like they did with Ralph Plant.” Susan paused for a quick breath. “Doug told his wife he was being promoted and getting a big raise, and I think it was so he could explain away the sudden increase in cash flow.”

  “Did y’all find any money?”

  “No, but we’ll have to obtain search warrants for his bank accounts.” She shrugged. “As smart as he was, he was probably paid in cash, but we might get lucky.”

  Turner rubbed his tired face. “Do we know anything?”

  “About all we know is that we have a dead lawyer, a dead cop, a beat up woman, and an innocent detective in jail.” It was Susan’s turn to rub her tired face. “Other than that, we don’t know much. I really don’t know what the hell’s going on here, Sheriff, but I promise you this—we will get down to the bottom of it.”

  He nodded his thanks and ambled toward the house. Susan approached his dually and climbed up into the driver’s seat. After pulling the door shut and nodding to the deputy in the back, she turned her attention to the distraught woman beside her. Having never met Doug’s wife before, Susan stuck out a hand, apologized for her loss, and then asked when it was that she’d last heard from her husband.

  Ashley lowered her eyes and explained about the text messages. “I…I’ve been ignoring his messages,” she said as tears streamed down her face. “I think I’m the reason he killed himself. I guess he really thought it was over, but it wasn’t. I was coming back in a few weeks, I swear I was. I just needed some time.”

  Susan reached across the console and put a hand on Ashley’s forearm. “What would you say if I told you Doug didn’t kill himself?”

  “What?” Ashley blinked several times. “But…what do you mean?”

  “It appears that Doug was eating a late breakfast when someone shot him,” Susan continued. “He might’ve even been shot with his own gun.”

  Ashley clutched at her throat. “What…but how’s it possible? Who would do something like that? I thought he killed himself. The sheriff told me he killed himself.”

  “At the moment, we’re not sure exactly what happened, but we’re sure he didn’t kill himself.” Susan gave Ashley a moment to process what she’d just learned, and then asked if Doug had mentioned having any problems with anyone recently.

  Ashley shook her head. “He sent me a text message saying he was working a murder case, but that was the other day. He hasn’t said anything else about it. Most of his other text messages are just about us and asking when I’m coming home.”

  “I understand this has happened before, where y’all separated,” Susan said slowly. “From what I hear, you’ve always come back home.”

  “Yeah, it’s true.” Ashley nodded. “This is the longest I’ve been gone.”

  “What’d y’all fight about?”

  “You know, I can’t even remember now.” Ashley grunted. “Whatever it was, it seemed real important at the time, but I can’t even remember what it was. It was most likely about all the time he was spending at work. We fight about that a lot. It seems he’s never home. He’ll drop whatever he’s doing for Mallory, but if I ask him to do something he’s always too damned busy.”

  Susan frowned thoughtfully at the mention of her friend. It wasn’t so much that Ashley had mentioned Mallory’s name, but it was the way she’d said it.

  “What’s the issue with Mallory?” Susan asked. “Are you worried that something’s going on there?”

  Susan didn’t want to immediately tell Ashley that she had nothing to worry about, because she didn’t want to influence her statement. To her relief, Ashley shook her head.

  “No, I don’t think Mallory would ever want anything to do with Doug in that way. It’s just that when she calls, he immediately jumps to attention.” She sighed. “I…I can’t believe I left because he wasn’t spending enough time with me, and now I’ll never get to spend another minute with him. You never think about that when you’re arguing, you know? The thought of never seeing him again…it…it never crossed my mind. I thought I had the rest of my life to be with him.”

  Susan nodded her understanding, but didn’t say anything. She just sat there in silence waiting for Ashley to compose herself. It was a long few minutes before the woman started talking again. When she did, she asked about Doug’s gun.

  “You said you think he was shot with it?” Ashley asked.

  “It’s quite possible,” Susan said. “We found it at the scene.”

  “Well, he always has it with him,” Ashley explained. “When he eats, he puts it on the table next to his plate. Otherwise, it’s in his holster.”

  “When did this start?” Susan wanted to know. “Was this recent? Was it in response to some threat?”

  “No, he’s always done it. It goes back to his days in the police academy.” Ashley waved a hand. “His instructor talked about having a gun hidden in every room just in case someone invaded his home. Doug didn’t take it to that level, but he always keeps a gun handy. He also keeps one hidden in the shed and he has one moun
ted under his desk.”

  Susan nodded, and then casually asked, “Do you mind if I ask your whereabouts for today? Let’s say, from eight in the morning until right before you showed up here?”

  “I was at work.”

  Upon Susan’s request, she provided the name of the company, the address, a telephone number, and a contact person.

  “And they can verify that you were there, right?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Susan was about to ask another question when her cell phone rang. She glanced at the screen, but didn’t recognize the number. She hesitated, not wanting to be rude, but she really wanted to know if it pertained to the case against Clint.

  “It’s okay,” Ashley said. “You can take it.”

  Susan nodded her thanks and answered.

  “Chief Wolf?” asked a voice she didn’t recognize. “Is this Chief Susan Wolf?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Chief, I’m Shade Rankin,” he explained. “I’m a CO at the Empyrean Parish Detention Center. Your husband wanted me to call and let you know he was okay.”

  “Oh, thank God! Can I talk to him?”

  “Well, not exactly.” CO Rankin hesitated. “Um, he’s kind of busy at the moment.”

  Susan’s brow furrowed suspiciously. “What’s going on?”

  “He didn’t want me to say anything, but…”

  “But what?”

  “We’re at East Empyrean General Hospital,” said the young officer. “There was an incident at the jail—um, an altercation. Clint wanted me to let you know he got the better of the fight—”

  “There was a fight?”

  “Well, a bunch of prisoners attacked him, but it didn’t go down like they thought it would. Clint held his own and took out a bunch of them.”

  “What?” Susan let out a gasp. “How is he? Why are y’all at the hospital? Is he hurt?”

  “He’s a little banged up,” Shade admitted, “but the doctors say he’ll be just fine.”

  “I’m on my way.” Although she wanted to jump out of the dually and rush immediately to the hospital, Susan calmly turned to Ashley Cagle. “I’ve got one last question, ma’am. In one of his text messages, Doug said something about a promotion. Do you know what that was about?”

  Ashley’s blonde hair flopped from side to side as she shook her head. “I have no idea what he was talking about.”

  Susan thanked her, dropped from Sheriff Turner’s dually, and headed for her Tahoe. As she sped away, she called Amy to let her know where she was heading.

  CHAPTER 51

  East Empyrean General Hospital

  I watched as the emergency room doctor finished stitching the last hole in my chest. When she pulled away, I instinctively reached for the stitches, but chains rattled and my hand jerked back. I muttered a curse under my breath as I remembered I was handcuffed to the bed rails.

  “Do you need something?” asked the doctor, who hadn’t said much to me during the entire visit.

  “No, ma’am, I just wanted to feel it.”

  She frowned and stared down at the holes in my body. There were seven in all—two to my left arm and five to my chest and stomach area.

  “What’d they stab you with?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure. Probably filed down toothbrushes, broom handles, ink pens…whatever they could get their hands on in jail. I think one was definitely a carpenter’s pencil.”

  “Well, you’re lucky,” she said. “If they would’ve had a knife or a screw driver, you’d be dead.”

  I sighed and leaned my head back on the pillow. If my aching head was remembering correctly, the second guy I hit had a screwdriver. Maybe I should’ve hit him first. I’d been close to death before, so the experience didn’t alarm me all that much, but I did think it would’ve sucked to die in jail.

  “Why are you in jail?”

  I swiveled my head far to the left so I could see her from my right eye. The left one was still swollen shut.

  “I was wrongfully accused, but it’ll get sorted out soon enough,” I explained, knowing how foolish it sounded. It was just one big misunderstanding.”

  “That’s what they all say.”

  “If I had a dollar for every time I’ve said those same words,” I said with a chuckle. “Believe me, I know how foolish it sounds.”

  She cracked a smile. “Do you want some advice?”

  “Sure,” I said. “Why not?”

  “If you plan on living long enough to have your misunderstanding resolved, you’d better stop fighting.” She tossed some gauze in the trash and indicated my bare torso. “It looks like you’ve been shot and stabbed before. If you don’t slow down, you’ll eventually run out of lives.”

  I was about to explain that I worked in law enforcement when I heard Susan’s voice from the hallway.

  “I’m Chief Susan Wolf,” she was saying to the guard stationed outside of my door. “This is an electronic communication from the Honorable Judge Zachariah Lamb ordering the immediate release of one Clint Wolf, the man you have chained to the bed in there.”

  There was hesitation on the part of the corrections officer, who said he’d have to call his supervisor.

  “Sure thing,” I heard Susan say. Before any other words could be spoken, the door was pushed open and my wife entered. I don’t know whose face lit up more—hers or mine—but it was clear we were both happy to see each other. The smile faded from her face when she saw my wounds.

  “Dear God, Clint, what in the hell happened?” she asked.

  “They found out I was a cop,” I said. I couldn’t help but notice that the doctor’s eyes widened a bit, but I didn’t acknowledge it. “They jumped me right after shift change. If it hadn’t been for Deputy Shade Rankin, I…um…let’s just say things might’ve turned out differently.”

  Susan’s eyes smarted, but she quickly blinked and regained her composure. Before she could say anything, I asked how she managed to bust me out of jail. She explained how Doug Cagle had been found dead of an apparent suicide that turned out to be a murder, and she explained her theory of the case. It was a solid one and I couldn’t argue with it, so I didn’t.

  “Good work,” I said. “Now, do you have any idea who’s behind all of it?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” she said. “I was hoping we could put our heads together and figure something out. As it stands now, I have no clue.”

  “What about Doug’s wife?” I suggested. “Maybe she was working with Doug. What if he used her to get close to Ralph because Ralph had some incriminating evidence against him? What if she kills Ralph and takes his phone, but then Doug overhears Mallory’s conversation with me and knows there’s an iPad. He attacks Kim and takes the iPad. At that point, something could’ve gone wrong between Doug and his wife and she killed him.”

  “The only problem with that theory is Ashley Cagle was at work during the time of her husband’s murder.” Susan frowned. “Anything else?”

  “Shit.” I leaned back in my bed. “I’m at a loss.”

  CHAPTER 52

  A few minutes after the doctor had left, Shade Rankin walked in with the other guard, whom I couldn’t see because he was on my blind side. Shade strode rapidly toward my bunk and made quick work of removing the cuffs.

  “I’m so sorry this happened to you, Detective Wolf.” There was a look of genuine anger on his face. “If it can happen to someone as decorated as you, then the rest of us don’t stand a chance.”

  I only nodded. The blankets were up to my waist and I was naked beneath it, so I glanced helplessly around.

  “I don’t have any clothes,” I said. “I’m not putting that prison uniform back on, but I don’t know what to wear.”

  “We’re taking care of you,” Shade said. “I’ve got someone bringing your property from the jail. They’ll be here in a few minutes.”

  I thanked him and then asked about something that had bothered me since I’d first seen Shade during the fight.

  �
��One of the prisoners said that this night shift doesn’t enter the dorm when there’s a fight,” I said. “He said they lock it down and call in SWAT. How’d you get inside?”

  “I took the keys from one of the sergeants and forced my way in.” He shook his head. “I wasn’t gonna let an officer die on my watch.”

  “But it wasn’t your watch,” I insisted. “You were off duty, so how’d you even know to be there?”

  “I was heading that way to check on you, to make sure there weren’t any problems,” he explained. “I had almost reached the jail when I heard the call over the radio.”

  “Well, I’m damned glad you were there.” I stuck out my hand. “You saved my life. If there’s ever anything I can do to repay it, just say the word.”

  He smiled and waved me off. The other deputy, whom—through my blurry vision—I finally recognized as Zack, spoke for the first time.

  “You can maybe put in a good word for him with our sheriff,” he said. “From what I hear, Shade’s about to be suspended for disobeying a direct order, and he’ll probably be fired. Captain Hayes is an asshole and he doesn’t like being disobeyed. He just told Shade his career as a cop is over.”

  I turned to look into Shades eyes. They were so dark they looked black. “Is it true?”

  “Zack’s being paranoid,” he said with a smile. “Even if it is true, I was looking for a job when I found this one. I’ll be fine.”

  “Is William Proctor still working here?” I asked. “Last time I talked to him, he carried a lot of weight around these parts.”

  William and I had attended the police academy together almost twenty years ago. Although we hadn’t talked in years, we were good friends and always picked right up where we left off.

  “He’s still around,” Shade acknowledged. “In fact, he’s interviewing prisoners as we speak. But really, I’ll be fine.”

  I loved the independent nature of the kid. He reminded me of myself at a much younger age. I glanced at Susan and gave her a nod. She knew exactly what I wanted, and she left the room to find Proctor. Just as she was leaving, another CO entered with my personal belongings. When the deputies had left the room, I slid my feet toward the side of the bed to get dressed.