Officer Dunk smiled kindly. “Just a few. Can you tell me what happened between you and Brett Owens at Precious Metals a few weeks ago?”
“Yes,” I said and swallowed thickly. “I was walking to the restroom when he grabbed me and pushed me against the wall. I told him to let me go, but he didn’t. He moved his hand up to my throat and started to squeeze, but he was suddenly pulled away by Jonah.”
“I see. Why didn’t you file a police report?” she asked.
“I didn’t feel it was necessary. I would have if things had escalated, but Jonah stopped him and made him leave. I went home shortly after that,” I explained.
“And have you had any other issues with Brett Owens?” she asked.
“No. I’ve only been in town for a few weeks. That was the one and only time I’ve had any interaction with him since I arrived in Devil Springs,” I explained carefully. Yes, I was omitting certain details, but my farce of a relationship with him in high school had nothing to do with the current situation.
“It’s rather odd that he attempted to assault you and was found dead in the house you were renting a few weeks later,” Officer Dunk said, though her statement wasn’t directed at anyone in particular.
“Do you think he may have been looking for you? Possibly to get back at you?” Officer Underwood asked.
“I honestly have no idea. Like I said, I’ve only had one encounter with him. There’s no way I could presume to know what he was thinking,” I said.
“Well, I think we have all we need. You guys are free to go, but you’ll need to reschedule your inspection. They’re still working the scene. I’ll give you a call and let you know when it’s been cleared.”
“Thank you, officers,” Jonah said and walked the ladies to the front door while I sat in stunned silence contemplating what they’d said.
“You okay?” Jonah asked.
I looked up and noticed everyone else had left when the officers did. “Uh, yeah, I’m fine. I’m just a little shocked, I guess. Do you think he was coming after me?”
Jonah shrugged. “It’s feasible I suppose.”
“If he was coming after me, how did he end up dead? Did you notice anything obvious when you found him? Was there blood or obvious trauma?” I asked.
Jonah shook his head. “Nothing like that. I would’ve thought he was passed out if his skin hadn’t been a bluish-gray color.”
“I thought the house was wired with a security system. How did he get in?”
“That’s what I want to know. Every entry point to that house has a sensor. The only way to get by them is to disable the alarm, which was set from the time Copper and Bronze left earlier today until I returned a few hours ago.”
Jonah’s face lit up like he’d just realized something and he was on his feet moving down the hall the next second.
“Where are you going?” I asked as I followed him.
“To pull up the diagram of the house and see if all the sensors are on and active,” he said as he furiously typed and clicked while staring at the monitor.
“Motherfucker!” he shouted causing me to jump.
“What?” I asked.
He turned the monitor around for me to see and pointed at something on the screen. “This is the floor plan of your rental house. The green lines indicate security sensors. Every entry point should have a green line, including the windows and the attic door.” He tapped his finger against the screen, “See this right here. This is the kitchen door.”
“And there’s no green line,” I observed.
“Exactly. Now I want to know who in the fuck tampered with my system,” he spat.
“Wouldn’t you get an alert of some kind when that happened?”
“Yeah, unless it happened when the system had been disarmed by the master code,” he explained.
“Who has access to the master code?”
“Only me, Copper, and Bronze,” he said.
My mouth dropped open and I covered it with my hand. “You don’t think they had something to do with this, do you?”
He scoffed. “Of course not. I trust them implicitly. I don’t know what in the hell is going on, but I can promise you, I will fucking find out.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked hopefully.
He grinned. “Yeah, get your naked ass in my bed. I’ll be in there in just a minute.”
Well, that I could do. I nodded and winked at him over my shoulder as I sashayed out of the room.
But Jonah took longer than a minute. In fact, Jonah took so long that I ended up falling asleep. If he came to bed, I never knew it because he didn’t wake me and he was gone when I woke the next morning.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Judge
After River went to bed, I started digging through the files on my computer. I had to know when the sensor was removed before I would be able to get any sleep. I fully expected to find out it was tampered with during the inspection earlier that day.
What I did not expect was to have to dig back through days and days of files to find the answer. It took much longer than I thought and, by the time I found it, Officer Dunk had called to let me know the scene had been cleared.
I intended to just go over and lock up the house, but when I noticed my equipment still sitting in the living room, I decided to go ahead and complete the installation I had originally started and replace the missing sensor. I also changed the master code to be on the safe side.
By the time all was said and done, the sun was up and it was well into the next morning. After making sure the house was locked and the alarm was set, I went straight to the clubhouse to update Copper.
“The fuck you mean somebody removed a sensor? How?” he asked.
“My best guess is they did it during the first inspection, which would explain the frayed wires,” I said.
“But Splint’s dad didn’t find anything wrong with the wiring. Are you saying he lied to us?” Copper asked incredulously.
“No way; he’s an honest man, but that doesn’t mean everyone he employs is. The wires were capped, so whoever did it, knew exactly what they were doing.”
Copper picked up his phone and gave me a pointed look. “No sense in beating around the bush; let’s get him in here and ask him.”
Thirty minutes later, Dean Montgomery walked into Copper’s office with a worried look on his face. “What's going on, fellas?”
Copper explained the situation and asked, “Do you think any of your guys would have done something like this?”
He rubbed the back of his neck and exhaled slowly. “Honestly, Copper, I don’t think it was one of my guys,” he said and paused for a moment. “I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but the day you called us out to the property, there was a guy hovering around the door in the kitchen. I assumed he was with the city inspector, but maybe I was mistaken.”
“What did he look like?” Copper asked.
“Uh, he was kind of scraggly looking. Messy brown hair. Average height. Clothes were wrinkled and kinda ratty looking.”
His description ruled out Brett, but it did match his friend from the bar. I looked to Copper. “You have the copies of the IDs from the two guys we kicked out of Precious Metals?”
Copper nodded and pulled two sheets of paper from his desk. Placing them in front of Dean, he pointed to Brett's friend, Oliver, and asked, “Is this him?”
“Yep, that’s the guy.”
After Dean left, Copper looked at me with a feral grin. “Let’s go have a chat with Oliver Burgess.”
We waited for Batta and Bronze to arrive before we pulled out onto the road and headed for Oliver’s listed address. It was around a thirty-minute ride there, and I spent the whole time wondering what in the hell was going on. Why would this asshole intentionally fuck with us? Unless he wasn’t fucking with us. Maybe his actions were aimed at River. But that didn’t explain how his friend ended up dead in the kitchen floor. Unless they were planning to attack River once she returned to t
he house.
We pulled into the driveway of a small well-kept house. Copper looked back with an arched brow. “I bet this is his parents’ place.”
Before any of us could reply, the front door opened and a young woman with a baby on her hip stepped outside. She glanced between the four of us but didn’t appear to be fazed by our presence. “Can I help you guys with something?”
Copper got off his bike and took a few steps closer. “We’re looking for Oliver Burgess. Does he live here?”
She shook her head and let out an exasperated sigh. “No, he doesn’t and hasn’t for well over a year now. Before you ask, no, I don’t know where he lives, where to find him, or how to get in touch with him.”
Copper nodded and rubbed his chin. “But you do know him?”
“He’s my stepbrother.”
Copper pulled a card from his cut and handed it to her. “If you happen to hear from him, would you let him know I’d like to speak with him?”
She plucked the card from Copper’s fingers and grimaced. “What in the hell has he done now to garner the attention of the Blackwings?”
“Sorry, ma’am, that’s something I’ll need to discuss with him.”
“Don’t hold your breath. I haven’t heard from him in almost a year. If you can track down his buddy, Brett, you might be able to find Oliver.”
Copper cleared his throat. “Well, that’s not likely seeing as how Brett was found dead yesterday.”
She pressed her lips together and twisted them to the side. “Can’t say I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Well, thank you for your time,” Copper said and strode back to his bike. “Follow me, brothers.”
With that, we walked the bikes out of her driveway and took off down the road. At first, I thought we were heading back to the clubhouse but soon realized that was not the case when we pulled into a rundown trailer park.
Our arrival brought every resident to their front door. Every resident except the one we were there to see.
“This is Brett’s listed address,” Copper said as he got off his bike and walked to the front door.
After banging on it a few times with no answer, a man walked up to us and introduced himself as the owner of the property.
“He’s late on his rent and I don’t want any trouble. If you boys need to go inside, I’ll be happy to let you in,” he stammered causing all of us to laugh.
“If we wanted inside, we wouldn’t need you to let us in,” Batta chuckled.
Copper held his hand up to quiet Batta and nodded at the man. “Yes, we would like to have a look inside.”
Copper, as well as the rest of us, regretted those words the moment the landlord opened the front door and we were hit with the unmistakable stench of death and decay.
Bronze backed up several steps while shaking his head. “Nope. Not happening. We’re not going in there.”
Copper placed his hand on the owner’s shoulder. “Thanks, but I think we should wait for the police before anyone goes inside. Smells like a crime scene in there.”
And for some reason unbeknownst to me, we sat there and waited for the police to enter the trailer and tell us what was inside.
Chapter Twenty-Five
River
For the first time since I'd arrived in Devil Springs, I walked into work in a bad mood. Why? Because of Jonah “Fucking Judge” Jackson.
After not coming to bed, he wasn't home when I woke up and he didn't come home before I left for work. But what really pissed me off was that he didn't answer his cell phone when I called or reply to any of the texts I sent. I thought about calling Leigh, but decided that would be weird. Instead, I opted to seethe in silence.
My anger was momentarily forgotten when I saw Kennedy. I hadn't worked with her, or even talked to her, since the night she called in sick.
I rushed over to her and pulled her into a hug. “Girl, where have you been?”
She laughed lightly. “In the seventh circle of hell. My niece picked up that horrid stomach virus that's been going around and passed it to me. One time I thought I was going to have to come in because I was absolutely certain I shit out part of my rectum. I even made my sister check and make sure nothing was hanging out of my asshole,” she said seriously.
I tried, I really did, to hold in the laughter, but it burst forth until I was doubled over and clutching my stomach while tears ran down my face.
“What’s going on?” Dr. Alvarez asked.
“River thinks a prolapsed rectum is a laughing matter,” Kennedy answered and managed to maintain a straight face for all of five seconds.
“Never mind. I don't think I want to know,” she chuckled and continued on her way.
And that was how we spent the first part of the shift—laughing and talking in between patients.
But the night took a different turn when Jonah and Copper walked into the ER with two police officers. “River, we need to speak with you,” Jonah said flatly.
My previous anger returned with a vengeance. I nodded and glanced at my watch. “Okay, I'll be happy to speak with you in about, oh, let's say twelve hours,” I said sharply and turned to walk away.
“River,” Copper called in a tone that had me stopping, but I refused to turn around. “This isn't something that can wait.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. Follow me to the conference room.”
Once inside, Jonah closed the doors behind him. The taller of the two police officers smiled kindly and suggested, “Maybe you should sit.”
“Maybe you should tell me whatever it is you came to tell me so I can get back to work,” I snapped.
The two officers exchanged a look and both turned their gazes to Jonah and Copper. Copper nodded and Officer Number Two began to speak. “Miss Lawson, I regret to inform you that your mother, Spring Lawson, was found dead yesterday evening from an apparent drug overdose.”
I stood silently waiting for more. When no one else said anything, I asked, “Is that it?”
Officer Number One nodded. “Yes, ma'am.”
“Thank you for telling me. Can I go back to work now?” I asked.
“Well, yes, I suppose you can. We won't be able to release your mother's body until the investigation is complete, which could be several days or even longer. Someone from the coroner's office will be in touch with that information.”
I placed my hand on my hip and faced him directly. “I will not be claiming, accepting, or whatevering my mother's body. Please make note of that right now.”
“But you have to,” Officer Number Two whined.
“I sure as shit do not, but if you want to make an issue of it, she has another child. Call and tell him he needs to deal with his mother.”
“Do you have his contact information?”
I shook my head and pointed to Jonah and Copper. “No, I don't, but they do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have patients to attend to,” I said and pulled the door open.
“River, wait,” Jonah blurted.
I whirled around and met him stare for stare. “You do not get to come into my place of business and cause a disruption. This isn't the kind of job where I can come and go as I please. I can lose my license if I don't take care of my patients, and I'll be damned if that's going to happen, especially over something that involves Spring. Now, get the fuck out of my way or I’ll have security remove you.”
Copper’s hand landed on Jonah's shoulder and physically pulled him back a few steps so I could leave. Somehow, I had reversed our positions while I was telling him off. I gave Copper a nod of appreciation and returned to my shift with the intent to pretend like the previous thirty minutes never happened, but I should have known two Blackwings and two police officers entering the ER as a unit wouldn’t go unnoticed.
“So, what was your little visit about?” Kennedy asked as she grabbed her stuff from her locker.
“You’re probably going to find out anyway, so I’ll go ahead and tell you, but I don’t want to talk about it. Okay?”
Her eyes widened, but she quickly nodded in agreement.
“They came to tell me my mother died from a drug overdose yesterday. I told them to call my brother if they were looking for someone who cared because it most certainly wasn’t me,” I said and then added, “And that’s all I have to say about it. You ready to go?”
Kennedy stared at me with her mouth hanging open for long moments. Finally, I said, “Okay, then. I’ll see you next time,” and turned to leave.
“Wait! I’m coming,” she called out and was walking beside me a few moments later.
As we walked in silence, I started to feel bad for making her uncomfortable. I sighed. “I still don’t want to talk about it, but I will say that I’ve never had a good relationship with the woman who birthed me. The last time I spoke to her was well over seven years ago. I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, but this is no different to me than a stranger dying.”
“I understand, but if you ever do want to talk about it, I’ll be happy to listen,” she said sincerely.
“Thanks, Kennedy,” I said and stopped to give her a hug before heading to my car.
I wasn’t surprised in the least to find Jonah leaning against my car with his arms crossed. “Why are you here?” I asked, making no attempt to hide my annoyance with him.
“I need a ride home,” he said and moved to the passenger door.
“And you just assumed I’d give you one?”
“Yeah, because even though you’re pissed at me, I know you care about me. I’ve had less than five hours of sleep in the last forty-eight hours. It’s not safe for me to drive home.”
It pissed me off even more that he was right. I did care about him. A lot more than I cared to admit to myself, or anyone else for that matter. I started to relent, then had a sudden realization. “Why didn’t you ride home with Copper?”
“He was on his bike.”
“The officers could have taken you home.”
“A biker never gets into a police car by choice,” he smirked.
“You could’ve called a cab or an Uber.”
Judge (Blackwings MC - Devil Springs Book 2) Page 12