Colton Manhunt (The Coltons 0f Mustang Valley Book 6)

by Jane Godman

  “Those were his exact words?” Spencer’s blue gaze lost any trace of humor and become very direct. “He told you that the car mounting the pavement and almost hitting you was a warning?”

  “Yes.” For a moment, she felt unnerved. Was he doubting what she was telling him? “He said my heroic rescuer could have saved himself the trouble. He wasn’t planning to hit me. Not that time.”

  “Yet you didn’t report this?”

  “Hey—” anger started to bubble up inside her “—I’m not the one who did something wrong here. And I did try to report it. But every time I tried to call you, I got your voice mail, and when I stopped by the station, you weren’t there.”

  “But you didn’t tell another officer?”

  “I didn’t want to go through the whole story again with someone new,” she explained. “I figured it would be better to wait and speak to you.”

  His expression remained stern. “I don’t understand why, having delivered a warning, Hannant, or whoever was behind him, would follow through on it so fast.”

  “What do you mean?” Her anger faded a little. She knew exactly what he meant, and she wasn’t looking forward to explaining her next actions to him.

  “Usually, having issued a warning, the bad guys wait to see if it worked before they take action.” Spencer’s voice was calm, but that gaze probed her face. She imagined he was very good at interrogating his suspects. “In your case, the break-in happened soon after Hannant threatened you.”

  “Ah.” She gave the napkin a good, hard twist. “That could be because I didn’t listen to his warning.”

  “What?” He jerked into a more upright position. “Katrina, what did you do?”

  Before she could answer, the waitress arrived with their order and the next few minutes were taken up with food-related matters. When the server had gone, Spencer took a slug of coffee and spoke in a calmer tone.

  “Okay, let’s eat and talk at the same time. What did you do to make Hannant, or whoever is backing him, trash your place and threaten your dogs?”

  She took a bite of her toast and chewed it slowly before she answered. She might as well tell him everything. “As well as meeting Christie Foster, I went to visit a woman who I’d seen in a confrontation with some AAG members.”

  He frowned. “This is new information. When did this confrontation happen?”

  “It was after I’d gotten home and found that guy in my kitchen. You remember? You came to tell me that you didn’t think there was a connection to the AAG.” She couldn’t help giving him a hurt look. “After you left, I was going out for dinner to a new dog-friendly place on Mustang Boulevard and there were some AAG group members handing out leaflets in town. As I passed them, a woman started shouting about how they’d cheated her son out of money.” As Spencer watched her, she told him the story of what had happened that evening with Helen Jackson and of her subsequent visit to the sculptor’s home. “The difference in her demeanor was...” She searched for the right word. There was only one that fit. “Creepy.”

  “You think someone got to her?” He indicated her food as he spoke. “Told her to keep quiet about what happened?”

  She took a few more bites as she thought about what he was suggesting. “It has to be a possibility.”

  He speared a piece of bacon on his own plate, then chewed it before lifting his gaze to her face again. “You know what this means?”

  “The AAG must have been the ones who got to Helen Jackson?”

  “It looks that way. But there’s more to it.” He reached across the table and lightly touched her hand. It was a casual gesture, but the impact powered through her like a thousand volts of electricity. “Someone knew you were at Helen’s place.”

  “Oh.” She lifted a hand to her throat. “You mean I was followed?”

  He nodded. “And we’re not dealing with amateurs. One person couldn’t have been tailing you out to Helen’s place and, at the same time, breaking into your house and leaving you that note threatening your dogs. It was a coordinated attack.”

  She looked down at the remains of her meal. “Now do you believe me that someone connected to the AAG is behind my sister’s disappearance?”

  “I’m prepared to consider it.” His voice was serious. “In the meantime, Aidan Hannant has some explaining to do.”

  * * *

  By the time he reached the station, Spencer felt like he was trying to juggle too many plates. If he wasn’t careful, some of them were going to come crashing down around his head.

  His biggest case was the shooting of Payne Colton and, since the sting operation had gone wrong, that was no further along than it had been at the start. Although there was no direct connection between the attack on Payne and the anonymous email that had been sent to the members of the Colton Oil board at the start of the year, he couldn’t rule Ace out as a potential shooter.

  Spencer’s thoughts moved on to his first meeting of the day. Harley Watts, a dedicated member of the AAG, had admitted to being the sender. So far, he had resisted any attempts by Spencer to get him to flip on his backer in exchange for a reduced sentence. Although his lawyer was dropping hints that Harley was prepared to consider a reduced sentence in exchange for information, Spencer wasn’t convinced. Someone had Harley in their clutches and his, or her, grip was tight.

  And now, he had the issue of Eliza Perry’s disappearance and the threats to Katrina to deal with. He was reserving judgment about what was going on there, but her revelations over breakfast made him less concerned that Katrina might be an attention seeker. They did, however, bring a new set of concerns for her safety.

  His plans to keep her safe while she was at work were all in place and he’d run through them with her and Suzie. The MVPD dispatcher had placed an alert on both women’s cell phones as well as on the business line. In addition, a police cruiser would check out the premises every half hour unless Spencer was there.

  At least, unlike his colleagues in some neighboring counties, he didn’t have the issue of investigating murdered beauty pageant contestants. He supposed he should be thankful for that, at least.

  As he entered the building with Boris following close behind, his mind tried to untangle the threads of the different cases. Was he trying to make sense of something that had no logic to it? Or was he right in thinking that there was a common theme throughout everything he was dealing with right now? Each time he started to investigate a lead, it brought him to the AAG.

  But what did that mean? Was the group being used as a cover for criminal activity? If so, where did Eliza Perry fit in? And would Harley Watts be able to help him with this inquiry as well as telling him more about the Colton Oil email? He quickened his pace, keen to begin questioning the AAG geek.

  When he reached his office, Kerry Wilder was waiting for him. From the slump of her shoulders, he guessed she didn’t have good news.

  “Harley has withdrawn his offer.”

  Resisting the temptation to kick the wastebasket across the room, Spencer sighed. “Did he give a reason?”

  “No. I think his lawyer was as surprised as we are,” Kerry said. “Apparently, Harley had a prison visit from a very attractive blonde woman, an AAG member named Leigh Dennings. Since then, he’s decided he won’t talk.”

  An image of Leigh Dennings’s face came into Spencer’s mind and he wondered how her conversation with Harley had gone. He would never know for sure, of course, because neither of them would tell him. But it seemed likely that Leigh had persuaded Harley to change his mind about striking a deal with the police. The question was why? Leigh was Micheline’s puppet. She didn’t make a move without the boss lady’s say-so.

  Which led him to another question: What did Micheline have to hide?

  “We didn’t do any background checks on members of the AAG, did we?” he asked Kerry.

  “No.” She looked surprised. �
�Even though Harley sent the email from the AAG server, none of the other members have come under suspicion.”

  “Let’s start with Micheline Anderson and Leigh Dennings,” he said. “Run all the usual checks on those two and let me know if you come up with anything.”

  “Okay.” Kerry scribbled a few notes in the pad she was carrying. “I take it you want this in a hurry?”

  “You guessed right.” Spencer reached for his cell phone. “I need to make a call to the AAG ranch, then, since Harley’s no-show has freed up some of my time, I’m going to pay Aidan Hannant a visit.”

  When he called the AAG ranch, Leigh answered. She was her usual charming self. “Sergeant Colton, it’s such a pleasure to hear from you.”

  “I’d like to ask you about one of your members. A young woman called Christie Foster.”

  It appeared that her default setting was vagueness. “I’m not sure...”

  “Apparently she knew Eliza Perry.”

  He heard clicking sounds, as though she was typing. “I’m just checking our database. I’m sorry, but we don’t have anyone called Christie Foster registered as having visited here. Not now, or in the past.”

  Chapter 8

  Katrina was in the Look Who’s Walking office, trying to make sense of her business accounts, when Spencer walked in.

  “Didn’t I just have breakfast with you half an hour ago?” From the frown on his face, she wasn’t sure her jokey tone had lightened his spirits.

  “I’m going to Aidan Hannant’s apartment and I want you to come with me.”

  “Why?”

  “He came to see me on the day after he threatened you. He admitted that he was the person driving the car that mounted the sidewalk, but he said it was an accident,” Spencer said. “I figure, if you’re by my side when I ask him a few questions, he’s going to find it hard to lie about what happened.”

  “Oh.” She studied her computer screen for a moment or two before returning her gaze to his face. “Why didn’t you tell me this when I first informed you about Aidan Hannant?”

  “I wasn’t sure if it was important.” His manner troubled her. It was almost as if he had something to hide. She told herself not to be foolish. He was busy, that was all. He had moved in to protect her, but he was dealing with other problems as well as hers.

  She checked the time on her cell phone. “I need to be back in an hour for a training class.”

  “It won’t take that long.”

  “To be honest, I’m glad to get away from the paperwork.” She pushed back her chair, stood up and stretched her arms above her head. “Although I could think of more enjoyable ways of playing hooky.”

  She paused on the way out of the building to let Suzie and Laurence, the junior trainer, know she would be returning soon. As she stepped into the bright sunlight at Spencer’s side, it felt like a long time since she’d relaxed. The thought made her smile. Had she ever been able to take it easy?

  She’d spent most of her childhood waiting for the next crisis. The only times she’d been able to put aside her anxieties had been in the company of her grandparents. But, all too often, her grandma and grandpa would be drawn away by Mollie or Eliza, and Katrina would fade into the background.

  Now, as an adult, much of her downtime revolved around her professional life. If she wasn’t on training courses, she was researching new methods or honing her skills.

  I don’t know how to enjoy myself.

  Why did it suddenly matter? She took a sidelong peek at the tall, muscular figure at her side. And found her answer. She might not like it, but Spencer had come into her life and changed it. He made her feel differently and he made her want more. She could fight it, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to. And that thought alone scared her almost as much as the idea of facing Aidan Hannant again.

  Spencer held open the passenger door and Katrina got into the car. She heard the heavy thump of a dog’s tail and twisted in her seat to pat Boris on the head. “Hi there, big guy.” She turned to Spencer. “Can he have a treat?”

  “Only if you want him to love you forever.”

  Reaching into the fanny pack she always wore when she was working, Katrina took out one of her own natural dog treats and offered it to Boris. The well-trained canine politely took it from between her fingers.

  “What do you want to talk to Hannant about?” she asked as Spencer drove away from the training center.

  “Apart from why he intimidated you?” Watching his profile, she detected a trace of tension in the muscles of his jaw as he spoke. “He told me he had no involvement with the AAG. I want to dig deeper into that.”

  She took a moment to consider that response. She should be experiencing a hint of triumph that he was finally taking her seriously about the threat posed by the Affirmation Alliance Group. Instead, her whole body felt curiously hollow. She recognized it as a heightened sense of her own vulnerability.

  The man sitting next to her was a cop. An experienced one. If he thought the AAG might be dangerous, then she really was in trouble.

  Spencer flicked a glance in her direction. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

  His promise brought Katrina’s emotions crashing over her head like a wave. The last time anyone had put her first and protected her had been when her grandparents were both alive. She had been ten when her grandmother died and, after that, her grandfather’s health had quickly declined. When he passed two years later, she had replaced him as her mom and sister’s caretaker. It had been a lonely life.

  “And we’ll find out what happened to Eliza,” Spencer said.

  Every other thought was driven out of her head at the implication of what he was saying. “What happened to her?” she repeated. “Don’t you mean ‘we’ll find Eliza’?”

  “I hope we’ll find her.” He didn’t sound hopeful.

  “Do you think she might have been involved in something shady that put her in danger?” When he didn’t answer, Katrina shivered. “Or are you saying she could have been killed?”

  “I really don’t want to speculate.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “You can’t do this. I’m half out of my mind with worry already. You have to tell me what you’re thinking.”

  “The reason that I don’t want to make any assumptions is that I don’t want to add to your concerns.” He stopped the car outside an apartment block and turned in his seat to look at her. “Okay. This is just one train of thought. How do we know Eliza isn’t behind the threats you’ve been getting? You said yourself she can get mad when she’s feeling resentful.”

  “That wouldn’t happen.” Katrina bristled. “If I gave you the wrong impression about my sister, I’m sorry. Despite her problems, Eliza would never be violent. And she wouldn’t hurt me.”

  “Then we’ll keep searching.” He turned to face her. “I called the AAG ranch this morning. They’ve never heard of anyone called Christie Foster.”

  “But that’s not possible. I have her number and the record of the call in my cell phone. She told me she’d heard me on the day I called there asking about Eliza. She said she knew her.” Katrina rubbed a hand over her face. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”

  Spencer peered through the windshield at the building. “We’ll find out. Starting right now with some tough questions for Mr. Hannant.”

  * * *

  The address Aidan Hannant had given Spencer was a second-floor apartment in a small building on the edge of town. Before he approached the entrance, Spencer looked around the exterior, focusing on the parking lot.

  Katrina quickly glanced over her shoulder. “What are we waiting for?”

  Spencer wished he could reassure her that she was safe when he was around. His desire to protect her was one of the most overwhelming emotions he had known. He knew it was partly because of Billie. He hadn’t been able to save his
fiancée when she’d needed him, so he was determined to be there this time for Katrina. But penetrating the wall of fear that surrounded her wasn’t going to be easy.

  “Can you see the black Chrysler sedan with tinted windows that drove at you?” he asked.

  “Maybe Hannant isn’t home? He could be at work, or possibly he’s gone to the gym?” She sounded relieved.

  “He damn well better be here. I got the officer on reception-desk duty to call and tell him I was coming. Hannant assured him he’d be here.”

  Leading the way to the apartment building, he keyed in the numbers on the security system for Hannant’s apartment. When there was no response after a minute or two, he tried again.

  “This isn’t looking hopeful,” he muttered.

  As he was contemplating a third attempt, a young woman in sports gear opened the glass doors from inside of the building.

  “Excuse me.” Spencer held up his badge. “I need to gain access to the building.”

  She regarded him with a dubious expression for a second or two, then held the door wide. “Sure.”

  After thanking her, Spencer beckoned for Katrina to follow him. Once they were inside the small lobby, he looked around. There was no elevator, just a single flight of stairs directly opposite the door.

  “Stay behind me,” he told Katrina. “If there is any sign of trouble, get out and call 911.”

  Her eyes appeared bigger than ever as she stared back at him. “You think there’s going to be trouble?”

  “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”