by Delores Fossen, Rachel Lee, Carol Ericson, Tyler Anne Snell, Rita Herron
“Why did the woman leave?” Jack pressed.
Now she dodged his gaze, but only for a few seconds. “I’m not sure. She didn’t speak to me about it, but I assume Skylar felt as if there was some other place she wanted to be. Hopefully, a safe place,” she softly added.
Yeah, Jack hoped the same thing, and also wished he could know for sure that the woman was actually alive. “You think Skylar could have gotten lured back into sex trafficking?”
Lily didn’t jump to deny that, and she glanced at Caroline. “You both know how hard it is to come back from a traumatic situation. Skylar was a troubled young woman and didn’t trust easily. I think it would be very easy for her to slip back into her old ways.”
Lily’s words were right. So was the concerned expression on her face. But something in her voice and body language didn’t ring true for Jack. Or maybe he was just projecting because of the sliver of doubt that Zeller had put in his head.
“Skylar didn’t trust you?” Caroline came out and asked.
“Sadly, no,” Lily answered.
Again, right tone, but it did nothing to ease that bad feeling. He considered a moment how to deal with this and went with the direct approach.
“I want copies of Skylar’s records,” Jack insisted.
Lily’s expression never changed, and she didn’t even pause. “I’m afraid I’ll have to insist you get a warrant for that. The privacy of the residents is a top priority for me.”
It was the exact answer he’d expected from the woman. Maybe stonewalling. Maybe just trying to be ethical. “I’ll get the warrant, and then you’ll need to come back in here to give me an official statement.”
Lily nodded, but some wariness crept into her eyes. “It sounds as if I’ll need my lawyer for that.”
“That’s probably a good idea.” Jack didn’t especially want to deal with her lawyer, but he liked that his comment had caused her some tension. He wanted Lily out of her comfort zone, since nervous suspects were more likely to make mistakes.
“We’ll get into this more after I have the warrant,” Jack continued, and he decided to go with a long shot. “Tell me about your relationship with Eric.”
Lily’s eyes widened, and she fired nervous glances at Caroline, Eli and him. “There was no relationship.” Her voice was clipped now. “I knew Eric only because we were in the same social circles.”
“You knew him,” Jack emphasized.
Lily’s mouth tightened for a moment. “Eric and I rarely spoke and only at parties and such.”
But the bottom line was that she had indeed known him, and Jack was fairly certain that hadn’t come up in the investigation. Of course, there would have been no reason for it to have. Lily hadn’t been a suspect, and there’d been no record of Eric ever contacting her. The only reason Jack had asked her about it was because he was toying with the idea that Eric and Zeller might have had some part in the sex trafficking. They could have teamed up to lure Buck to that inn so Zeller could kill him.
That was a long shot.
However, if Eric and Zeller were connected, then maybe Lily was, too. That could explain why Zeller was so hell-bent on pinning something illegal on her. Maybe he wanted her to be put away so she couldn’t expose his own crimes.
“What about Kingston Morris?” Jack went on. “You know him, too?”
Lily’s slow nod was as uncertain as the rest of her. “Yes. Again, the same circles, and I knew him slightly more than Eric. How is he involved in this?” she asked.
Jack knew it wouldn’t be long before word got out, so he decided to tell Lily so he could see her reaction. “Kingston showed up at Caroline’s house. Trespassing,” he added. “Her address was protected and wasn’t easily accessible. Still, Kingston managed to get it, and shortly afterward, Caroline was attacked.”
Lily pressed her hand to her chest as if to steady her heart. “You suspect Kingston of trying to kill her?”
“He’s being interviewed now,” Jack answered, dodging Lily’s direct question, and yeah, Kingston was a suspect all right.
“I see.” Some of the color drained from Lily’s face. She paused, moistened her lips. “Is it because of Grace Wainwright? Is that how Kingston got Caroline’s address?”
Jack glanced at Caroline to see if she recognized the name, but she only shook her head.
“Who’s Grace Wainwright?” Jack asked.
Lily opened her mouth, then closed it just as fast. Maybe rethinking what she’d been about to say. “Grace was at New Beginnings. She had gotten caught up in sex trafficking,” Lily added. “She also had some family problems that prevented her from going home, and she asked if she could stay there while she straightened out her life. However, before that, she was romantically involved with Kingston.”
For someone who was hesitant to share much on Skylar, Lily clearly didn’t feel the need to hold back with Grace.
Jack stared at Lily. “And why would Grace have known Caroline’s address?”
“Because Grace has excellent computer skills and wasn’t always ethical about whose information she accessed. She could have hacked into the files, found Caroline’s address and given it to Kingston. Or sold it to him.”
Jack didn’t have trouble latching on to what Lily hadn’t said. “Grace accessed information about you?”
Lily’s mouth tightened. “She did. Actually, she managed to steal some funds from my bank account. When I caught her, I told her she had to leave New Beginnings. She did, but I’ve since heard rumors that she’s still using her talents for illegal activities.”
He was definitely going to have to question Grace about that. But if she had indeed managed to get into Justice Department files, then she had to be better than just “excellent” when it came to hacking.
Jack made a mental note to contact Grace ASAP, and then he moved on to the next question he had for Lily. “Why is Zeller so hell-bent about coming after you?”
Lily hesitated, and he saw the pulse kick up on her throat. “I suspect it’s because he feels guilty.” She stopped, huffed. “Look, I’m guessing you’re not going to want to hear anything negative about one of your fellow marshals...”
“Trust me, I want to hear it,” Jack insisted.
Lily nodded and made a suit-yourself sound. “From what I’ve gathered from conversations with some of the girls who came to New Beginnings, I believe Zeller knew Nicola Gunderson and that he talked her into helping him bring down the sex-trafficking ring.”
Everything inside Jack went still. He definitely hadn’t heard Zeller mention knowing the dead girl, and he was pretty sure that should have come out by now. Especially since it was his father who was investigating her murder.
“I’m not surprised Zeller didn’t mention any of this to you,” Lily went on. “In fact, I suspect he doesn’t want anyone to know that he’s the reason that Nicola was murdered.”
Chapter Eight
Caroline watched as Jack located Grace’s number and tried to call the woman. No answer. But maybe she’d call back soon. And perhaps Grace wouldn’t try to avoid them simply because she didn’t want to be questioned about her possible involvement in the attack.
Of course, if Grace was indeed avoiding them, it likely wasn’t because Lily had warned her. Not enough time for that. It had only been a couple of minutes since she’d left the sheriff’s office. Plus, why would Lily have volunteered the woman’s name if she was just going to go and warn her?
Jack left Grace a message for her to call him and then tried Zeller again. Even though he hadn’t put his phone on speaker, Caroline was close enough that she heard the call to Zeller go straight to voice mail.
Unlike Grace, Zeller was someone who could absolutely be avoiding them.
If what Lily had said was true about Zeller coaxing Nicola into helping him, then the marshal should have already spilled that. Not just to
Jack’s father but to Jack and his siblings. Zeller definitely needed to answer some questions, and with each new bit of information, Caroline was trusting him less and less.
Jack shook his head in frustration over not getting through to Zeller before he fired off a text to someone, and then he looked at her. Whatever he saw on her face caused his frustration to worsen. “You’re exhausted,” he concluded. “I’m sorry. I should have already gotten you out of here.”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” she argued. “You needed to be here so you can find the person who tried to kill us.”
And while things were still unsettled between them, Caroline knew one thing for certain. She didn’t want Jack sending her off with anyone else. Especially anyone else with a badge.
Even though touching him was playing with fire, Caroline risked sliding her hand down his arm. A gesture meant to comfort him, along with getting some comfort for herself. Jack was the only person who could soothe her like this.
Now his eyes flashed with a different emotion. Heat layered over the irritation of the stalled investigation, and soon even the worry seemed to fade away. Apparently, she also had a soothing effect on him, and it was effective if she didn’t count the whole arousal thing.
Caroline figured that Jack counted it.
Neither of them had time to act on it, though, because of the approaching footsteps. That sound caused them to move apart, and Jack shook his head as if to clear it before he stepped in front of her. Preparing for a threat. But he relaxed some when Kellan appeared in the doorway. Kingston was right behind him.
“Am I done here now?” Kingston asked. He didn’t sound smug or cooperative now, which meant Kellan had grilled him hard. Good. Maybe Kellan had also gotten some info they could use.
“No, you’re not done,” Jack snapped. He shifted his attention to Kellan. “Lily Terrell came in and chatted with us. She’ll be back later with her lawyer for an official interview, but for now she had some interesting theories. One that’s connected to Kingston.”
Kingston groaned. “Did Lily accuse me of something, too?”
“Do you know Grace Wainwright?” Jack went on, ignoring Kingston’s question.
Kingston blinked, clearly surprised by the topic. “Of course, I know her. We were once lovers.”
Jack didn’t pause even a second. “Did she get you Caroline’s address?”
“No.” Kingston looked ready to gear up with a more detailed, angrier denial, but then he stopped. “Maybe. But if she did, she didn’t tell me she was the one who texted it to me.”
No, because that would have incriminated her in a felony. Of course, it was possible Grace had given him the address and that he was covering for her. Caroline figured Jack would be digging deep into the woman’s background to try to determine that.
Kellan waited until Jack gave him the go-ahead nod before he turned to Kingston. “You can go, for now, but don’t leave the state. I’ll be bringing you back in when I have more info.”
That clearly didn’t please Kingston, but he didn’t waste any time arguing with them. He turned and hurried out.
“Lily thinks Zeller knew Nicola,” Jack told his brother when Kingston was out of earshot. “He might have even talked Nicola into helping him break up the sex-trafficking ring.”
The muscles tightened in Kellan’s face. “I’ll make some calls and see what I can find out.” He glanced away and cursed. “We’re not getting answers, just a whole bunch of questions.”
“Yeah,” Jack agreed, the fatigue now back in his voice. “I’ve already requested authorization to look into Zeller’s computer. That might get us something.”
It would, unless Zeller had already wiped the hard drive. Or disposed of it. For someone with the right skills, there were plenty of ways to erase data.
“I also need a warrant to get into the records at New Beginnings,” Jack added. “I want to have a look at the file of a woman that Zeller says went missing. But I can wait a little while on that. For now, I need to go ahead and get Caroline out of here. You think you can spare a deputy until morning, or should I see if Teagan can help?”
Kellan glanced at Caroline and then out into the bullpen. “Since Caroline seems to be more comfortable with female officers, why don’t you take Raylene. Caroline knows her.”
Yes, she did. Deputy Raylene McNeal. Caroline didn’t like putting trust in a person simply because of their gender, but in this case it helped her relax a little. Well, relax about who’d be doing bodyguard duty for her, but her nerves went zinging again when she realized they’d be going back outside.
Kellan stepped into the squad room, motioning for Raylene, and a moment later, the sturdy-looking brunette deputy joined him in the doorway, where Kellan, Jack and she had a whispered conversation. Something that Jack said had Kellan frowning and groaning, but Jack persisted and finished whatever point he was making.
When they’d finished talking, Raylene glanced at Caroline in a gesture that was probably meant to reassure her. Surprisingly, it did. Caroline hated that she needed to be babysat like this, but she wasn’t stupid. She’d come close to dying too many times to take unnecessary risks by turning down protection.
“Caroline, Raylene and I will go in a cruiser,” Jack explained. “Gunnar will follow as backup but will come back here once he’s sure it’s safe. Raylene will stay with us.”
Raylene nodded. “Just let me get the overnight bag I keep in my locker.”
While Kellan spoke to Gunnar, Raylene hurried toward the break room. The deputy didn’t take long and was back in under a minute. That was still plenty enough time for Caroline’s stomach to start churning with the reminder that the person who’d tried to kill them could be waiting outside.
“Move fast,” Jack instructed, and he hooked his arm around Caroline’s waist to get her moving.
There were two cruisers parked out front. Raylene and Gunnar went out first, each of them hurrying to get behind the wheel of their respective vehicle. Jack had one last look around before he moved with Caroline, and the moment they were inside the cruiser, Raylene took off with Gunnar following right behind her.
Jack continued to keep watch. So did Caroline. She studied each person on Main Street as if they were a would-be gunman, but no one attempted to fire at them. That still didn’t make her relax. She kept her eyes on their surroundings, wishing that she had a gun so she could defend herself if it came down to it.
Raylene drove out of town and onto the rural road that snaked through the countryside. There were no pedestrians here to watch, only miles of woods and pastures, and it didn’t take Caroline long to realize where they were going. She whirled toward Jack so fast that her neck popped.
“You’re taking me to your family’s ranch,” she blurted out, and was certain her tone and expression let him know she didn’t like that.
“Actually, I’m taking you to my place, but as I’m sure you remember, it’s on the ranch.”
Oh, yes. She remembered all right. It was the wood-and-stone house where she’d spent many nights with Jack. As his lover. And while it might be more comfortable than standing around at the sheriff’s office, it wasn’t exactly “safe.” Not with all the memories the place held. Specifically memories of Jack and her in bed.
“You can’t think going there is a good idea,” Caroline said.
He shrugged and continued to keep watch. “I have a security system, and the ranch hands will help guard the place.”
Again, that didn’t make it safe.
“Are all the repairs done?” Raylene asked him, her gaze briefly meeting Jack’s in the rearview mirror.
“They are. The damage wasn’t that bad.”
Caroline didn’t need clarification on the repairs or damage because she’d heard about the incident that’d happened at his place. Someone who’d been after Jack’s brother, Owen, had rammed his car into the
porch. She’d heard bits and pieces about it from Lucille and the media reports she’d accessed, but Caroline figured she hadn’t gotten the full story. Wasn’t sure she wanted it, either. She had enough bad stuff in her head without adding more.
“Considering that an attack happened so recently at your place, maybe we should take that as some kind of sign not to go there,” Caroline grumbled.
“The attack caused me to beef up security,” Jack said as if that answered all of her concerns. It didn’t. But then Caroline didn’t know anywhere they could go where she wouldn’t feel the danger looming over her.
Still...
She had to put her argument on hold for a moment when Raylene pulled to a stop in front of Jack’s. Despite those repairs and the security upgrade that he’d mentioned, the place looked exactly the same. It definitely wasn’t sprawling like the main house just up the road, where Kellan lived and helped run the family ranch. Jack’s place only had three bedrooms and two baths, and was as comfortable-looking and laid-back as the owner.
“Wait here a sec,” Jack told her.
He got out and ran to the front door. Caroline watched as he unlocked it and then used his phone to disengage the security system. He also went in, likely to search the place, before he came back out. As they’d done at the sheriff’s office, they moved fast, and only after Jack had Raylene and her inside did he motion for Gunnar to leave.
While Jack reset the security alarms, Caroline walked into the living room and glanced around. No changes here, either, and that included the two framed photos of Jack and her on the mantel. In one, he had his arm crooked playfully around her, his mouth pressed to her cheek, while she had a huge grin on her face. The other photo was a shot of Kellan and Gemma standing next to Jack and her, all of them smiling. Obviously, they were taken in much happier times.
“You can take the guest room,” Jack told Raylene, and he motioned toward the first room off the hall.
With her overnight bag in hand, Raylene headed in that direction, leaving Caroline with Jack.