Love Inspired Suspense May 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: Trail of EvidenceGone MissingLethal Exposure

by Lynette Eason

  “Are you there, Jonas?” Brooke asked.

  “Yeah,” he whispered. He heard the worry in her voice. Where were his keys? In his pants pocket hanging over the chair in his bedroom. He changed into sweats when he’d gotten home.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Getting out.” Standing in his kitchen with his phone pressed to his ear, Jonas saw the shadow of a man, his weapon raised.

  “Help’s on the way. The officer isn’t answering his phone.”

  Jonas paused only for a second before deciding against hiding in the car. He pressed the garage door and flinched at the low rumble. Would the guy in the kitchen notice? He moved to duck under the door and felt something slam into his back. The concrete rushed up and he threw out an arm to break his fall.

  Pain shot up from his wrist to his elbow. He lost a few layers of skin, but figured that was the least of his problems as he rolled to his back only to stare up at the man standing over him, gun trained on his face.

  SIXTEEN

  Brooke raced through the streets as fast as she dared, siren blaring, lights flashing. Mercy sat in her area in the back, but Brooke could feel the animal’s tension reflected in her own. The dog knew something was up and was ready to work.

  “Jonas? Are you there? Jonas?” Silence answered her. But he hadn’t hung up. “Jonas?”

  “Where’s the kid?”

  Brooke jerked the phone from her ear then shoved it back. “I don’t know where he is. We’re all looking for him.”

  “I said where is the kid! Answer me or I’ll blow your head off!”

  Brooke realized the person wasn’t talking to her. He was talking to Jonas and he had a gun on him. Chills swept through her and she pressed the gas a little harder.

  “He’s missing. He left last night. We’re all looking for him.” Jonas spoke, his voice low, a thread of steel-laced anger vibrating through the line.

  “You’re a liar.”

  “I’m not!” Brooke heard the snarl and prayed he wouldn’t do something stupid like attack the guy with the gun. “He got scared and took off. No one knows where he is.”

  She turned on the road that would lead her to Jonas’s house. “Hang on, Jonas.”

  Through her handset, she heard sirens.

  “Let’s get out of here!” Another voice.

  “What do we do with him?”

  “Shoot him.”

  A gunshot cracked through the line. She flinched and her terror level shot up. There were two of them. And one of them had shot Jonas. “Jonas! No, no no. Please no.” A thud and a grunt came through the line. She heard scuffling and running footsteps. “Jonas!” Oh please, God, don’t let him be dead. She turned the next corner and screeched to a halt in front of Jonas’s house. She bolted from the vehicle to find Jonas on the ground, officers chasing two fleeing suspects. Mercy hopped to the ground, her nose working the area around her.

  Brooke wanted to take Mercy and follow the officers in pursuit, but her first concern was Jonas. She dropped to her knees beside him and started patting his chest, his arms. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Where are you shot? You’re bleeding!”

  He grabbed her hands and sat up. “I’m fine.” He glanced at his arm. “That’s nothing.”

  “I heard a gunshot.”

  “Yeah, but he didn’t shoot me.” He stood and winced, clasping his injured arm. “One of the officers shot at the guy who had the gun on me. It stopped him long enough so I was able to knock the weapon away from him.”

  “Did the officer hit him?”

  “I don’t know.”

  She nodded to his arm. “You’re bleeding,” she said again.

  “I’m getting used to it.” He grunted. “When I came out of the garage, one of them knocked me to the ground. I broke my fall with my arm.”

  “Is your arm broken?”

  “No, just scraped and painful.”

  She noticed two of the officers who’d been chasing the intruders returning. Their frowns didn’t tell a happy ending to the pursuit. She led Jonas over to them. “They got away?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” the larger officer said. “They had a car waiting. No license plate, but I’ve got a BOLO for the vehicle. It’s a gray Ford Taurus, paint scraped off the right rear bumper.”

  “How’s the officer who was watching the house?” Jonas asked. “I never saw him come back to his car.”

  “We found him around back. He’s out cold. They hit him hard. Ambulance is on the way.”

  She winced and nodded, then glanced down the street to the right. Then the left. She looked at Jonas. “I think you might be getting to know your neighbors before too long.”

  He followed her gaze. “At least they don’t hide away and ignore trouble in the neighborhood.” He shook his head. “They’ll probably blackball me from the home owners association.”

  “Or charge you double dues.”

  He gave her a tight smile, neither one of them really interested in finding humor in the situation right now. She cupped his chin. “Are you really all right? When I heard that gunshot—” She bit her lip and fought the surge of emotion.

  “I’m really all right.” He pulled her into a loose hug with his good arm and she pressed her forehead into his chest. She relished the feeling of being in his arms even as she told herself to pull away. He was a case, his son was missing and she had to keep herself at a distance in order to stay objective.

  Right.

  She looked up to find Nicholas eyeing her with a raised brow. Thankfully he didn’t say anything and didn’t even give her a funny look.

  He did appear concerned. She slipped away from Jonas and put some distance between them so she could think. She gestured to Jonas’s arm. “You might need to have that checked.”

  “By a real doctor?” His lips quirked in a side smile. “Like I did the bullet graze?”

  “Touché.” She nodded to the house. “Let’s get you back inside. I don’t think those guys are coming back, but why take chances?”

  They made their way back into the house via the front door. Jonas led the way to the den, flipping lights on as he went. The tension in his shoulders was noticeable. Chase and Valor followed behind.

  Nicholas looked at Chase. “I think you should stay here. Inside.”

  Chase nodded. “I was thinking one of us should.”

  “Brooke’s going with me in the morning—” he glanced at his watch “—in a few hours to talk to Congressman Jeffries.”

  “Then I’ll stay,” Chase said.

  Brooke hesitated. She wanted to stay. To make sure that Jonas was all right and that no one tried to break in again. She glanced at Chase. A small smile played around the corners of his mouth and Brooke straightened her spine. “Fine. Sounds good to me.”

  She told Mercy to heel and headed out the door, knowing no one bought her nonchalance. She was terrified for Jonas and Felix and knew the others were too. Because as much as she might want to deny it, the old feelings from years past weren’t so old anymore. They were new and exciting and frightening. And if she didn’t find out who was targeting Jonas and Felix, she might be attending funerals, instead of the wedding that kept jumping to the forefront of her mind.

  *

  Jonas watched Nicholas and Brooke drive away. He turned to find Chase watching him. Chase’s dog, Valor, sat at his side. The Belgian Malinois yawned and settled his big head on his paws. “Sorry you got babysitting duty,” Jonas said. He went into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

  “I’m a former Secret Service agent. I’m used to it.” The man was young, in his midtwenties and tall. His green eyes held life—and a wisdom that came beyond his years. Jonas had a feeling Chase had quite a few stories to tell. “And I don’t mind. It’s different from what I’m usually doing so the change of pace is nice.”

  “You said former. Why get out of the Secret Service?”

  Chase shrugged. “Search and rescue is my passion. I liked my time in the Secret Service, but when I
was offered this position, I jumped at it. This is where I belong.”

  Jonas nodded, his mind on his son. It helped having someone there to talk with, but he couldn’t stop wondering if Felix was safe. For the first time, Jonas regretted not getting Felix a phone.

  “Are you sure you want to stay here tonight?” Chase asked.

  “Yes, Felix may come back home.” He looked around. “The worst of the damage was in here. The kitchen and bedrooms are fine now that the smoke is gone. However, I do need to run back to the office and take care of the animals that are there.”

  “I’ll take you.”

  Jonas nodded. “All right.” He looked around the house, the stark emptiness of it slashing his heart. What would he do if Felix never came home? He pulled in a shuddering breath and ordered his mind not to go there. Felix would come home. He had to.

  “Someone will find him, Jonas.”

  He looked into Chase’s kind eyes. “Yeah, but will it be the good guys or the bad guys?”

  *

  The sun was high overhead when Brooke and Nicholas pulled up to the congressman’s front door the next morning. Brooke was breathing a bit easier after the rest of the night passed with no more attempts on Jonas.

  The large mansion should have been overbearing and monstrous. And while it was big, it was more classy than ostentatious. At least in Brooke’s opinion. That fact probably had to do with the good taste of the congressman’s landscaper.

  She and Nicholas walked up to the front door, leaving the animals in the well-ventilated vehicle.

  Before she could ring the bell, the door opened.

  Congressman Jeffries looked impeccable. His gray hair lay slicked back, not a strand daring to be out of place. His blue eyes remained shuttered and his lips didn’t curve into a smile. “Come in.” He stepped back and Brooke moved inside. Nicholas stayed on her flank and shut the door behind him. “Thank you for seeing us.”

  “I apologize for all the delays, but they couldn’t be helped. I appreciate your understanding.” Instead of going into the reasons for those delays, he simply clasped his hands in front of him. “You said you had a few more questions and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to find Michael’s killer. You know that.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  Congressman Jeffries led them into a formal living area and toward two navy wing-back chairs. “Make yourself comfortable.” They did. Jeffries stood near the fireplace and leaned against the massive mantel. “Now, before you start in on your questions, tell me this, has there been any progress on locating my son’s killer?”

  Brooke shot a look at Nicholas. “No, sir, not much. We do have some things we’re working on, but there’s no point in talking about them until we see if they’re going to pan out.”

  He frowned, but didn’t push the matter. “What kinds of things?”

  Brooke pursed her lips and exchanged a glance with Nicholas. He gave a short nod. “Things like a phone that’s linked to Rosa Gomez, your late housekeeper.”

  “What’s so important about that?”

  “There’s a picture on the phone of a man on the cliffs where she died. The picture was taken the day she died so we’re looking for him to bring him in and question him.” She could give that much information. The man’s face was all over the news so the congressman probably already knew that much.

  He snorted and waved a hand. “You’re right, you don’t have much. What other questions do you have for me then?”

  “As you know, we’ve been looking into everything we possibly can to figure out who would have something against you.”

  “Yes.”

  “It seems you and Thorn Industries have a rather close relationship,” Nicholas said. He kept his tone mild, but Brooke heard the thread of steel beneath the words.

  “What are you implying?” Jeffries asked, eyes flashing.

  Brooke opened her mouth, but Nicholas beat her to it. “I’m not implying anything. I’m simply curious about the two bills you introduced that were subsequently passed.”

  Jeffries’s lips tightened.

  Brooke picked up when the man didn’t speak. “We found it very interesting that those bills allowed Thorn Industries to keep manufacturing a drug with dangerous side effects. And of course that puts more money in your pocket.”

  “How dare you?” The congressman took a step toward Nicholas, fists clenched at his side, face red.

  Nicholas tensed, but Brooke simply watched the man, then said, “We dare because these are facts, sir. Did Michael find out what you were doing? What you were supporting? Did Michael threaten to expose you? Did you get so desperate to keep your secrets that you had to kill your own son?”

  Congressman Jeffries gaped at her. Even Nicholas looked a bit stunned at her lack of finesse. But Brooke did it for a reason. She waited for Jeffries’s reaction.

  And wasn’t disappointed.

  His red face turned purple. “Unbelievable. My son is dead! Whoever shot him shot me, too. And you dare come into my home and accuse me of killing Michael? Get out. Both of you!”

  Nicholas shifted. Brooke met the man’s eyes. “Not until you tell us about Thorn Industries. We can keep digging, of course, but if you’ll just tell us what we need to know then that’ll make things move along a little faster. Which is what you want, right?”

  His nostrils flared and the color in his face stayed high, but he gave a short nod. It took him a moment to get his breathing under control. He finally drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them, hard chips of ice stared at her. “Fine. Thorn Industries tried to bribe me in passing the bill. I would never do that. I wouldn’t jeopardize my career, my livelihood or my reputation. That would be political suicide.”

  “Yes, sir, that’s true.”

  “So I told them no. I refused.” He gave a halfhearted laugh. “I play by the rules and get accused of murder.” The hardness melted. Tears filled his eyes, his shoulders slumped and he dropped to the couch to lower his head to his hands. Sobs shook his shoulders.

  Brooke swallowed. Had she gone too far? She raised an eyebrow at Nicholas and he shrugged.

  “Sir?” Brooke asked.

  He hiccupped and pulled a tissue from the box on the end table. He wiped his face. “I’m sorry. So sorry. But I just miss Michael so much. And your questions…”

  Brooke cleared her throat. “Yes, well, I apologize. Sometimes my tongue gets ahead of my brain.”

  The man nodded. “I miss my son,” he whispered.

  “Of course you do. I’m sorry for the hard questions. We’re just trying to find who did this.”

  He sniffled and grabbed another handful of tissues. “I know. I know. Michael was a good man. He was a bit of a do-gooder crusader, you know. Nothing set him off like finding out someone was corrupt in the government.” He looked up. “That was his big thing. He fought against government corruption.” He sighed. “And he didn’t care who he made mad. He took on anyone he thought needed taking down or exposed. Anyone.” He blew his nose and wiped his eyes. His gaze jumped from Nicholas’s to Brooke’s. “And because of that, he was killed. No, I don’t have proof, but I don’t need it. I just know it.”

  The tears continued to leak down his face. Nicholas stood and Brooke followed his example, her lips pulled into a frown. Nicholas grabbed more tissues and pushed them into Jeffries’s hand. “I’m sorry, sir. We’ll leave now, but please call us if there’s anything else you can think of.”

  The tears had stopped, but Brooke couldn’t deny the agony in the man’s eyes. Shame flickered and she had to work to suppress it.

  “Of course I’ll call,” Jeffries said. He swallowed and drew in another shuddering breath. “I appreciate everything you’re doing. I know you’re working hard. Forgive me for being bullheaded. I just want the people responsible for Michael’s death to be brought to justice.”

  “We do, too, sir,” Brooke said. “We do, too.”

  She and Nicholas left and stood in front of their ve
hicles. Brooke’s phone buzzed and she glanced at the text. “Jonas is at work. Chase is still with him and there’s a patrol car in the parking lot.”

  “Good. He’s covered.” Nicholas nodded. “Wish we could find his son.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  Her phone buzzed again. “It’s Gavin.”

  “Take it.”

  She nodded and lifted the phone to her ear. “Hi, Gavin.”

  “Brooke. We need you and Mercy to head over to Brothers Jewelry Store. There’s been a breakin at their downtown store. One of the robbers left behind a glove. DC police asked for K-9 help because of the glove. We want to see if Mercy can track down anything else that might give us a clue who these guys are.”

  “We’re on our way.”

  Brooke raced to her vehicle, her suspicions about the congressman not satisfied; however, there was nothing to do but head to the other case. Nicholas would write up the conversation word for word and they could discuss it at the next Capitol K-9 meeting. Gavin would be furious with her.

  Ten minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot of the jewelry store. An array of law enforcement was already in action. She flashed her badge and Mercy quivered at her side, ready to work.

  An officer approached her. “Hey, Brooke.”

  “Hey, Elizabeth. They’ve got you out here, too?” Elizabeth Carter, another one of the Capitol K-9 team members. Her border collie, Buddy, sat at her side.

  Elizabeth nodded.

  “Anyone hurt?” Brooke asked.

  “The guard. He was shot in the chest. It’s touch and go right now.”

  Brooke winced. “Okay, where’s the glove?”

  “The lead detective has it.” She rubbed Buddy’s ears. “Let’s go, boy.”

  They took off and Brooke turned to find herself face-to-face with Detective David Delvecchio. “You the lead?”

  “I am.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  He held a rubber glove out to her. She popped it over her hand and reached into the paper bag he had in his other hand. Holding the leather glove between two fingers, she let Mercy get a good sniff. The dog’s nose wiggled. “Seek.”