Lawman with a Cause

by Delores Fossen

  Egan had to shake his head. “If they’re good at that sort of thing, they haven’t spread that news around. But it’s possible one of them hired a hacker. Christian could have done that, too.”

  A thin weary breath left her mouth. “In other words, this doesn’t rule out any of our suspects.”

  No, and the not knowing was clearly taking a toll on Jordan. Of course, the lack of sleep wasn’t helping, either. It would have been too much for most people to handle, but he wasn’t even sure that Jordan was in good health. And speaking of health, Jordan no longer looked steady.

  “Are you okay?” he asked. “Do you need your meds?”

  “It’s not time for my next dose,” she assured him.

  “What about pain meds? Those stitches and your head are probably hurting.”

  “I’m fine.”

  She wasn’t fine. Far from it, and he only hoped her stark expression was from the head injury and that it wasn’t some symptom caused by the transplant. Egan took hold of her arm, intending to have her sit down on the sofa. But at the exact moment he touched her, Jordan looked up at him.

  Definitely not good.

  Because just like that, the old attraction returned, and now it was mixed with the other feelings he was having for her. The need to do his job and protect her.

  “Yes,” she said. “I’m sorry about this.”

  He knew exactly what she meant, but Egan didn’t confirm it. Not with words anyway. However, he did do something pretty darn stupid. With his hand still clutching her wrist, he pulled her closer until she was in his arms.

  She made another sound. Not a weary sigh this time. This was more of relief, and she seemed to melt against him. Worse, Egan felt himself melt a little, too. The memories came flooding back. Memories of the times she’d been his lover, and even though he tried to push those images away, he failed. The heat just washed over him until he thought about doing something stupid.

  Like kissing her.

  Even after all these years Egan thought he could remember the taste of her. The way she would feel if he pressed his mouth to hers.

  “You’d regret it,” he heard her whisper.

  True. And Jordan would regret it as well, because they didn’t just have memories of the attraction. There were those of Shanna’s murder, and they would no doubt come flooding back if he opened this particular door with Jordan.

  She was the one who moved away from him, stepping back until they were no longer touching. The corner of her mouth lifted into a smile. “At least we’re not at each other’s throats. That’s progress.”

  No. It wasn’t. Because it was easier for him to deal with the anger than with the grief. Or the heat. Thankfully, though, Egan didn’t have to face either at the moment because he heard a familiar voice coming from the squad room.

  Kirk.

  Good. Even though he wasn’t looking forward to dealing with the man, it would get his mind back on business. Besides, Kirk could maybe give them the answers they needed to blow this investigation wide open.

  Egan gathered his breath and made his way to the squad room. As expected, Thea was there, and she was frisking the man. Something that obviously didn’t please Kirk, but Egan didn’t care. He didn’t want an armed suspect in the building.

  Like the other times that Egan had seen Kirk, he was dressed like a cowboy. A rich one. Which he was. As a cattle broker, Kirk made plenty of money, and from what Egan had heard, he spent plenty of it, too. He had a reputation for womanizing and throwing expensive parties. Oh, and hiring lawyers to help overturn his brother’s conviction.

  Ian had gotten up from his desk, and he seemed to be standing guard while Thea patted down Kirk. Good. With three lawmen and a former cop in the building, maybe Kirk would think twice before starting any trouble.

  Kirk looked past her, his attention on Egan. “I just got off the phone with my housekeeper.”

  “I hope you told her to surrender that gun,” Egan growled.

  “I did, but you know that’s a plant. It’s not mine. One of your deputies put that gun in my house.”

  “I know no such thing. But the lab should be able to tell us something. For instance, if your prints are on the .38 and if the blood on it belongs to a woman who was murdered. A woman we’ve yet to identify.”

  “And if it is her blood, it proves nothing. The gun was planted.”

  Maybe. But Egan wasn’t going to give him the benefit of the doubt just yet. He motioned for Kirk to follow him to the interview room, but the man didn’t budge even when Thea moved away from him.

  “My lawyer’s on the way,” Kirk snapped. “You’re not starting an interrogation until she gets here.”

  Great. He’d lawyered up. Of course, that was probably a smart move, considering the gun found at his house, but it meant Egan was going to have to hold off on getting those answers.

  Or not.

  “I know what you’re trying to do,” Kirk continued, shifting his attention to Jordan. “You’re trying to set me up to protect your cop friend.”

  “Christian?” she asked. And it was definitely a question. Jordan shook her head. “Why would I protect him?”

  “Because you’re best pals. Probably lovers, too. All of this is starting to get messy, and you don’t want him behind bars.”

  She huffed, folded her arms over her chest. “What do you think Christian has done that would require me to cover for him by framing you?”

  Kirk opened his mouth as if to answer, but Egan lifted his hand to stop him. While he wanted to hear what Kirk had to say about that, he needed to do something first. Egan read the man his rights. Since part of that included the mention of his attorney, Egan thought it might be a reminder for Kirk to shut up. But no. Kirk just kept on talking.

  “I figure Christian’s a dirty cop, just like you were. And like you are now.” Kirk aimed a glare at Egan.

  “I’ll bite. How am I dirty?” Egan asked. “Because you can’t possibly think I did anything to put your brother behind bars.”

  “No, but this is about the vendetta that Jordan and you are carrying on. You don’t want me around because you think I might get someone to hear the truth—that Drew wasn’t mentally stable the night he pulled the trigger. He should be in a hospital, not on death row.”

  “A jury didn’t see it that way,” Jordan pointed out. “I didn’t see it that way, either.”

  “Yeah, you were a dirty cop who likely set him up. I figure you wanted Shanna out of the way so you could be with your lover-boy here, and you and Christian used my brother to take Shanna out of the picture.”

  The anger roared through Egan, and it took every ounce of willpower not to punch the guy. He reminded himself that Kirk almost certainly wanted him to throw a punch because it would then in turn compromise the investigation.

  “Of course, your plan didn’t work,” Kirk continued. “Because Egan and you still aren’t together. Maybe his guilty conscience got the best of him and he figured out you’re bad news.”

  “Shanna was my friend,” Jordan said, her words barely louder than a whisper. “I wouldn’t have knowingly put her in the path of a killer.”

  Unlike Egan, she didn’t seem to be having trouble with the anger that Kirk had just provoked. But her eyes shimmered as she fought back tears. Kirk certainly wasn’t on the verge of tears, though. The man had a smug look on his face because he was well aware that he’d just hit a very raw nerve with Jordan.

  Egan considered returning verbal fire by reminding Kirk that he had just spelled out his motive for why he would want Jordan and him dead. But it was best to keep that until the lawyer was present, and then Egan could fully question him about it.

  Thea’s phone dinged with a text message, and the moment she read it, she looked at Egan. “The deputies got the gun from the housekeeper. They’re arresting her for obstruction of justice and sen
ding the gun to the lab.”

  Good on both counts, but the news only made Kirk’s eyes narrow even more. Then he cursed. “Leeroy,” he ground out “He came to my house last night, and he could have planted the gun then.”

  Interesting. “Now you’re saying it’s Leeroy who was behind the attacks. Just a few seconds ago, you were blaming Jordan and me. It seems as if you’re having trouble making up your mind.”

  Kirk made a sound of raw frustration. “I didn’t say that Leeroy was a saint. He hates me because of my brother.”

  “And yet he paid you a visit,” Egan pointed out.

  Kirk suddenly got quiet, and for several moments Egan thought that maybe this would be the end of their little chat, but then Kirk shook his head. “He’s never done that before, and that’s why I should have known something was up. He said he wanted to talk to me about the women who’d been killed. The ones who got Shanna’s organs.”

  Jordan and Egan exchanged a glance, and even though she didn’t say anything, Egan knew that had caught her attention as much as it had his. Still, Egan didn’t want to question him about it because it could be argued that Egan had continued an interrogation after Kirk had lawyered up.

  “Leeroy must have planted the gun when he came to my house,” Kirk added a moment later. “He asked to use the bathroom, and he could have done it then. It’s definitely not mine. I don’t own a .38.”

  “He doesn’t have one registered to his name,” Thea explained. “I checked.”

  Yeah, but that didn’t mean Kirk hadn’t bought it illegally. Of course, it was just as possible that Leeroy had indeed set him up. And if so, then Egan was going to have to untangle this mess to get to the truth.

  “Why would Leeroy do something like this now?” Jordan asked Kirk, but she immediately waved off the question. Probably because she, too, remembered that asking questions wasn’t a good idea without Kirk’s lawyer present.

  Kirk ignored her waving-off gesture, though, because he turned to her. However, he didn’t jump into an answer. Instead, he glanced out the window when a car pulled to a stop in front of the building and a woman stepped out. “Maybe because of her.” He tipped his head toward their visitor, who was now making her way to the door. “That’s my lawyer, and Leeroy probably heard about it.”

  Of all the things that Egan had thought Kirk might say, that wasn’t one of them. And this was something he could most certainly ask and not violate any protocols of an interrogation. “Who’s your lawyer?”

  Kirk gave them a blank look as if the answer were obvious. But he was giving that blank look to Jordan. “I thought you knew.”

  Jordan shook her head. “Knew what?”

  The corner of Kirk’s mouth lifted into a slight smile. Not a good smile, either. And he turned toward the woman who walked in. It wasn’t someone Egan knew personally, but he certainly recognized her from the photos.

  The same woman who’d received Shanna’s heart.

  Tori Judd.

  Chapter Eight

  Jordan heard the small gasp of surprise that she made, but the feelings inside her were far from small. The first thing she felt was relief.

  The woman hadn’t been murdered after all.

  But the questions soon followed the relief. Yes, Tori was alive, but then who was their Jane Doe?

  “Tori Judd?” Egan questioned.

  The lawyer nodded, confirming that. Though Jordan hadn’t needed confirmation. Tori looked exactly like her DMV photo. The same long auburn hair and intense blue eyes.

  “We’ve been looking for you,” Egan said to the woman. “Because we thought you were dead.”

  “Yes. I just heard about that on the drive over.” She touched her fingers to her forehead. “I’ve been dealing with a migraine for the past two days so I turned off my phone and took enough meds to knock me out. I didn’t see all the calls until I was on the way over here. I got in touch with my parents to let them know I was okay, but I figured I could wait and tell you in person.”

  Jordan glanced at Egan to see if he was buying this, but she couldn’t tell. She certainly had her doubts. “You weren’t at your house,” Jordan told her.

  “No,” Tori answered at the same moment that Kirk said, “She was staying at my place.”

  Neither Tori nor Kirk added anything to that, but after seeing the look they gave each other, Jordan was even more confused. It was the sort of look that passed between lovers.

  “You two are together,” Egan grumbled. And Jordan heard the skepticism and disgust in his voice. “You do know that Kirk is trying to get Shanna’s killer released from jail.”

  Tori nodded again. “I doubt this will make sense to you. Or you,” she added to Jordan. “I know from everything I learned that you both loved Shanna, but Kirk isn’t responsible for her death. He’s just trying to be a good brother.”

  Egan mumbled some profanity. “There’s a difference of opinion about that, but let’s agree to disagree on that specific point. But there’s something you can’t dispute. Someone murdered a woman who looks like you. What do you know about that?”

  “Nothing,” Tori said without hesitation. “But from what Kirk told me, you believe he committed the crime. He didn’t. He was at his house with me.”

  “While you were knocked out on pain meds,” Egan fired back. He didn’t need to spell out that she was either lying about the migraine or there was no way she could have known if Kirk had murdered the woman or not.

  But who the heck was the woman?

  “When the San Antonio cops searched your house, they found a letter,” Jordan said. “One from the Gift of Life Foundation.”

  “It was shredded,” Egan added.

  Until Egan had said that last part, Tori had had no reaction. But she had a reaction now. Her eyes widened, and she no longer looked as confident or as steady as she had when she’d arrived.

  “That letter upset me a lot so I ripped it up.” Her voice was a little shaky, too. “Leeroy seemed, well, crazy, and I was afraid of him.”

  “That’s why she’s been staying with me,” Kirk volunteered.

  Strange since Kirk might have been the one who was following her. Of course, it was just as likely that it was Leeroy.

  “Now you can see why I was so concerned when Leeroy showed up at my place,” Kirk went on. “I thought he was there to find Tori, but he never even brought up her name.”

  Egan stayed quiet a moment as if processing that, and he turned back to Tori. “You do know that two recipients of Shanna’s organs are dead?”

  She nodded. “I figured that out after I got the letter from Leeroy.” She tightened her grip on her purse. “Someone wants to kill me, don’t they?”

  “I believe someone does. Jordan, too.” Egan motioned to the bandage on Jordan’s head. “The person nearly succeeded with Jordan. My advice would be for you to go into protective custody.”

  A burst of air left Kirk’s mouth. A laugh, sort of, but it wasn’t from humor. “Why should Tori trust you to keep her safe?”

  Egan gave him a look that could have frozen the desert, and he tapped his badge. “But I didn’t say my protective custody. She can call the rangers or marshals.”

  “You really think that’s necessary?” Kirk asked.

  Egan lifted his shoulder. “Two other organ recipients are dead. So is another woman who’s connected to this in some way. And someone tried to kill Jordan. I think that’s a good indication that Tori might be in danger.”

  “But you’re not positive the attack and those deaths actually had anything to do with Shanna,” Kirk argued.

  “No, but common sense tells me Tori should be taking precautions.”

  “I will,” the lawyer assured him, interrupting whatever else it was that Kirk had been about to say.

  At least Tori seemed to be understanding the seriousness of all of this. Well, m
aybe. It was just as possible that she was so mixed up with Kirk that he’d been able to convince her that she wasn’t in any real danger.

  “What about the other recipient, Irene Adair?” Tori asked.

  “She’s alive, as far as we know,” Jordan answered.

  “So, is Kirk free to go?” Tori asked after a crisp nod.

  “No.” And Egan didn’t hesitate for even a second. “In addition to the gun and the murdered woman, I need to ask him about a chop shop in San Antonio. I have a witness who identified him as being there.”

  Kirk lifted his shoulder. “The mechanic who comes to my house to service all my vehicles lives in San Antonio. But if he’s got a connection to a chop shop, this is the first I’m hearing about it. Who’s the witness?”

  “Someone credible,” Egan growled.

  That could be an out-and-out lie, but at the moment, Jordan was going to accept it as truth. Apparently, so was Egan. Or at least he was going to let Kirk believe he believed it.

  Kirk clearly didn’t accept it, though. His mouth tightened. “I’m guessing this is just another thing you’ll try to use to railroad me. Well, it won’t work. I haven’t done anything illegal.”

  Again, that could be a lie, but the bottom line was, the word of a criminal informant alone wasn’t enough to hold Kirk. But maybe Egan could get something off the gun.

  “Take Kirk and his lawyer to the interview room,” Egan instructed Thea, and he waited for her to do that before he made a call to Court.

  “I was so sure Tori had been killed,” Jordan said while they waited for Court to answer.

  “So was I,” he assured her.

  And the fact that Tori was alive meant the murder and the attack might not be connected to Shanna or Drew after all. Or maybe someone just wanted it to look that way.

  “Our Jane Doe isn’t Tori Judd,” Egan told his brother the moment that Court came on the line. Egan also put the call on speaker.

  “Yeah, I just found out and was about to call you. We got an ID on the dead woman, and her name is Lorena Lovett.”