From a law enforcement viewpoint, it was a good thing for her to study them. It might trigger some memories of the attack that would help them explain what was happening now. But it would also be an emotional nightmare for her. Something he wished he didn’t have to put her through. Despite the thick wall Jodi had built around herself, Gabriel still wanted to protect her. Even when she wouldn’t want him to do that.
He maximized the size of the first picture on his phone, but it still took Gabriel a few seconds to figure out exactly what he was seeing. It was a grainy shot, dark, but it soon became clear that it was of his front porch. The lights were on, and Jodi was in the doorway. She was wearing a familiar outfit—cutoff shorts and that red top.
Hell.
Someone had clicked a picture of them when Gabriel was turning her down, and while he didn’t remember the exact words he’d said to her, the gist was for her to go back to his parents’ house, where she was spending the night with Ivy.
“I didn’t notice anyone,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. She moved closer to him, arm to arm, and had another look.
He hadn’t noticed anyone, either, but it could have been taken with a long-range lens. Still, if Gabriel had just glanced in that direction, he might have spotted the person and stopped what was about to happen.
But why would Travis have taken this?
The answer was—he wouldn’t have. The man had been drunk, and it wasn’t too likely he’d have been carrying a camera. Even if he’d used his phone for the shot, there was still no reason to do this. After all, Travis was well aware that Jodi often visited Ivy, and Gabriel.
Gabriel moved on to the next shot. This one was of Jodi walking away from his house. She was barely visible in the darkness, but she was already on the trail. Leaving. He was in the door, watching her go. He’d almost stopped her. Had almost run after her and kissed her. If he had, they wouldn’t be standing here right now. Of course, his parents would likely still be dead since Gabriel had gotten the frantic call from Ivy less than five minutes after Jodi had left.
He cursed when he pulled up the third photo and tried to move his phone away so that Jodi wouldn’t see it. Of course, she snatched it back and saw what had caused his profanity and had twisted his stomach into knots.
Jodi on the ground, bleeding out.
“The SOB took my picture while I was dying,” she said.
Yeah, and that told him plenty that he hadn’t known before. If Travis had indeed been the one to attack her because he’d thought she had witnessed the murders, he wouldn’t have waited around to take a picture of her sliced up and on the ground. That applied to the other pictures, as well.
“You’re right. Your father wouldn’t have been the one to stab you,” Gabriel admitted.
Jodi glanced at him and that’s when Gabriel saw the tears in her eyes. She quickly blinked them away and turned her head.
“Yes.” And that’s all she said for several long seconds. “The person who took these photos was outside your house right about the time your parents were being killed.” She paused. “My attack wasn’t about them. It was about me.”
The tears threatened again, and even though Gabriel figured it was a bad idea, he pulled her into his arms. He expected her to fight it or go stiff. But she didn’t. Jodi melted against him.
That was what Gabriel wanted to protect her from seeing. Now, those images would stay with her just as they’d stayed with him. Because that’s the way he’d seen her after he had found her just off the path.
“It wasn’t my father,” she whispered. Even through the emotion, he could hear the relief, and she looked up at him just as he looked down at her.
The air was already thick with emotion, but that eye-to-eye contact made it even worse. The attraction mixed with the old memories and the pain. Everything snowballed together until it felt as if he were being buried in an avalanche of heat. That’s probably why he kissed her. Because it wasn’t something he’d planned to do.
Definitely not a smart move.
His mouth barely touched hers before she scurried back as if he’d scalded her. “I’m sorry,” he said at the exact moment that Jodi said, “I can’t.”
He nodded and then put even more distance between them. Gabriel was ready to close down the pictures so he could look at them later when Jodi wasn’t around, but before he could do that, he heard the sound of a car pulling up in front of his house. Normally, that wouldn’t have been a reason for concern, but there was nothing normal about what had been going on.
Gabriel drew his gun and went to the window just in time to see their visitor pull to a stop. It was a black SUV, and since the windows were heavily tinted, he couldn’t see who was inside.
“Recognize that vehicle?” he asked Jodi.
“No.” She’d drawn her gun as well, and even though she still had to be shaken from those photos, she wasn’t showing any traces of being upset now. Like him, she was focused on a possible new threat.
Gabriel could see the front license plate of the SUV, and he was about to phone it in when someone stepped out.
Russell.
That didn’t make Gabriel holster his gun, but it was obvious that Jodi and he weren’t the only ones on edge. Russell glanced around while staying behind the cover of the SUV door. They were the kinds of glances a person would make if they thought someone was following them.
“Why the heck is he here?” Jodi grumbled.
Gabriel didn’t know, but he was about to find out. He disarmed the security system so that it wouldn’t go off when he opened the door, opening it about halfway.
“I have to talk to you.” Russell ran onto the porch while still firing glances all around him.
Gabriel didn’t back up. He certainly didn’t invite Russell inside, which earned him a puzzled look. “I’m in danger,” the man added.
“Welcome to the club.” But Gabriel knew he couldn’t be flippant about this. He was a lawman. Danger came with the badge. Ditto for Jodi as a security specialist. But Russell was a businessman, a CPA, and this might be his first brush with some monster with a deadly agenda since he left the army.
Of course, in Gabriel’s mind, Russell could be a suspect. Anyone with a personal connection to Jodi could be. Including Hector and August.
“Someone just tried to kill me,” Russell spat out. He came closer as if ready to barge in, but Gabriel didn’t let him.
Jodi, however, moved to Gabriel’s side, which meant she was now in the possible line of fire if their bomber was still in the area. That was a good reason to put a quick end to this conversation so he could get her back inside.
Russell huffed. “Look, I just want you to put a stop to this. My wife and baby could be hurt.”
Gabriel wanted to be unaffected by that, but he wasn’t. He knew what it was like to have family members in danger. And what it was like to have that danger lead to their deaths.
“What happened?” Gabriel asked.
Russell looked around again and groaned softly. “I leave my car in the driveway overnight outside my house, and when I went to get in it early this morning, there were two rattlesnakes on the seats. Rattlesnakes!” he repeated like profanity. “What if my wife had gone out there with me to kiss me goodbye for work? She could have been killed.”
Possibly. But since it was Russell’s car, the snakes had been meant for him. “You didn’t see anyone suspicious in the area?” Gabriel pressed. “And did you report it to SAPD?”
“Of course I reported it. I called them right away. They came and took my statement. They asked if I saw anyone, too, and I didn’t. This has to stop,” he repeated after another groan.
While still keeping watch of Russell, Gabriel took out his phone and made a quick call to Cameron to have him request a copy of Russell’s incident report from SAPD.
�
��Maybe you can make a public statement,” Russell went on, looking at Jodi now. “Or visit your father and make sure he’s not behind this. He could have put his brother up to all this in order to clear his name, but I can’t have my family at risk because of you.”
Gabriel felt Jodi tense. Probably because those words would have felt like a slap to the face. But it was a strange way of putting it. Yes, Russell was upset, but why had he dumped all of this on Jodi?
“We have reason to believe that Travis wasn’t the one who attacked Jodi that night,” Gabriel said, and he watched Russell’s reaction.
And it was an interesting reaction all right. Russell’s eyes widened, and he volleyed glances between Gabriel and her. “Then who the hell did it? Because that’s probably the same SOB who put those snakes in my SUV.”
Maybe. Probably, Gabriel amended. It was also likely the same person who’d blown up Jodi’s car.
“You have to come up with a way to put an end to this,” Russell went on, his voice more frantic now. “Maybe set a trap for him or something.”
Gabriel had no plans to do that, especially since it would require using Jodi as bait, but he figured Jodi was already thinking of doing just that.
“I’m scared of Hector,” Russell added. “If he’s the one doing this, then he’s got the people and the resources to hurt me and my family.”
Gabriel hoped he didn’t look too surprised at Russell’s comment against Jodi’s boss. Hector was indeed a possible suspect, but Russell made it seem as if adding the man to Gabriel’s suspect list was a done deal.
“Why would you think Hector’s behind this?” Jodi asked, taking the question right out of Gabriel’s mouth.
Russell lifted his shoulder. “I thought it was obvious. The guy’s crazy in love with you. And he can’t be happy that you’re staying here with Gabriel. Something like that might send Hector off the deep end. Heck, it might send August off the deep end, too.” He settled his attention on Gabriel. “August really hates you, and he wouldn’t want his niece spending time with the man who helped put his brother in prison.”
August did feel that way, but Gabriel decided not to confirm it. He just waited to see if Russell would say anything else. He didn’t.
Russell checked his watch. “I need to be getting to work.” He started to leave but then turned back. “I don’t want you calling my home or going there. It’d only upset my wife even more.” He wasn’t talking to Gabriel but rather Jodi.
“No worries. I won’t go there.” Her voice was tight enough for Gabriel to know that she wasn’t pleased with what was essentially a dig. It was long over between Jodi and Russell, and Gabriel doubted she had feelings for the man, but maybe Russell thought she did.
Gabriel stepped back so he could shut the door. He also made another call to Cameron, and the deputy answered on the first ring.
“I need you to bring in Hector and August for questioning again—” Gabriel started.
“August is already here,” Cameron interrupted. “And he’s demanding to speak to you.”
“Put him on the phone.” Gabriel still wanted to do a face-to-face interview with both men, but he could possibly clear up some things right now. Well, one thing anyway. “While I’m talking to him, see if you can pull up any financials on Hector, Russell and August. The FBI should have already done that because of the investigation into the email threats and the latest murder.”
“Will do. Oh, and brace yourself because August is mad.” There was sarcasm dripping from Cameron’s voice, probably because August was usually angry about something.
“Where are you?” August snapped the moment he came on the line. “And where’s my niece?”
“We’re both safe,” Gabriel answered. Even though August likely knew Jodi was at the ranch, he didn’t want to confirm it. “I just got a visit from Russell. Any chance you put some snakes in his car?”
“What?” August howled. “Is that what he said?” He didn’t pause long enough for Gabriel to respond. “Because he’s a bald-faced liar. I hope you asked him if he’s the one who killed your folks and knifed Jodi.”
He hadn’t, but Gabriel wasn’t planning to accuse Russell of anything yet, especially since he didn’t have any evidence.
“Russell had an alibi for the night of the attacks,” Gabriel reminded him.
“Yeah, so what? It was a girl he’d met at a bar who admitted she’d been drinking. She could have passed out and not even known he’d gone out and done something like that.”
Gabriel hadn’t intended for the conversation to swing in this direction, but he went with it. “Okay, I’ll bite. What motive would Russell have to kill my folks? He didn’t even know them.”
Of course, Gabriel had a theory that could work—that Russell could have killed them after going to the house to look for Jodi. Collateral damage.
“Russell didn’t have to know them to kill them,” August pointed out. “Maybe he was tanked up on drugs. Maybe he just wanted to kill something or somebody, and they were the ones who drew the short straw. I’m just saying, you need to take a hard look at that liar. If there were snakes in his car, he might have put them there himself.”
Yes, and that’s why Gabriel wanted to read the report from SAPD. There might be something suspicious that stood out. Also, Gabriel could start calling around to the local snake handlers to see if anyone had purchased any recently. Some people collected them for their venom and just because they liked having dangerous “pets.” If any of them had recently sold a pair of snakes, it could lead them to Russell.
“Are you going to ask Hector if he put snakes in that idiot’s car?” August went on.
“You bet I will. Now, wait there until I can get into the office and we can have a longer chat. For now, give the phone back to Cameron.”
“He’s on the other line, but I’ll put the phone on his desk.”
From the sound of it, August practically threw it there. He obviously wasn’t happy about having to wait on Gabriel, but people often said more when they were riled, so he’d let August stew a while longer.
Then, he could figure out what to do about Jodi.
“I could go to the sheriff’s office with you,” she offered while he waited for Cameron. “If you give me access to a computer and a phone, I can start trying to take a better look at the photos that the intruder left at my apartment. I might see something I hadn’t noticed before.”
That was what Gabriel was afraid of. Still, the killer and she were likely the only ones at that particular time on the part of the trail where she’d been attacked that night. So Jodi might indeed see something new.
Along with having a panic attack.
But that was a bridge he’d cross if they got to it.
“Sorry about the wait,” Cameron said when he came back. “I’ve got something to tell you, but I want to do that in your office. I’m walking there right now.”
The deputy probably wanted some privacy because August was right there in his face, but it meant waiting a couple of seconds. “It’s about Russell,” Cameron said when he finally continued. “The FBI has been monitoring him along with Jodi, you and anyone else who might be connected to the recent threats, and they might have found something.”
Jodi moved closer to him, clearly trying to hear what Cameron was saying, so Gabriel put the call on speaker. “Jodi’s listening,” Gabriel warned the deputy. That way, Cameron could tone down anything that might be disturbing to her.
“Russell recently withdrew a rather large sum of money in cash. Nine grand. It came from an account he had before he got married. His wife’s name isn’t on the account. She might not even know it exists.”
Not telling a spouse about an account wasn’t unheard of, but that wasn’t what caught Gabriel’s attention. It was the amount of money. Just enough not to attract suspicion. At lea
st it wouldn’t have been if Russell weren’t being monitored. Nine thousand was enough to pay off Billy and hire the guy who’d broken into Jodi’s apartment. Maybe even enough to pay the man who’d blown up her car.
When Gabriel’s eyes met Jodi’s, he realized she’d come to the same conclusion.
“Does the FBI have any idea what Russell used the money for?” Gabriel asked Cameron.
“Not yet. He didn’t deposit it into another account, didn’t get a cashier’s check with it, either. You want me to get him in here and question him?”
“No. Check with the FBI. It’s possible they’ll want to monitor him to see if this has anything to do with the murder or anything else.”
“Yeah, about that,” Cameron continued. “The lab got an ID on the dead guy. It’s not good, Gabriel.” He paused. “The guy was a cop.”
Chapter Nine
Jodi’s mind was whirling with everything Gabriel and she had learned. Whirling, too, because she’d been on edge the entire drive from his ranch to the sheriff’s office. It wasn’t far, less than ten miles, but each moment they’d been on the road had felt like an eternity.
Once Cameron had told Gabriel that their dead guy was a cop, Gabriel hadn’t asked anything else. He’d just told the deputy that they were on their way there. Not just to read the reports on Russell but also so that Gabriel could reinterview August and Hector.
“I don’t want you near the windows,” Gabriel told her when he rushed her inside the building.
Cameron was right there to hand him some papers, but Gabriel paused only long enough to take them, and then he led her to his office. He lowered the blinds on the single window behind his desk and waited for Cameron to come in.
“That’s a copy of the police report that Russell filed about those snakes,” Cameron explained. “We’re coming up empty on who might have gotten the snakes, but we’ll keep looking. The next paper is about our dead guy. His name was Calvin Lasher, a small-town cop from Louisiana who’d recently been reported missing. I don’t know why his prints weren’t in the system, but it could have been some kind of computer error.”
Always a Lawman Page 9